Rashmi's Space

This is a sponsored post for KrackerjackKarnival and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com  Running free in the outdoors and playing all day is what every child wants! Now during school time it may be difficult, but during the vacations, we can surely indulge our young ones. Of course, spending family time together is also important and when you can let the children enjoy their time and also enjoy together with them as a family; well that is when things do really work out! Navratri is here and the holiday season is upon us in good old Bengaluru. With almost two weeks of vacation, children are home with us, waiting for us parents to fill their days with holiday fun. Of course, many parents have already taken to the roads with their kiddos and others are lounging in resorts by the beaches out of town. But there are some like yours truly, who are unable to travel and are spending the vacation in our favourite city. That is fun too, don’t get me wrong; I mean it is durin...

I remember being fifteen and telling my parents that I wanted to go to an out-of-town college all by myself . The place in question was only a half hour train journey, followed by a fifteen minute bus ride; but it was still a big leap for someone who had spent the first fifteen years of her life living in one place and being chaperoned to any place that took more than twenty minutes to reach. Being a good negotiator (or believing myself to be one) I gave my parents two options – one, let me travel by the famous Mumbai local train to a college that was an hour’s journey; or two, let me travel, (again by the erstwhile local train,) to a college that was a half hour’s train journey followed by a fifteen minute bus ride. I cleverly presented them with these two options, the idea being, that even if they agreed to the one with the least travel time, I would still get my wish granted of going to a college outside of my small town!   The interesting thing was, it didn...

This is a sponsored post for Quaker Oats and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com  A few days back, I wrote about how a  letter from the Principal of our school  got me searching for a filling alternative to a mere glass of milk my little one would have before school; leading me to discovering the miracle grain – Oats – that would keep my little one full and energetic until it was time for his snack break. Since then, oats have been a regular in our home and I have also made it a point to include oats in the different snacks and smoothies that I usually make for him. Now mostly, he is unaware of what goes into his snacks – so long as it tastes delicious, he is happy and all is well with the world! But then there are times, when he keeps me company in the kitchen and while he keeps chirping in the background about his day, I go about making his after-school snacks. One such time though, when I was making his favourite  Akki Roti  last week, he sto...

They say it takes a village to raise a child. But what do you do when the village turns violent, vandalizing each other’s’ properties and spreading hatred among the inhabitants? What happens when in your own home, your child gets to see televised violence – real time or in a movie format? What does that do to your child? The past few days in Bangalore have been fraught with tension and chaos. Friends and relatives from all over the world are writing in to enquire after our safety and wellbeing and the media has had a field day raising their TRPs thanks to some of the most sensational images in recent history! And in the middle of all this, children who joined their mothers and grandparents in front of the TV to check up on the latest news about the situation outside, ended up seeing some of the goriest images on TV!  I know the issue is sensitive; and I also know the solution isn’t easy or anywhere in the near future. But where does all this violence and chaos leave...

This is a sponsored post for Quaker Oats and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com  "Think global, eat local"  is the modern-day mantra of healthy eating. It not only helps boost the economy of the place you live in; but also ensures the assimilation of nutrients in your body that are essential as per the weather of the place you live in. Needless to say, this mantra rocks for a foodie like me! All the while I lived in Mumbai, I would happily munch on the staple  Vada Pav ,  Dabeli ,  Misal Pav  and  Pav Bhaji  – and when I moved to Bangalore, I fell in love with the local delicacies such as the  Neer Dosa , the  Ragi Roti  and the  Akki Rott i. These are delicious breakfast items found across the eateries and homes of Karnataka, that also serve perfectly as ‘anytime’ nutritious and filling snacks. They are made from natural, locally available ingredients, they are healthy and yet, they are yummy too! However, ...

Sharada was ready. Just before stepping out, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. A lovely lady in her fifties, wearing a gorgeous traditional silk saree stared back at her. She was wearing a glittering bindi and had even tried on the new lipstick her niece had given her for just this occasion. She wore a handful of gold bangles and bracelets, studded with diamonds to match with her necklace and earrings; she also wore toe-rings that peeked out with every step she took – understated toe-rings that spoke nothing of the fact that they were custom made, just for her. Sharada smiled at her reflection, and just before the thoughts caught up with her, decided to move on. Now was not the time to give in to those thoughts.   It was time to go downstairs and join her husband Ram, in welcoming their guests for the evening. Today they were giving a grand reception to her youngest daughter-in-law. Funny how the mind works, she thought. Most people wouldn’t put it this wa...

This is a sponsored post for Colgate's #MagicalStories and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com  Watch Video Here What is the one thing most children are experts at? Telling tales! No, make it telling tall tales! Ask any child who was the best child in class today, and pat comes the reply I was! No matter what the situation, children love to tell tales. And whats more, in most of their stories, they are the heroes! These stories may not always be true, but with their stories, children will have you believe, that they are the next Iron Man! So how does one go about achieving this super active imagination in children? By introducing them to the world of stories in the first place! And like most good habits, you need to start as early as possible. In my case, I started when my little one was a mere three months old; who would enthusiastically coo to urge me on whenever I sat to read out a story for him! This practice also led to his getting addicted to the bedtim...