Rashmi's Space

When people ask me what I do, I tell them I am a blogger, a writer. The immediate next question, of course, is “what do you write?” And I say I write on positive parenting, among other things. So they say, oh great, a lot of people are writing about parenting these days, it makes for interesting reading. And I say, but I don’t just write about parenting, I write about positive parenting. There is a difference. (Which reminds me of an advert from my childhood: ____ hot and sweet tomato chilli sauce, its different!) Cheesy, I know, but it is true. There is a difference. All parenting is not positive parenting. But all positive parenting is definitely good parenting. Parenting There was a time when “parenting” was not a term most parents bothered about. Take a look at

“Mum, I want rasam to drink.” the little one declared. “Sure, give me ten minutes, will give you. But why rasam? Are you feeling a cold coming on?” I asked worried. “No, no, I just felt like it. Just for the taste.” he said nonchalantly. I stood in the kitchen, trying to come to terms with the fact that my little one, who has till now never asked for rasam specifically, in fact, who has even refused to have rasam whenever I have offered it to him as a cold or cough remedy, was suddenly asking me for this concoction, no demanding it just for the taste! And even as I was still taking this in, I heard him go out and speak to his Dad. “I am having rasam before dinner Dad, would you like some too? I can tell Mum to make for you as well…” he asked his father. “Sure! Go ahead,” the father happily replied. So in walked my little one again to deliver the order for one more bowl of rasam and as he went out, his father asked him “You like rasam, is it?” “Yes.” ...

The alarm rings. I look at the time, snooze for ten minutes and turn on my back to see my little one lying next to me. Okay, so he has wandered in during the night and is now sleeping spread-eagled, occupying most of the bed, having kicked my husband as close to the edge of the bed as one can go without actually falling off. I find myself smiling as I pull the covers on them. My little one has his exam today and unless I get started in the kitchen now, he’s sure to miss his paper. I am trudging to the bathroom, dragging my feet and cursing the early hour, when suddenly it occurs to me that it is not only my little one’s exam today, it is his last exam paper! It is the last day of school! I do a little dancing jig and almost trip on the bathroom mat. And then I rush to the bedroom to wake the guys up, with a spring in my step! Oh yes, it is the last paper today. Yay! Another academic year finished! No more worrying about the school schedule, no more ironing the uniform i...

This is a sponsored post for Eureka Forbes AeroGuard and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com When we think of air pollution, our first instinct is to look outwards – exhaust, combustion, burning fuels, vehicles on the road; the works. But we rarely think of pollution in terms of indoor pollution – inside our homes, inside our offices, inside our schools – and maybe that’s why, we pay comparatively less attention to it. But this weekend, returning from a week away from home, we were greeted with a sight that made me look at indoor air pollution from a whole new perspective! You see, our apartment is close to a main road where hundreds of cars move about all day, every day; and a lot of dust enters our home. We keep getting it regularly cleaned and dusted so as to ensure that there are no dusty surfaces. But this weekend, as we got back after a week out of town, we discovered that the house was dusty despite all our windows being shut tight. Not only that, there was also...

हम में से शायद ही कोई होगा जिसने बचपन में ये दाँट ना खाई हो। बच्चों के अलावा हर किसी को लगता   है की राय सिर्फ़ बड़ों की पूछी जानी चाहिए। बच्चों से क्या पूछना ? बच्चे तो बहुत छोटे होते हैं , उन्हें क्या पता ? बच्चों का काम है खेल कूद करना , पढ़ाई करना , वक़्त पर खाना खाना , और माँ बाप को बिना परेशान किए " अच्छे बच्चे " बनकर रहना। बस। ये कोई नहीं सोचता की शायद उनके भी कुछ समझ में आता होगा , शायद वो भी कुछ सुझाव दे सकें जो वाक़ई में बड़े काम के हों ... पर ना साहब , हम बड़े , और ख़ासकर हम से भी बड़े , सिर्फ़ इतना मानकर चलते हैं की बच्चों को अनुबव काम होनेसे उनमें सूझ बूझ , परिपक्वता हो ही नहीं सकती ! अब पिछले हफ़्ते की ही बात ले लीजिए। हम छुट्टियों के बाद बंबई से लौट रहे थे और हम लैंडिंग के बाद हमारे समान की प्रतीक्षा कर रहे थे। हमारे साथ हमारे काफ़ी सह प्रवासी भी इस इंतज़ार में थे कि कब समान आए और कब वे निकले घर ...