Category Archives: Parenting
Parenting: The Basics, Revisited in 2012 – Be
Be who you are. I can almost see your confusion. “Be who you are?” What could I possibly mean by that? I mean, who else could you be but yourself? But there are so many times when we don’t let … Continue reading
Parenting: The Basics, Revisited in 2012 – Ask
Ask questions. But of course you already ask your child questions! Questions like: “How was your day?” “What happened at school today?” “What did you do all day?” Only, you’ve learnt that there’s no point in asking questions because your child … Continue reading
Parenting: The Basics, Revisited in 2012
It’s that time of the year when we all look inward and try to reorient our lives based on our values and priorities. It is a good time to go over the basics and see how we’ve been doing. Everywhere … Continue reading
The Loving Parent, the Nice Parent, and the Difference Between Them
You love your child. (Duh! 🙂 ) That makes you a loving parent. Most of the time, you try to be a nice parent as well. You put in a lot of effort to make your child happy, give him … Continue reading
How to Get Along with Your Child – Like, not Love
LIKE – such a lukewarm word, so tame; not strong, like LOVE. You love your child; more precisely, you LOVE your child. Love comes naturally to a parent. Nature ensures it – your helpless infant needs you! He depends on … Continue reading
When Do You Stop Being a Parent?
No matter how much you love your child, this question would definitely have crossed your mind if you’ve been a parent for a few years. There will be days when your child drives you up-the-wall, round-the-bend, over-the-top crazy, and unbidden, … Continue reading
Give Your Child the Gift of Distance
He was 13 when I first met him, a boy suffering from both shyness and acne. I tried to draw him out in conversation. He was polite, but not forthcoming. After we’d met a few times, he became friendly in … Continue reading
Setting Fear Aside to Parent from Love
I was going through a messy divorce, and lived in daily fear that my daughter would be ‘snatched’ from me. I don’t think this fear had any basis in reality, but fears are often like that – they come from … Continue reading
Are You Parenting from Love or its Opposite?
For much of my life, I thought that the opposite of ‘love’ was ‘hate’. And then, I discovered that these two words were opposites only in English grammar quizzes. Love is an energizing force – it gives you the energy … Continue reading
How Your Child Feels About You
Many years ago, I was talking to a friend about my daughter: “I can’t tell you how much I love her – she means so much to me…” (as if any other parent feels less about their child! The Romeo-Juliet … Continue reading