‘Guests are no longer welcome.’ That’s a sign that sooner or later will go up at the entrance to our home. Why? Because our home has a tendency to resemble a battlefield at the best of times, and a litterbin at the worst. I might just add a small sign just below that, explaining in… [ Continue Reading ]
Relationships »
Articles and features on joys and challenges of the special relationship between parents and their kids. The joys and challenges of being a parent.
Living out Daddy’s Daydreams
Love is a strange thing. I thought it was just a saying when parents said they loved their children to death. But, something in the news the other day reminded me that love really can drive some people to death. A newspaper reported that a class XII student shot herself to death with her father’s… [ Continue Reading ]
Twice as Much? – The Twin Concept
The ultrasound has just shown one, two or maybe even three little heads! Calm down and pick yourself off the floor. So you are expecting twins. Your feelings may range from “Why me”, “This is great”, “Oh my!” to “What have we done?” Either way there is an element of shock and you may wonder… [ Continue Reading ]
Identifying child abuse and dealing with it
I am not a writer. And I am not going to do any writing. But there is an issue that is most private and yet touches so many people that I cannot stay silent any more. We love putting difficult issues in the closet. Bad idea. I will deal with one such closet issue –… [ Continue Reading ]
Between Siblings
‘Saaz’. A film about two sisters — two singers. Bansi has received an invitation to sing at the Red Fort on Republic Day. She is only waiting for the official confirmation, she tells Mansi, her sister. Mansi smiles. Days pass. Then weeks. The confirmation letter does not arrive. Bansi keeps waiting till 26th January. On… [ Continue Reading ]
Of Haircuts and Chocolates
Giving a haircut to a kid is quite a tough job. But, some Delhi-based barbers seem to have found a way round it. They lure children to the high chair with carrots ranging from chocolates and burgers to swings, reports The Indian Express newspaper. One saloon offers ‘monthly gifts’ ranging from coloured pens to toys… [ Continue Reading ]
What if older child feels threatened by the arrival of a new baby?
The parents of five-year-old Amisha noticed an aloofness in her behaviour when her mother gave her the news of a new baby on the way. When asked about it, she replied, “Now my parents will not be mine alone, but somebody else’s as well”. The elder child’s psychology It is quite natural for a child… [ Continue Reading ]
Full Circle
“I’m unbearably tired, so terribly exhausted, I just want to sleep,” she said. And sleep she did – that eternal sleep – never to wake up again. This article is a long overdue tribute to her. She had always maintained that I will never find time to write about her, she was all too familiar… [ Continue Reading ]
The World of Sisters
“Can I ever trust you to take the right decision?” This is a line my sister has been saying ever since I was 12 years old and she was 17. She said it then with absolute conviction and has continued to say it even though we’re both now on the wrong side of 30. We… [ Continue Reading ]