Special Concerns – Parenting Matters

Sex Education: What is our role?

“Amma, where do babies come from?” “Appa, what is a Stayfree used for?” “What is masturbation?” In our workshops, parents often share that such questions from their children make them feel awkward and unsure of how to answer. Most parents in India rely on schools to impart sex education. In 2007, the Government of India...

Children and Foul language – Part 2

In our previous article we talked about children using bad language out of curiosity. In this second article, we look at the conscious use of bad language by kids, to express anger, frustration, and how we can guide them in such situations. The other day, Arun called his sister a really inappropriate word. He was...

Children and Foul Language

“ Amma, Arvind just said the F word at Sudha today!” “Appa, Sudhir said the F word to me today.” “Amma, what does the F word mean? Sam says it’s a really bad word and his amma gets very angry when he says it!” Shocking when you hear this the first time right? Would it...

Separation or Divorce: How to minimize the impact on your child.

Every parent wants the best for their child. When parents are in harmony this goal is worked at together as a couple. However, when a couple is not getting along well, have stopped respecting each other and are in the process of separation or divorce, this could become the toughest goal to achieve as they...

Is the quiet child saying something?

At one of our Parenting Matters sessions, the following interaction got us thinking on how we parents need to be aware of our child’s personality while raising them. One mother said, “Ria, my daughter, is a sweetheart, she is so adjusting and does not demand anything.” Another parent shared, “My second born, Aman is like...

Parenting a left-handed child

To begin with, in this article, when I say left-handed, I refer to children who predominantly use their left hand for eating, writing and other activities. There is a lot of research specifying that hand dominance is determined by the brain. This should not be manipulated by us as it can impair development on various...

Parenting in front of an Audience: Part 2

Last week we wrote part 1 of this article which explored how we could be aware of our own emotions and calm down before responding to our children. Today, we will focus on how we can help children manage their behaviour. With school holidays on, these insights can help in minimizing the stress the children...

Parenting in front of an audience – part 1

We all enjoy the comfort of our daily routine when it’s just our child and us. But, when a grandparent or a guest is added to the equation, things can change drastically. Even a change in the environment to a family function or a social gathering could make things chaotic for us and our children....

Raising Twins

‘Twins” are associated with being identical, having similar sounding names, dressing alike, falling sick together and having a little telepathy, whether fraternal or identical twins. Yet every child is unique, as are twins. There are many lessons I learnt watching my twins grow up. Each twin has his or her own likes, dislikes and personality....

Moving home: helping children through it.

A couple years back, my husband and I began to explore the idea of moving out of Chennai, the only place he knew as home, and also the city where our two children were born in. The idea of moving out came with hopes, excitement and dreams for a new life filled with people and...

How do we help our children emerge stronger from facing a natural calamity

It has been a time of devastation and destruction for Kerala and Kodagu. As we think of relief operations and rebuilding lives, it is important to recognize the impact of this event on the most vulnerable – children! Most often, we do not immediately see any obvious effects on children. But as things sink in,...

Exposing children to the idea of privilege

Last December, our team at Parenting Matters underwent an intense workshop with our Mentor, Ruth Beaglehole , from Los Angeles. She has been in the field of Parent Education for over 40 years. Among the many issues she explored with us, awareness of privilege was one of them. We all spoke about it at length...

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