parenting Archives

Believe Your Mother When She Says “You’ll Know When You Become a Parent”

There was a point in our lives as a couple when we had the exact certitude you feel about someone’s parenting skills – when we were sure a toddler could be handled, managed, and disciplined better. That point was before we became parents.

Tony Sebastian July 19, 2016

POV

How choosing not to be a mother brought me closer to my father

Motherhood is so often expected to come as a natural choice to women. Almost a year into the pandemic, I realised it is not for me. Here's how I revealed my choice to my father. It only brought us closer.

Divya Unny July 18, 2016

POV

Paranoiac Activity: The Birth of the Anxious Parent

In light of the Gurgaon incident, parents have to balance a tightrope: To have a keen eye on everyone who interacts with their child, but equally, to refrain from treating everyone as a predator.

Dushyant Shekhawat July 13, 2016

POV

Three Cheers for the Mediocre Mommies

Wedged between the career woman and the domestic goddess, is the Not-So-Supermom. The world admires women who fall neatly into those two categories but can be quite cruel when you don’t fit into either.

Ashwina Garg July 7, 2016

Gender

Why Breastfeeding is Important for Mothers

I was clear that if ever I had a child, I would breastfeed him. Yet it wasn’t that simple. My baby and I were unable to sustain a latch. This wasn’t how it was meant to be.

Dharini Bhaskar June 13, 2016

POV

Mothers: The Most Judgemental People on Earth

I used to scoff at friends who gave their toddlers phones or ipads while feeding them. I did not want to be that mother. Three years later, it’s more likely that India tops the Olympics than my son eats without a screen in front of him.

Vani Rane June 7, 2016

Parenting

What Does It Take To Be a “Super-Dad”? The Barest Minimum

Men have had it easy literally everywhere, from jobs to a simple task like walking down a street. It comes as no surprise that even parenting is easier for them. What’s worse is that the little that they do in raising the child is seen as a great feat by society.

Runa Mukherjee May 11, 2016

Gender

“You’re a Good Girl Na?”: Why We’re Raising Our Girls Wrong

If we need women to break out of the exhausting idea of selflessness, then pressuring them to “be a good girl” is exactly the sort of thing that needs to stop. What we need is a culture that sees dissent and opinion as signs of progress, beyond the myopic view of parental disobedience.

Riddhi K April 30, 2016

Modern Family

Confessions of a Backbencher Mom

Have I failed as a mother if my son is not acing every single life experience just because I chose chor-police over chess mastery?

Sharan Saikumar April 24, 2016

Love and Sex

The Invisible Sex Life of New Parents

The sex life of new parents is like Donald Trump’s brain – it’s non-existent. If it does exist, it is rare, awkward, and revolves around the bowel movements of your child.

Vani Rane April 22, 2016