Dealing with desperation.

Worshiping something will always have you stuck at the level of a devotee, and will never stretch out to make you a creator. We need to encourage our kids to go beyond understanding and create. Read on to find out how creating makes learning a lot more fun, focused, and productive.

It’s we who put them on a pedestal, it is we who cover up, rationalize or dismiss their transgressions, and then much later it is we who are surprised by their sense of entitlement, much like parents of spoilt kids, who simply can’t figure out where they went wrong in child rearing.

Disagreements, misunderstandings and stand-offs are a part of family life. While open and honest communication is essential for close relationships, setting certain rules for fights and confrontation, helps ensure that we don't completely lose perspective. These are some of the rules, that we try to follow, when fighting.

Happy Halloween everyone. This post is about what Halloween means to me. It also has a lovely Halloween painting done by my 5 year old daughter.

Sometimes winning may look like losing, but it takes strength to walk away, instead of impulsively striking back, to your own long-term detriment. Winning is not necessarily about defeating someone else.

Are we becoming too picky with children’s books and demanding too much of them, and their authors? The recent Dr. Suess controversy makes me wonder if we realize that authors of children’s books are human with human failings?

Children usually don't like being interrogated. This is a simple game to get your child to open up to you.

I have noticed in various places, when a kid gets hurt and starts crying, sometimes, the grown up in charge rushes to comfort them but does so in strange way. For example if the child has stubbed his toe on the table, they beat the table and say, “Bad table, bad table!” Or if the child has banged their head on the wall, they sternly wag their finger at the wall and say “Bad wall!” Sometimes the child is encouraged to participate in punishing the offending inanimate object.

Rules and laws are the foundation of civilized society. Yet it is not easy to make rules. A system that involves a large number of people, like a school, or a housing society, or a community is quite complex, let alone a city or a country. Rules are necessary for smooth functioning of groups. But no matter what rule is made, there will always be a few people who are reasonably inconvenienced by it.

Last night the Nobel prize in literature was awarded to Bob Dylan. Here is a little about him and his views on parenting.

Today we were stuck in traffic for a while. Our driver was bored waiting for some movement in traffic and turned his attention to my 2 year old. He held out his fist and asked her if she wanted a sweet. He occasionally gives sweets to my kids, so that is okay. But today, I was trying to frantically signal to him that he should not offer one today as she had eaten a few in the morning already. His response baffled me. He laughed and said, “Don't worry I don't have any. Look my hand is empty.” He said opening the fist.

Sex education must go way beyond the mechanics of sex. And we must remove any shame associated with sex, to impart effective sex education.

I have never really spoken to my kids about God. I wouldn't know what to say. I know some parents have a tough time talking about sex or periods to their kids. But, to me, God seems a much more complicated subject, because, I, myself, am not sure who or what God is.

"He is my god!"

Someone had once asked me “Did you not always want to be a queen?” I replied “I did not even want to be class monitor.”

I have been a stay at home mom (SAHM) for 4 years, dabbling in writing for fun. I have set my own deadlines, and worked only as much as I felt like, whenever I felt like. But I noticed that I felt like it more and more often.

Recently, I have come across a number of posts where people claim they are not going to teach their daughters to be nice. They are going to teach them to stand up for what they believe in, instead. What puzzles me is, how these came to be mutually exclusive.

When is the right ime to talk to your kids about periods? How does one broach such an uncomfortable subject? This post is about how I talked to my daughter about periods, and why I believe we should be open about it.

What exactly does it mean to be a fair mom? Does it mean I should treat both my kids in exactly the same way?

I love the concept of Santa. Apart from the magic that surrounds it, the joy it brings my kids, and the delight in their sparkling eyes, as soon as they wake up on Christmas morning, it is my free pass to indulge my babies without being accountable.

My daughter has many super powers including an awesome vocabulary and the ability to make smoke come out of my ears. But physical activity is not one of them. She does not enjoy it and she is not very good at it. By that I mean her performance would probably be below average for kids her age.

Allow my kids to talk back? Question my authority? Pass witty or snide comments about my choices? Should I allow that? I think I should. Yes, I know. You just shook your head and thought, "Poor woman. She is losing it." So let me explain myself and prove that my sanity is indeed intact. I am not an excessively permissive parent. I don't believe one needs to tread on eggshells around their kids.

That depends on who you talk to. Electronic gadgets seem to be a very touchy subject that elicit either awe or disdain. Some believe using tablets, video games and smart phones turn children in to addicted zombies while some others believe that merely using these devices makes your child a wiz kid.