My growing teen

" There is this boy who stole my heart. He calls me MUMMA - MOM - MUMMY."

Parenting a teenager is not like any other stage of parenting where we could experiment with the old methods by making changes and implementing the same. But then sometimes I do feel that parenting is actually about facing new challenges in every possible way. Accepting the fact that my little boy is turning into a young man has been a roller coaster ride.

                                       

It did take a while to understand that his needs are changing, he is asking for freedom and independency and is figuring out what he wants to be and above all his body is changing too. During this process of the transformation, I am learning few things :

1.  Make myself a safe place so that he can approach me anytime or in any situation to share his problems. Rather than pounding with a bag of questions, give time to him to unwind and relax.

2.  Be a helping hand while he is cleaning up his cricket kit or room. Sometimes these times are the best ones to start a conversation.

3.  Be ready to listen to him even if it is about his scripts or his You tube channel content or is nth number of business plan. Boys can be fickle and he might not want to talk when I am ready to listen. Hence, be ready when is ready to share.

4.  Be a guide to set limits, boundaries and rules. It is important to understand and be patient with him till till he figures out what he really wants.

5.  Hug or just snuggle him (though he doesn't like it much these days) and give him that mom's touch so he knows that he is still my little boy and means world to me.

6.  Make his favorite meal thus making him feel very special. I never knew that a bowl of Burrito was such a powerful dish.

7.  Talk and treat him like an adult and I see the magic how it is impacting our relationship.

8.  Believe and have faith in him. We share our secrets with each other and have those fun sign languages which are understood only by both of us.

9. Model respect and love for people around us so he also demonstrates the same as I want him to be a kind human.

My teen boy needs unconditional love from me and I will continue to shower upon him in every  possible way through daily love affirmations.

Celebrate every woman in your family

 

                        The epitome of existence          "Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It is about the way the world perceives that strength."                                                                                                                         ~ G. D. Anderson

          Women need to be celebrated every day. They are the reason of our existence.  Every woman has distinctive qualities which are unique and classy. The various roles played by a woman are priceless and done with perfection. But have you ever wondered when, why, and how did this day come into existence?

                                 

The kick off

In 1908, more than 14000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. A year later, the government of America declared the first National Woman's Day.
Ms. Clara Zetkin, advocate for women's rights suggested to make this day International during the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. 

Why 8th March 

The date when Russian women's strike (demanding right to vote, bread and peace) commenced on the Julian calendar, was Sunday 23rd February. This day in the Gregorian calendar was 8th march - and that is when it is celebrated today.

The Colors

Purple. green and white are the colors of International Women's day (IWD). Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolizes hope. White represents purity. 

The Purpose

IWD is the day to mark and celebrate women's achievements in various fields, educate and increase awareness for gender parity, appreciate the progressing women and fundraise for female focused charities.

2023 - Focus area

Every year, IWD has a designated theme which helps to bring attention to important issues or topics. The United nation's theme for 2023 - DIGITALL : Innovation and technology for gender equality. This theme aims to recognise and celebrate the contribution women and girls are making to technology and online education.

HOLI and life lessons

 

HOLI – the festival of colours – brings joy, happiness and energy. 

The festival marks the advent of spring with the flowers beginning to bloom hence sometimes referred as the "Spring Festival". Holi is a traditional Hindu festival, which celebrated the triumph of good over evil. Although the festival originates in India and celebrated as a religious festival, it has been adopted in many places around the world.

The festival not only brings with it a lot of cheerfulness but also important life lessons for daily implementation :-

Get rid of negative vibes / thinking:
One must rid themselves from negative thinking to lead a happy life. Negative thinking can ruin your life and affect your mental health and of the people around you. Put your negative thinking in the bonfire of Holika Dahan and fill new energy, enthusiasm and positive energy in your life.

Forgive & Forget:
Holi gives us an opportunity to forgive our enemies, celebrate the festival of colours along with them and make them friends again.

Welcome every colour of life with open mind: 
Colours are integral part of the festival, like wise life also consist of different colours like problems, challenges, failure, happiness, success and so on. Accept these different colours of life and enjoy each colour with full energy and enthusiasm. 

Equality :- 
According to mythology, Lord krishna got the blue colored skin because of the poison given to him by the demon Putna. Lord Krishna painted his face with a colour to look same like others. Similarly, while celebrating the festival with colours, once applied, we all look equal and cannot be differentiated.

Celebrate every moment :- 
Holi is the perfect occasion to revitalize, appreciate and celebrate all beautiful relationships. Let's imbibe in some of the valuable and powerful lesson that Holi teaches us. And enrich our lives with peace, harmony and love. 

The most important life lesson is to be safe and take care of yourself while playing Holi !

Reading - An important Life skill

 

One of the most important Life skill that can be developed from early years is – READING !

Reading can begin from an early age of 6 months. Initially make the child sit in your lap and read the book as though you both are reading it together. As the child sees colorful pictures, he will develop the interest to sit and listen to you. Here, his visual skills are developing. 

As the child grows, his attention span increases and is able to sit in one place for some time. 

Read to the child:

1. Show him the cover of the book – Before reading the book, show the cover of the book to the child and ask him questions about it. This is a great way to engage his interest.

2. Keep him focused – Young children get easily distracted. Start asking questions about characters in the book or ask him to predict what will happen next? This will test their interest and enhance predictive skills.

3. Assess his new skills – As you are reading along, a new word comes up, ask him to guess the meaning of it. You also need to repeatedly ask questions. This enhances language and thinking skills.

4. Make it simple for him – While reading the story, breakdown big / complex sentences for him to understand it better.

5. Use Voice modulation – The characters in a story can be differentiated using different voices for each character. This helps the child to picturize the story. When the story comes alive, he will be thrilled to listen to it. 

6. Ask for their response and reaction – Once the story is completed, ask the child what did he enjoy the most about the story? What is that he did not like in the story? If given a chance, what would he change in the story? This helps is building their confidence level and increases the oral fluency.

7. Different languages - Using a language that you are comfortable in, is a good way to start reading stories and Nursery Rhymes to the child. Being bilingual helps the child with understanding and recognizing syllables, phonics and letters.

It is absolutely normal if the child does not sit through the read aloud but you continue to read as he is listening unintentionally. Here, his listening skills are dominant.

Reading stories with the child is beneficial for the adults too. The special time you spend reading together helps to build your relationship with the child.

Creative ways to spend quality time with your child

 A family is the biggest asset any of us can have and hence it is very important that we spend good time with family and the loves ones. Spending time with them helps to understand each other better.  Here are few tips which I follow in the day to day routine  :- 

• Have a morning ritual where you spend at least 10 minutes with the child doing something as simple as reading a newspaper.

• Involve him in meal preparations as it helps in family bonding & togetherness .

• Encourage conversations at the dinner table where the family members are involved too.

• Share the history of the family & the ancestors.

• Reverse the role and become a child. Ask him questions which involves research and reasons.

• Motivate him to plan a holiday or organize a party.

• Exercise / workout or go for a walk together.

Having a family is a blessing. Make the most of it by bonding and doing activities together. Spend time together and make memories.