It was heartening to see that this issue finally found first page mention; what was also commendable is the effort to collate statistics on the youngsters’ state of mind pre-exam and the acknowledgment that ‘exam-fever’ is indeed a reality.

While the effort must be lauded, it needs tackling at the very root.  » Continue reading “2 Feb 12, Thursday: the Times of India, pages 1 & 7, “before exams, city kids most stressed in India””

Woke up this Monday morning all pensive about how fast my first born has grown up and reminiscent about these past 5 years of parenting; I wonder what I’ve done wrong more than right and am sure it’s a question like-minded parents often ask themselves.

Then I came across this article over my morning fix of tea; from the limited information it carried I found it rather absurd that Child Welfare Services could take your toddlers away just cause you fed them food with your hands (likened to ‘force feeding’) and tucked them in at night in bed with yourself.

If this applied in India then the jails would be insufficient to house all us ‘guilty’ parents. » Continue reading “23 Jan 12, Monday: Mumbai Mirror, page 14, “Give the kids back to their parents….””

Author of Kids Pick Up on Everything: How Parental Stress is Toxic to Kids, David Code also an Episcopal minister says stress is highly contagious and parental stress can weaken the development of a child’s brain or immune system, increasing the risk of allergies, obesity or mental disorders.He added that the greatest gift a parent can give today to his child is a healthy relationship with other adults. » Continue reading “Stress in parent’s lives can be detrimental to the kids”

The reality is late nights of doing homework and studying can and undoubtedly happens in student life especially college life. Without proper time management, this can build up stress for students, the homework load can be very stressful. This is especially true on days when multiple assignments are due. » Continue reading “How to ease homework-related stress”

Raising a toddler, in the best of circumstances, is an overwhelming undertaking. But often parents under long-term stress do not find it easy to tap into the patience, responsiveness and energy required for effective child nurturing.

A University of Rochester – research is helpful in explaining why chronic stress and parenting are such a toxic mix.

The study finds that ongoing strains, like poverty or depression, disrupt the body’s natural stress response, making mothers more likely to engage in a host of problematic parenting behaviors, including neglect, hostility, and insensitivity. Stress literally changes the way a mother’s body responds to the normal demands of small children and those changes make it much harder to parent positively. » Continue reading “How Chronic Stress Short-Circuits Parenting”

Stress in children is no longer representative in a small population of children, it is actually dominant in a much bigger group then we actually think. Stress, stressful children exist at all levels of community and in large numbers.

» Continue reading “How Can We Help Our Children Handle Daily Stress?”

A survey reveals, nearly 17 million children in the U.S. live in single-parent homes and researchers suggest that it can take up to three years for a family to adjust to this new lifestyle. Raising children is challenging, and at times the stress is overwhelming. However the list of whether, single parent for several weeks or several years is mammoth. » Continue reading “How to cope with a single-parent stress”

Times of India 11^th Nov 2010 carried a news item “All four accused held guilty of ragging Aman Kachroo to death” and went on “A sessions court today convicted four medical students accused of ragging their junior Aman Kachroo to death in Himachal Pradesh last year”.

Ragging – is just a word to those who have not experienced it and hence all of us will not fathom the grief of Mr Rajendra Kachroo, father of Aman, when he expresses his disappointment on the quantum of punishment.

Let us try and understand what Ragging is like?

» Continue reading “Times of India 11th Nov 2010 carried a news item “All four accused held guilty of ragging Aman Kachroo to death.””

Would like to start this series with tales that help children understand rational concepts; this way, as we go along, you (the reader) will soon be able to identify the kind of fiction that your child would benefit from.

The first ‘must-watch’ in my list is the animation film ‘Ratatouille’.

Short synopsis of the tale: would you even step into, let alone eat a meal that is cooked by a rat? This story is just that:  a heart-warming tale of a rat who wants to be a chef against all odds (family disapproval, failures and heartache and his being a ‘rat’).   » Continue reading “19 Feb 10, Friday: fairytales and children – part 2.”

First of all, children with learning disabilities are normal and if not more, then as gifted and talented as the rest of the kids out there; having understood and accepted this truth is perhaps half the battle won for parents of children with LD.
Raising a child with LD has its fair share of challenges and heartaches but ask ANY parent and they will tell you that raising a child is literally no child’s play (no pun intended). » Continue reading “18 Feb 10, Thursday: Learning disability (LD)”