MaPa

Every time my two and half year old toddler wants to call Papa, his mouth utters MaPa, and then again he tries to correct it , but all in vain as we could only hear MaPa. Then, he takes a deep breath, finally some pause and hmmmmm he call outs Papaaaaa!

If you ask me, I feel that's the perfect way to address his Papa ... MaPa! Fathers are indeed the "Part and parcel" of kids life, but we also see how the role of "Papa has changed" quite recently. Quite recently when I suggested the topic "My better half is a better mom as well" to Sheroes, they agreed readily and I really got a very positive response for it.

Do you remember Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherji in Talaash. How Aamir son's calls him Adda, I really liked it! Isn't a unique way of addressing someone very special in your life?

And that's one of the reason I feel MaPa is so justified and sweet for my better half and for his role model!

What say you?


Keep Faith
Chakoli :)

Are You Still In Touch With your Roots?

When I stepped into Motherhood, within very first month at my native place as part of the tradition I was asked to worship a well and seek its blessings. Engineered by modern education and beliefs I simply smiled and shrugged it off – Why do I need to worship a well, that’s insane! My mother told me - As a well is full of water quenching thirst to many, in a similar manner, you ask well to fill your breasts with milk, so your kid is satisfied and never hungry.

A simple tradition and holds such an important message, but I was wired to ignore it! How many of us living in urban areas feel the same way? Globalization, technology and information that is now at fingertips, but aren’t we missing the human touch?

It is the tradition of spirituality that binds India together, not communities Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• How many of us can still smell the “saundhi khusbhoo” [sweet smell] of the earth after first rains? Not many, thanks to Air conditioned Offices.
• How many of us would go on a vacation to their natives to celebrate the traditional festivals? Not many, thanks to trips to Malaysia, Maldives and Thailand being cheaper.
• How many remember the upcoming festivals, unless it is under a holiday list in your Office or your kid’s school diary?
• How many of us know how to cook traditional recipes for a specific festival?
• How many of us prefer celebrating festivals that fall on the weekend?

One of my friend Sandeep [Changed on request] who loves travelling and is a blogger says – Urbanization has at one hand provided us with a lot of opportunities to explore, experiment and experience other traditions but on the flip side has distant us from our traditions and values. He continues, just for example at our place the first chapatti made is served to cow, now it’s hard to find a cow outside India or even in metros in India, where you can go and feed them. So you simply ignore it.

Another lady, a mom of five months old says – Nuclear family is one of the prime reasons of getting disconnected from the roots. Blame it too hectic work schedule [when earlier work used to end by 5 pm] that by the time people return home they are exhausted. We usually wait for “weekends” to do something different and unluckily our festivals not necessarily fall on the weekends. However, once you have a kid, you want to pass your traditions to them and maybe that’s when you get into celebration no matter what, as I am planning to dress my little as Krishna for upcoming Janamasthmi.

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and the soul of it's people – Mahatma Gandhi.”

Another girl in her twenties believes an elderly at home can make a lot of difference in how we value our traditions. She says – When my parents are at home, I feel like someone’s waiting at home. And as you knock the door, the incense sticks fragrance and the fresh lemon rice aroma connect you more deeply. We may be busy with our busy schedule, but the oldies still have a lot of time, and they make sure that even we are connected. With parents and in-laws at home, it is said the house is blessed!

We could site ‘n’ number of lame excuses or obligation to drift away from our roots, but is it not our choice of living? We choose to apply an antiseptic rather than turmeric, we choose to wean away a kid from mother’s milk because she has to return to work, we choose to be guided by others rather than our instincts, we choose ….

Keep Faith
Chakoli :)

I am a #motherworking rather than #workingmother! | Workplace | SHEROES

I am a #motherworking rather than #workingmother! | Workplace | SHEROES: Samiksha Seth



This recent post on BusinessInsider caught my eye – The famous IBM inventor Lisa DeLuca visited a technology conference with her daughter, and if you just visualized this with a nanny following her, you are totally mistaken. Take a closer look at her photo (above), dressed in formals and high heels she carried her baby proudly!

Image Credit - BusinessInsider

She claims herself to be a #motherworking not #workingmother.

In her



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 FaithChakoli :)

Do you Feel Guilty Each Time You Handover your Smartphone to your Toddler to Keep Him Engage? Here's The Help

Did you ever hear words like Techno-guilt and Techno-shaming? Well, we can understand, being a working parent, and juggling to strike a right balance you might have simply shrugged off these “unwanted” Internet jargon! But, you need to know just because you a parent to a child born in internet and technology world.

Techno-guilt is when a parent feels guilty because he uses technology like television, laptop, Smartphone to keep his kids occupied, more like using technology as a babysitter! Techno-shaming is when a parent feels the guilt on allowing his child to use technology in a public space. Have you ever noticed the frowning faces of elderly people and the stare they give you as if saying… How can you do this to your child?

So are you the one who can relate to above situation? Well, then here is the solution…

I want my Toddler to be active physically rather than being a couch potato straining his eyes!

We completely understand you to want your toddler to be away from the screen and be more active physically, playing, jumping, dancing and blah blah blah! Are these your expectations from a child?  If you said a YES, then even child would have same expectation from you… or better to say child imitates what parents do…isn’t? So do you.

·         Read a book before going to sleep or browse your smartphone or watch your favorite serial on television?

·         In your free time, you go out to a park and meet friends or simply play Candy Crush on your phone?

·         Which mode of communication you opt … postal mails [hand written] or emails?

·         To unwind yourself, you play music and dance/workout or hold your Kindle to read your favorite book.

If you chose the latter option, you are yourself using “technology”. Your child just knows that “the toy” used by my mummy and papa is quite tempting, and he tries to imitate you. So unless you throw out technology from your home and neighborhood, you do not have a way to prevent your toddler with charms of technology!

Okay, I got it! So what’s the Solution?

These technologies would exist, and your child would have to grow with these around him. So rather than feeling guilty about allowing your children to use them look out for ways to direct him to RIGHT CONTENT for a LIMITED TIME.

In fact few of the studies have shown that the screen time enhances kid’s skill when compared to television viewing, for one simple reason being – on a tablet/smartphone kid is more interactive, the kid is expected to perform an action and understand the logic. On the other hand, television is a simple idiot box that does not need a response, and a continuous stare could strain kid’s eyes.

Here are quick tips to divert your kid’s time to fun and interactive learning -

· Teach them to handle the devices carefully, rather than always to say NO. When you say NO to him, it surprises him as he is unable to understand why that NO when you yourself are using the same thing.

·Choose content that are designed for your toddler, even if they are paid, it’s worth the money

·  Do not always use “technology” as a babysitter [ Well, agreed unless you hand over your toddler your iPad, he will not let you take a bath or cook food] but make sure to let him know what he is dealing with, like Wheels on the Bus a superbly animated and highly interactive app. From spinning the wheels to swishing the wipers, there is plenty for children to poke and slide and they'll love the music, almost as much as you'll hate it.

·  Limit the time. Okay, we will watch your favorite rhyme for ten minutes and then we’ll have dinner.

      Your kid needs you and you need him, so lets make efforts from our side to make this relationship a beautiful one. 

      Happy Parenting!

Keep Faith
Chakoli :)