Column: Confessions of a second-time mom

It's an image stuck in my head from a long time ago. My friend, 19, is helping her mother roll out chapattis in the kitchen. Nothing wrong with that, except that her brother is comfortably slouched on the sofa, yelling for water. She yells back that he should get it himself and the mother adds lovingly but in all seriousness: Bhai ko paani de do, usko aadat nahi hai lene ki (Give a glass of water to your brother, he isn't in the habit of fetching it himself).The recent discussions in the light of the tragic gang rape case in…

By now you've probably read, discussed and formed your own opinion about the case of the Indian couple arrested in Norway and sentenced to 18 and 15 months jail respectively. Their crime? Of physically abusing their son by beating him with a belt and burning him with a hot spoon as punishment. It seems the child was ‘hypersensitive' according to newspapers here. The psychiatrist treating the child has termed it Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD). If the reports are true, instead of understanding the condition, his parents resorted to beating the child and threatening to send him back to India. Pic:…

Last year he called it Holiween. I didn't make any attempts to correct him and he didn't remember it beyond that point either. Why bother when it isn't a festival that belongs to us? Pic: wikimedia commons This year, he is close to seven and the Halloween monster has struck us hard. We now know the correct pronunciation and the fact that it's an American festival that has "something to do with ghosts". We also know somewhat hazily about pumpkins and trick or treat. The problem is we live in an apartment complex that isn't as Halloween friendly as the…

In 2008, New York based writer Lenore Skenazy let her 9-year-old son take the subway home. For weeks her son had been begging her to be allowed to travel alone and she finally relented by leaving him with a MetroCard, a subway map, some money and loose change in case he had to call her.When Skenazy wrote about the experience in her regular column, there was a flurry of reactions that ranged from calling her a child abuser to appreciating the way she allowed her son his first taste of independence. Overprotective mother. Pic: Wikimedia commons I remember reading Skenazy’s…

A friend recently posted pictures of her daughter at the dining table attempting to demolish a cake all by herself. To say that she was covered in chocolate would be an understatement.I was feeding the younger child when I spotted the picture and laughed out loud. In a minute the slightly harried atmosphere around me - baby refusing to eat, older child whining about what was on his plate, turned lighter. A kid eating all by itself. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborty Sometimes in Mommyland, it does you a whole lot of good to laugh. It eases the situation when it seems…

He had seen the paper and started reading the headline before I had a chance to hide it. "M-O-L-E-S-T" he read, pronouncing it as ‘molet' before inevitably asking me the meaning. My six and half year old has developed a new love for reading and I had forgotten how trauma and disaster laden our news was, when I encouraged his attempt to read the newspaper.What do you do when all the media that confronts your child, the TV, newspapers and magazine, not to mention the internet, has nothing but bad news. Do you tell her as it is or do…

You know how it goes. You’re sitting in a movie hall, watching Kahaani and Vidya Balan is almost being pushed in the path of a speeding train when woaaaa, goes the toddler sitting behind you with his parents. And all you can think is, why do parents need to get kids along for movies.  You do have a thought there, but hold on for a second, especially if children aren't part of the picture in your life at this moment. Once they are around, you may often have to eat words spoken in the pre-child era. Here are my top…

Go on Google and parenting terms hit you faster than a screaming toddler launching himself at mom, in supersonic speed. But the one that always gets me worried that I belong to the Neanderthal era and cracks me up at the same time has to be the much used and abused term called ‘Attachment parenting.’ Coined by Dr William Sears who wrote a plethora of baby books, it’s one of those terms that certainly doesn’t apply to India. In fact the good American doctor was definitely not thinking of us when he coined it because in India we are always…

It takes you so long to write a 700 word story! Said the horrified editor friend of mine. I counted sheep in my head (helps me stay calm. Another good alternative is the in-your- head-grocery list) and waited for the one question that I hate hearing ever since I gave up working full time to be a stay at home mother: So what do you do all day? The days go by in a blur. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborthy Really, what was it that I did the entire day? And what was it that the other mothers did, staying in this…

Good morning and welcome to the Mummy Pick Up & Drop Off service. I'm the chief operating officer cum chief pick up girl here. The job description fits me to the tee as I am always picking up things -- clothes from the laundry, toys from the floor, soap from the bathroom basin, child from swimming class, bus stop, playdate, skating class and so on. Mother and kid on bike. file pic: Raghavan Kandala We welcome all sorts of applicants as long as they have spawned at least one offspring, possess a reasonable ability to be on their toes for…