I fed G until she was old enough to crawl… after that, I figured she could climb on to me and help herself to breastmilk on her own (especially at night, I had a good 9 months of sleep to catch up on after all 🙂). Needless to say, I adopted the same ‘help yourself… Continue reading The Perfectionist Daughter
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Whose Opinion Is It Anyway?
It’s human tendency to categorize and sort information in ways that we can meaningfully process. Classifying things helps us be efficient – it’s the reason behind aisles in supermarkets, categories in libraries… even our houses have rooms which group objects functionally. So I can understand the temptation to apply this kind of classification system to… Continue reading Whose Opinion Is It Anyway?
The Weight of Being ‘Good’
Growing up, I was convinced I’d write the next Great Indian Novel. Every teacher I’ve ever met told me that I would. Friends whom I narrated stories to suggested it. Even strangers who read things I wrote in passing chimed in! As a cocky teenager, I would sneer at popular novels, convinced I could best… Continue reading The Weight of Being ‘Good’
Gender in the Playroom
As parents, we can be aware of our own implicit biases and try to ensure our children grow up with a more open approach to the things around them. For that to happen though, we have to truly let go of our biases. Telling my daughter she can't have things which are pink or girly is as counterproductive as ONLY giving her those things in the first place. I believe as a parent, it's my job to expose G to everything possible - the girlish, the boyish, the neutral - and let her pick whatever she wants. Only then can she truly make an unbiased choice. Anyway, these labels 'boyish', 'for girls,' and so on, are human constructs. Toys, clothes, and colours are not designed gendered. It's our biases that make them so. All things are, in theory, for everyone.
Montessori Says: My Key Takeaways from ‘The Child In the Family’
Parents & teachers from G's school meet monthly to discuss sections of Dr. Maria Montessori's writing. We started with chapters 2, 3, 8 & 9 of 'The Child in the Family.' It's a (relatively) easy introduction to Montessori concepts at home. A couldn't make it to the meet so I created this cheat sheet for… Continue reading Montessori Says: My Key Takeaways from ‘The Child In the Family’
