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Thinking about parenting using a parent report card for the year can be fun, as 2 Indian moms and a dad found. Try it!
Parent_Report
Compiled by Anne John and Aparna V. Singh
Why should only children come home with their report cards? How about a year-end parent report card instead? We thought that it would be a cool idea!
So we asked 3 of our lovely readers to think about parenting – how 2012 worked for them as parents and rate themselves on 5 parenting goals of their choice. Once they were done, their child would also add in his/her thoughts on the same parent report card. Not only is this a fun activity to do with your children at the end of the year but it also gives you an opportunity to take a step back and think about parenting in a mindful manner.
The first Indian mom who jumped right into the task at hand, along with her daughter R is our very own blogger, R’s Mom*.
A working mother in Mumbai who tries to balance work, home and baby, R’s Mom says, “R turned 3.5 years old at the start of 2012 and this has been a year of fights, tantrums, growth in understanding levels and suddenly realizing that she is no longer a child. This was the year, I realized she understands what we talk, she reciprocates feelings, she can be a tantrum kid and yet she can be most understanding when need be.
I have learnt more this year as a parent than any other year. I have realized that it’s easier parenting an infant than parenting a child who is 3.5 years to 4.5 years because now is the time you have to start treating them as a separate entity. This year, I realized, R is not my extension but a different individual with her own set of ideas. And that realization made me, hopefully, a better parent.”
The second Indian mom who gladly obliged us is Aparna Sanjay, who is mother to Advaith, 7 and Yukta, 4. Aparna is a management professional in the development sector. Post babies, she has juggled between full-time work in the corporate sector, stay-at-home motherhood in the USA, and is now a flex-worker and mompreneur in New Delhi.
She summarises her parent report card, saying, “2012 was the year that whizzed by. It was the year when I made the transition from stay-at-home mommyhood to full-time work, and from an equally-shared parenting household to a single parent status through the week, thanks to my husband’s incessant travel.
Aparna With Her Children
It was the year of adjustments, compromises, crazy schedules, and realizing that all of these are firmly a part and parcel of life-as-usual, from now on. It was the year my son blossomed into a far more confident, aware, courteous and engaging child, giving rise not only to a lot of proud-mom moments, but also to a new confidence that maybe I’m doing some things right!
2012 was a roller-coaster ride, full of travel and exploration, learning and discovery.
It was hard, but it was good. Here’s to more of the same in 2013 – but I’d also like to get more sleep!”
While mothers’ perspectives about parenting are easier to find, dads are often left out, which is why we approached Navaneeth* to join our list. Navaneeth is a media professional in Bangalore and dad to Anushka, 7 and Aditi, 3.
Adding to his parent report card he says, “I sometimes worry if my two girls are growing up too fast.
When I get home late from work, I am really disappointed if they are asleep. I even try and wake them up. I clown around and indulge them with loud and action packed stories which they love. While I do not lose my cool fast, there have been occasions when I have felt the need to discipline them. And I have done it. Only verbally.
With all our official travelling and late nights at work, we felt it was important that we spend time with the kids uninterrupted and hence took a lot of vacations this year. Hope this continues to be a trend.
There is also a love of Maths and construction kits my older one shares with me. We have done some interesting projects on those themes.
And the Vespa has been an unexpected source of endless joy and bonding!
Navaneeth With His Children
I am also very happy that we are 4 generations under one roof and that is a big plus with bringing up children with the right amount of love, value systems and discipline. And the fact that my daughters bond very well with their grandparents is extremely heartening.
I would like them to learn more languages including the language of the state we live in and their mother tongue; but I feel I am not around enough on all days of the week to contribute towards this.”
Would you like to try out this fun activity at home with your children? Why not recreate the parent report card and give it a shot? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments about how you fared!
*Featured image credit: Lennart Tange (Used under the Creative Commons Attribution License.)
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