Click to play videoNew Delhi: There are possibly more parenting manuals and how-to books on parenting than ever before. Today's parents are bombarded with information and advice from all sides. So much so, that it's sometimes hard to keep track of the basics.
The basics are that one of the most important things you can give your child is your time and undivided attention, as often as you can — these are after all, the building blocks that adulthood will eventually rest on.
Not that you're meant to be counting those moments together, or even looking at family bonding as something that needs constant evaluation. It's not a job after all. It's more about being around for your children, as some parents will readily testify.
Geetan Tejpal, who is a working mother says, "As long as it's not seen as this big project which needs to be undertaken that adds to the stress levels of a working mother, it makes no sense because the time you will be spending with the kid is, you're going to be so stressed."
The very concept of quality time, which is almost always used as a by-product of modern-day parenting, gets a strong response, but one which is not always positive.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Dr Amit Sen says, "The pesponsibility that parents feel about having to spend quality time with their children, and that often translates into anxiety and worry about whether they are giving enough quality time"
But what speaks volumes is of course your child's opinion of what's right.
Geetan's daughter, 17-year-old Cara Tejpal says, "We spend the evenings together, we exercise together, we bake together. It's not like something sweet and rosy and happy, we fight all the time."
And while there seems to be this unspoken divide between working parents and non-working parents, and working parents struggle for time with family, both sides certainly feel the pressure.
A stay-at-home mother, Jaya Mehra says, "At times I do feel the pressure because you are at home, you are always there. So how come your child is not as brilliant as the others, because we are working? A lot of times this question is question is asked."
Whichever side you come in on in the parenting debate, when it comes to your children, the really important thing is precisely those shared moments, at any given age.
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