What Children Really, Truly and Absolutely Need

 Twenty Two years and some eight months after my first born was born and Sixteen years and (again) some eight months after my second child was born I have attained enlightenment. That the moment of seeing light, unlike in the case of Buddha,  is twenty two years and some months too late touches me at places which hurt a bit and ache a bit more. I catch myself waiting for someone to ask me the typical HR question popped at unsuspecting MBA aspirants – “ if you could live the last five/ ten years of your life would you make any changes to it ? Why?” Except that in my case it would have to be paraphrased to, “if you could live the last twenty two odd years …?” 

But you know and I know that  life doesn’t  give second chances ( not unless you are Sanjay Dutt - three chances or Aamir Khan - as yet only two  or Saif Ali Khan - two again –well, I will have to stop because it could take all night) and especially not when you really ,really want to  start afresh.  So, for all you young parents out there, here is some unsolicited advice from someone who never sat under a Bodhi tree , but would nevertheless want to share some gyan, from my vantage position of almost quarter of a century of motherhood.

Here is what children truly need:

      A lot of Love

    

  A lot of Praise

    

  A lot of fun time

   
   A lot of you

   
   A lot of opportunity to  learn  to be independent

     
 A lot of positivity between parents

   

   A little of discipline

   
  
And an unjudgemental  you

" Be curious, not judgemental". Walt Whitman


What children really need is a helping hand leading them to a promised land.






 Credits: All photographs have been sourced from Google Images