Women Lines

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/blogs/induslady/indusladies-4th-annual-international-women-8412/

It’s not easy being a mother.  If it were easy, fathers would do it.  ~From the
television show The Golden Girls

Motherhood, though challenging phase,  is  still a blessing to any woman. It has an humanizing effect on the mother and thus the child is blessed by her care and affection!

Few years back when world of woman revolved around her family and home only, the period of motherhood was a very different experience compared to present one. In today’s times things have changed , women are playing various other roles too besides  of homemaker.After having a baby  when she gets back to work she has to be dependent upon extra help from either maids, day care or support system in family.So the real challenge which comes for any working mother is how to bond with her baby and provide and nurture her with motherly love and affection.

Few families in which parents of the couple are able to provide the support for some limited time find themselves really blessed.As parents are more experienced definitely they are going to take better care but  sometimes clashes happen due to different ways of thinking about parenting.Then the challenge comes to make them understand the importance of their way of thinking and how it is going to benefit the baby.

Baby grows and crosses toddler stage , kid stage and then he enters that phase when his character has to be built and he has to learn about good eating habits. The challenge lies here for any mother, whether she is working or homemaker, to teach the importance of values like gratitude, honesty and other moral values. Media and peer pressure has affected children to that limit that they have started considering their parents guidance as boring lectures only. When they see glamour of media and how their friends enjoy certain things while hiding from their family, it becomes challenging for them to ignore it.

Families in today’s era  is using all modern gadgets and that too is available separately for every member of the family. Whether it is Laptop, Iphone, Ipad, Game console, kids are aware of the gadget lingo and have the expertise to use it. Challenge lies here for any mother to how to allow the controlled usage of gadgets by kids and how to save them from the negative effect of using such gadgets.

Being a mother every women wants best for her child and puts her very best efforts to give that atmosphere at home which can help in inculcating good habits in them.But  the way society is changing  mothering today is really becoming challenging!

Its my love  and full attention I want to give to my baby!

This was the first thought which came into  my mind when I  delivered my baby. I never knew that journey will be so challenging. Mindfulmotherhood talks about being present to needs of your baby and giving full attention to him. Its all about being present for your baby needs and attending to his requirements with presence of mind. Its very practical for my mother as she thinks being a mother this should be my natural behaviour. But honestly its not. Its really challenging to put my all thoughts and attention for my baby as in today’s fast moving world there are so many inputs and outputs to attend.

Thanks to authors who write parenting books which really guides us about facts of parenting which we can only  realize once we read it. “Mindful Motherhood’ is one book which really opened my eyes regarding mindful parenting. Casdsandra Vietan, author of the book, guides you about practical tools for staying sane during pregnancy and your child’s first year.Casandra emphasizes that “Mindfulness can help you meet the challenge and approach every experience with your new baby with open eyes and open heart”.

Chapters like ‘The observing self’ and ‘The train of thought’ are amazingly described where you get a new vision about yourself and handful tips provided at the end of the chapter really helps in giving you new insight for motherhood.

Motherhood is a journey of bonding with your babies forever. Don’t miss those precious moments of life in everyday ratrace. The best gift which any mother can give to her kid is ‘ Mindful Motherhood’.

World is full of distractions and thus its very important to live in present. I am greatful to God that I came across this book while browsing parenting section of a library. The way different topics are discussed and various ways are suggested which can help you to follow mindful parenting is really helpful but only if you practise!

To be mindful always is really a skill which has to be developed by practise.

It matters to me!

At times I find being a woman is not an easy job and definitely not to mention to be an Ideal women. I wonder where those ideal women resides who perform all roles of being a wife, a mother, an employee, a daughter and a DIL, sister, friend and so many not to mention , with perfection. Will really love to meet one if she really exists in today’s  complex world!

World in which we are living today is though a blessing for today’s women. I am not talking about women liberation , or equal right distribution for women in our society. I want to focus on the multitudes of spheres in one life where women has to focus and work upon. As technology is making our life easy we are having other constraints to manage our life in an orderly fashion. In whole world around women issues start from the talk about being financially independent, she studies hard, builds a space for herself in society and gets married and becomes responsible for the welfare of the new family she has entered.Then starts her life managing herself, her office, her husband, her family and going forward kids come in picture.

Its matter of justifying all roles together.As an ideal women she should be a great cook who can prepare awesome lunch boxes, dinner and snacks for the family. As an employee she should be giving her best performance in office, prepare all reports timely, prepare excellent presentations and above all reply to all her mails…..wink wink:)! As a DIL  she should be taking care of her in laws, respect them , follow all family rituals, fasts, attend all function and entertain all guests with perfection. As a mother she should be always playful, ready for arguments, should always listen to her kid  and spend quality time with him.Then as a friend she should spend take out time for her friend, go for outings, shopping, movie time, invite for dinners, and much more. And mind you all roles have to be delivered in 24 hrs duration.

Hey , I forgot to mention role of being herself. As an individual she should be spending time with herself, take care of her health, body, exercise, eat healthy food, watch her favourite shows and movie, meditate, go to spas and lots more.

Is this job easy?I wonder!

But I enjoy being women.There is so much to do. Let’s not focus on ideal clause for being a women then you wont be under stress and enjoy your womanhood more. Its all about time management which we learn slowly by practise. Its also about taking one step at a time and multitasking those steps together. Balancing can only be achieved with a calmer mind so every women on this earth should exercise and meditate to discover herself. Think of at least 15 mins my time in whole day schedule where u do something for just your own happiness and I think it can do wonders in any women life.

I strongly believe that any family’s happiness lies in the happiness if the lady of the house. If she is not happy, unwell, frustrated then side effects start appearing on whole family. If we love our family then we have to take care of ourselves and start trying to find ways  to make ourselves happy.

So cheer up my fellow women, don’t stress yourself to be an ideal women. Have a vision for yourself and multitask allyour roles with perfection!

Womenlines wants to share this article on parenting by Pooja Kawatra Gupta with its readers. Pooja is a mother who is enjoying her motherhood period by sharing her experiences with a group(she has formed on orkut) of other mothers(1000 mothers approx) on orkut. Here goes the story-

The day Aayan was born we knew that we both have come a long way from just being good friend, as a lover, as a husband & wife and now as a parent .He has given the new meaning to our life.. we realize that as a first time parent there were lot of things which we will be learning everyday .

Just reminded me that ” Kids are teachers and we are student”

Every new day comes as a beautiful moment to cherish for the life long. The day when you saw your baby in scan reports, when baby took the shape, his tiny little hands & feet, his heartbeat and every time your heart beat you think for a moment is it my heartbeat or my baby..Then you just smile back and say he is my heartbeat .That’s one in a lifetime when you have two heartbeat ..

When you hold your baby for the first time and keep remembering many of his first few and the day he says Papa & Mumma..You are at top of this world ..!! Aren’t we waited for this long to hear these beautiful words .

We know that with every new generation parents wants to give best to their baby .Trust me it not only babies have change over a period of time , parenting has gone under huge change. In today’s world it’s not just mother who is taking are of babies at home.. Fathers are equally involved in all the activities..right from the doctors visit at Gynaecologist to vaccination for Baby, which definitely gives mothers sometime for themselves.

Though with raising your baby, parents hardly get anytime for themselves but believe me raising your baby together not only give your baby but yourselves a lifelong security and comfort that both yes we were always there with our kids in each and every step he took in his growing years.

I still remember the time when I was expecting as been a working mother & staying far away from our parents, a first time parents we had enough of queries in our mind.. Why my baby is crying, is he hungry , not well, is there anything which I am unable to understand and so on..
So, my this first hand experience with raising my little son Aayan gave me the inspiration to start a platform where not only we all mums come together to help and resolve each other queries but to become friends for a lifetime. This is when I started a community : Mums & Babies ,we are close to 1,000 mums.. today with love & support of all wonderful mums, who have come long way to share their valuable experience, the best of the tips.. Our little wonders have got friends as well..

 http://www.orkut.com/Main#Community?cmm=50694960

If you are a new Mom then join her community to share the warmth and happiness of one big family……

Every parent wants to see their kid growing as a creative, happy child!  Isn’t it?

I, as a mother always try to find out various ways how can I help my kid to be more creative, and came across  few interesting ways which can definitely help your kids too.

1-Read, read, and read, at least for half hour daily to your kid. Make it a regular habit in your life. Make sure books you are choosing to read must be story books and can range between fairy tales, moral stories, stories about historical characters. Don’t read for the sake of reading. Try to be dramatic and read with all sort of expression you can but make sure you don’t overdo it.

2- Talk, talk, and talk to your kid. It should not be a parental talk about doing this, that or not doing certain things. Talks should involve  around certain things , may be how was your day if meeting after the whole day, or just inquire if anything interesting happened throughout the day. I f staying with him then you can discuss topics regarding nature if going out. Or if he is watching TV then ask his opinion about the show.Just give a thought, many ideas will come in your mind.

3- Colour, colour, and colour-

Coloring world is a beautiful world for kids. Their imagination boundaries are not restricted as their hands move freely. Their is no end to their imagination and at times you can get very interesting sketch up from your kids. If you also join them then painting can be really fun.

4-Music and dance-

Listening to music is a good relaxing exercise for kids. And with dance physical activity also happens. Just expose your kids to various types of music, be it guitar, piano, tabla, sitar and just observe which one is his favourite. Never pressurize him to learn music without his interest.

Singing and dancing together with kids can a fun activity and can be a bonding time for whole family.

I want to request my  friends that if they come across other ideas  to increase creativity in kids please share on this platform.