Parenting or should we say mothering teenagers has been a challenge through ages. We prefer to use mothering, as generally dads are busy with making moolah while the moms, even though working, deal directly with their teenage children. Now talking about challenges, it’s a bigger challenge in a country like India with its ever evolving culture and society. As we open to global (read western) ways of life, our teenagers are becoming more independent and liberal. Though there’s also a culture of more teenagers picking up vocational jobs, but that’s just vocational, limited to a couple of months. For the rest of the year, they depend on pocket money to take care of their ever increasing needs. In such a scenario, it’s not wise to deny th...

Does the word, 'discipline' carry a lot of bad press for you as a parent?  Does it remind you of something used by controlling parents in the 50's who just didn’t get it?  Many parents of the millenium express the desire to be friends with their teens. That ideally behavioural issues diminish simply by having an open, mature and equal relationship with them. Is this a realistic desire given that parents often experience behavioural problems with their teens, and increasingly with their preteens? What to do when the boundaries and rules keep getting breached? How do you discipline your teen, particularly where issues of safety and welfare are concerned? How do you respond when she not only appears unappreciative of the difficulty ...

At puberty a girl begins to search in earnest for outside validation for her innermost hopes and dreams for herself as a young woman. When she doesn't find what she's looking for, or when she sees women making compromises that the males in her family or society are not asked to make, she quite naturally becomes angry, frightened or disappointed. That's part of the reason for adolescent rebellion.If her emotions aren't validated and redirected in a positive way, her disappointment, anger and anxiety may take any of the following routes depending upon her innate temperament:  expressed inwardly as depression, moodiness, or physical illness.  expressed outwardly in self destructive behaviour e.g. poor relationships, substance abuse. ...

When I think about my own childhood and the memories of my own acheivement, my father had an approach to praise that used to baffle me. He would never outwardly demonstrate his pleasure about any of my acheivements, whether it be academic, vocational or as a sporting champion. So we never celebrated any of my results. The outcome of this was that in years to come, I never told my parents about my many achievements and the goals I'd reached. This included the hundreds of Martial Arts competitions I fought it in or the many little successes I enjoyed. The contrast between the relationship between my father and me and that between my children and myself is as stark as you can get. As a child, the communication between my father and I w...

Gloucester Teens Had Pact To Get Pregnant...... GLOUCESTER (WBZ) ― There's a stunning twist to the sudden rise in teen pregnancies at Gloucester High School. 17 students there are expecting and, according to a published report, most of them became that way on purpose. Time Magazine is reporting that nearly half of the girls confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. None of the girls is older than 16. Principal Joseph Sullivan said that wasn't all that was shocking. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," he told Time. Last month, two top officials at the high school's health center resigned in a fight over contraceptives distribution. Medical Director Dr. ...

Growing up in rural Bangladesh is no mean feat even today. This was especially the case in the 1940's at the time when the British left a devastated India, where our little hero started his journey. Our hero was the youngest of three sons. He also had two younger sisters of 6 months and 3 years of age. At around the age of 8, both his parents - an elderly father and an ill mother - died quite suddenly. This left the young children in shock and completely displaced. Growing up with family in that era was tough enough. Being an orphan was traumatising for our hero. His only immediate family were two older brothers of 10 and 12 years of age and the two younger sisters. Every day was survival. At moments, he was being cared for and nur...