Useful advice My four-year-old daughter is very shy and avoids all male children in the apartment and plays only with the girls. I was pleasantly surprised when I read Dr. Sachin Baliga’s reassuring response to a parent with a similar problem in your ‘Ask your Counselor’ section (PW September). His suggestions to help her overcome her shyness were very useful. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading your special feature ‘Smart ways to organise children’s spaces’. Author Nasrin Modak’s tips for children’s room décor were practical and easy to follow. Sona Reddy Hyderabad Burdening children with great expectations Thanks for your cover story ‘Enabling children to profit from failure’ (PW September). It comes at a time when the mental health and emotional well-being of children and youth is ballooning into a national crisis and should serve as an eye opener to the parents’ community. I agree with psychologist Dr. Mazher Ali’s views that intense fear of failure causes immense stress and could even prompt suicidal tendencies in children. Parents should resist the temptation to foist their own aspirations and expectations on children, and put pressure to achieve them. In my own case, I had to step back with my expectations when I noticed that my teenage daughter was consumed with fear of failure and was petrified of taking on new tasks. We need to encourage our children to give their best irrespective of the outcome. Shalika Suresh Delhi Get children to eat vegetables In today’s world of fast foods and aerated beverages, it’s tough to convince children to eat green vegetables. Therefore it was lovely to read your ‘Delectable Green Treats’ recipes in the September issue of ParentsWorld. We need to get our children to eat more green leafy vegetables. Recipes on high-nutrition foods like avocadoes, broccoli and pumpkin are also most welcome. Tina Ramachandran Bengaluru Stepping stone to success Your cover story on overcoming fear of failure (PW September) was thought provoking. I can’t agree more with the old cliche ‘Failure is a stepping stone to success’. But honestly, failure in real life is sometimes hard to digest. The most common being that of failing exams which can become life’s most miserable experience, aggravated by the judgemental reactions of family, friends, classmates and teachers. In my opinion, there is little awareness among parents that failure is an essential rite of passage in every child’s life. The common parental response to failure is disappointment and reprimand. As you have emphasised in the story, parents need to use failure to build character and resilience of children. Vishwanath Reddy Hyderabad Enlightening column Your Kidzone column on nurturing children’s potential (PW September) was enlightening. More than schools and educators, it is parents’ responsibility to identify the strengths and aptitudes of children and guide them to discover their skills and interests. We have seen children blossoming early in life and becoming young achievers. I also look forward to reading captivating theme-based experiences of parents in the Parents Corner section. Keep up the good work! Vashi Devu…
