Great hit
Your comprehensive Careers Watch article ‘Sweet Smell of Success in Floriculture’ (PW May) was a great hit with my zesty graduate daughter.
The story’s sharp focus on the career’s economic potential, domestic demand, and export opportunities has inspired her so much that she has begun researching it intensively and plans to plant a few flowers on our home terrace as an experiment.
Sheetal Shah
Mysuru
Timely reminder
Your insightful cover story ‘Creating conducive home study environment’ (PW May) is a timely reminder for parents to become mindful of their children’s learning needs prior to the start of the new academic year after a long summer vacation. So much inertia sets in children — and parents — during the holidays that it’s very difficult to get back to the early morning school routine.
But I wholly agree with educator Lavanya Parashar’s practical advice that planning home study routines at the beginning of the new academic year makes homework and learning stress-free. I also liked parenting expert Bhavna Singh’s strategies to build positive behaviour in children and physician Dr. Gita Mathai’s tips to ensure children’s physical and emotional well-being. It underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for optimal academic performance.
Harleen Singh
Chandigarh
Include school lunch-box recipes
Thanks for the ‘Vegetarian Treats’ recipes shared by home chef Madhulika Vatsal in the Health & Nutrition section (PW May). While I appreciate your effort to endorse healthy vegetarian meals, can I suggest inclusion of healthy non-vegetarian recipes in future issues? Also with schools having reopened, some suggestions for school lunch-boxes will be most welcome.
Natasha Pinto
Mangalore
Reimagine shared spaces
As a parent of three children residing in a cramped Mumbai apartment, the Book Excerpt from Get Kids to Play authored by Saumil Majmudar and Vijay Krishnamurthy struck an instant chord (PW May).
Space, where to play? This query posed by the authors is a question many families living in urban India ask everyday. In our neighborhood, for instance, there is no public playground or park nearby, and children make do by playing in the basement of the apartment complex.
In this context, the authors’ suggestion to reimagine shared spaces such as rooftops and parking lots into dynamic play areas is interesting. If we want our children to play and be physically fit, neighbours will have to collaborate with each other and establish designated times and areas in ‘shared spaces’ where children can play games and sports.
Vishal Rao
Mumbai
Age-appropriate communication
Your Special Essay on ‘How to safely introduce children to bad news & current affairs’ (PW May) was an eye-opener. In particular author Elise Waghorn’s nuanced suggestions to use age-appropriate communication with children. That my children — a six-year-old and 13-year-old — have varying levels of understanding and emotional maturity to absorb distressing news is something we tend to often overlook.
As a family we watch a lot of news on TV, much of which is far from pleasant. I agree with Waghorn when she says that children exposed to violent news start viewing the world as a scary place. It’s up to parents to explain distressing news to children in age-appropriate language, and most important, answer their questions with patience and restraint.
Molly Sharma
Gurgaon
Amazing story-telling
Your Leisure & Travel story on Laos (PW May), a country about which I had little knowledge, was an interesting read. I enjoyed the travel writer’s amazing first-hand storytelling with attention to fine details. His references to and comparisons with India and Thailand were also refreshing.
Bela Pai
Bengaluru
