Actress Isha Koppikar on how she likes to lead her child by example, and how she finds digital gadgets a far bigger cause for worry than social media – BHUMIKA K. Model and actress Isha Koppikar and restaurateur Timmy Narang are parents of little Rianna, who will be five this month. Isha started modeling while still in college, and made her debut in Telugu cinema with Chandralekha in 1998. Since then, she has acted in a host of Tamil, Kannada and Bollywood/Hindi movies including En Swaasa Katre, Surya Vamsha, Fiza, Company, Kya Kool Hai Hum among others. She recently signed up as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party just before General Election 2019. But that hasn’t stopped her attempting a comeback in southern cinema again, specially Kannada and Tamil films. Speaking to ParentsWorld, Isha explains her parenting style, and how being a celebrity-mother makes her no different from any other mom. She also busts several beauty myths and stresses that there are no shortcuts to health and looking good and fit. Excerpts: What are the moments you enjoy most with Rianna? We love to play music, dance and dabble in art. She’s just started cooking classes and she really seems to enjoy them. Her teacher is staging a joint mother and daughter cook-out. I am really looking forward to it. You took a breather from films a few years ago. Was it because of motherhood? Did you feel the need to spend more time with your child? Yes, I wanted to give full attention to Rianna in her first formative years. Nevertheless, I didn’t cut myself off from the film industry entirely. I did a couple of films in south India and Rianna travelled with me during those shoots. But I spent most of my time with my child. I believe that love, care, and undivided attention should be lavished on children in their earliest years. There’s no substitute for it. What has been your biggest challenge as a parent? It’s too early to define her character because right now I have my hands full dealing with her tantrums. Mind you, I don’t give in to my daughter’s tantrums easily because if I do, it will spoil her and will reward bad behaviour. So, I am firm on most occasions. But it really breaks my heart to see Rianna sad or crying. I don’t agree that sparing the rod spoils children. Although I am dead against corporal punishment, I am quite strict for her own good. What is your parenting philosophy? What kind of parents are you and your husband? We are hands-on parents and we usually walk our talk. So we try to model good behaviour to her. Basically, our parenting philosophy is to lead by example. You are always in the limelight first as an actress now as a politician. How do you shield your daughter from the media glare, especially of social media? I don’t believe I need to shield her from anything. I go with the…
