“My elder son keeps harassing his younger sibling, what do I do?”
“How do I get my kids to obey me?”
“I want to wean my children away from the idiot box.”
“My child keeps telling yarns. Is she merely exercising her imagination or is she becoming a compulsive liar?”
“My son suffers from dyslexia. Can you suggest any reading material which would be suitable for him?”
“My daughter is a voracious reader. My problem is how do I keep her away from reading stuff which has content steeped in violence?”
“Why is children’s literature stuffed with fantasies and fairy tales? Why can’t we have writing which the children can identify with?”

No, gentle reader, this is not an Indian version of the Spanish Inquisition. These are merely vignettes from two sessions with the parents which I had in the beautiful city of Coimbatore.

I had gone on a tour to promote my maiden eBook Effective Parenting: A New Paradigm published by Learning and Creativity and marketed by Amazon. The book was formally released on 7th September.

Read about the book release function of Effective Parenting: A New Paradigm

Before the release I gave a presentation on Effective Parenting. I touched upon various facets of parenting from the perspective of a child, a parent and a writer for children. My talk was peppered with case studies, nuggets from my own life and insights from the repertoire of the Wise. I made an honest attempt to make the presentation in sync with the issues concerning the new age parents and their ‘here and now’concerns.

Mythology and Transactional Analysis, Memories and Values, Trust and Togetherness, Gratitude and Grace, Courage and Commitment, Enthusiasm and Effervescence and above all the sheer Fun and Joy, which makes Parenting the most exciting, challenging and rewarding experience of humankind, all found a place in my presentation.

Read about how Effective Parenting: A New Paradigm  suggests a fresh avatar for the new age parent.

The little ones, who had accompanied their mammas (and in one case their dada), jumped and laughed and squealed and sang

The response from the gathering was electric as can be gathered from the queries hurled at me at a gentle and not so gentle pace!

The other session with the parents was at Bookmark Library and Activity Centre, Coimbatore. Here the parents of children in the age group of 5 to 10 years interacted with me. The mammas completely outnumbered the daddas, a probable indication that parenting is still considered the responsibility of the female of the species with even the new age males’ indulgence restricted to an occasional visit to a sports event, the ice-cream parlour or a story session.

The mammas turned out to be well informed, curious and yes, even a trifle anxious.

I decided to add a bit of masala to the proceedings by telling my story Paplu the Giant. As the little ones, who had accompanied their mammas (and in one case their dada), jumped and laughed and squealed and sang, the infectious enthusiasm and unbridled energy held the parents in thrall.

I think I could finally get the message across that Parenting is not only about anxiety and apprehension, about fretting and fuming, it can also have its moments of unadulterated mirth and undiluted madness…

Effective Parenting: A New Paradigm
By Ramendra Kumar
is now

Parenting is not only about anxiety & apprehension, it can also have its moments of unadulterated mirth & madness. http://t.co/GsmjnaBQTb

— Learning&Creativity (@LearnNCreate) September 22, 2014

About the Author

Ramendra Kumar ( 120 Posts)

Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning writer, performance storyteller and inspirational speaker with 49 books. His writings have been translated into 32 languages and included in 26 textbooks and many anthologies in various countries. Ramen has written across all genres ranging from picture books to adult fiction, satire, poetry, travelogues, biographies and on issues related to parenting and relationships. His writings have been published by the major publishing houses in India. His books brought out by National Book Trust (NBT), India have notched up sales of more than 4.9 lakh copies in just one year. Ramen has been invited to several international literary festivals as well as Indian events such as Jaipur Litfest and seminars organised by Sahitya Akademi and IGNOU. The author has won a total of 41 awards in the competition for writers of children’s literature organised by Children’s Book Trust (CBT) over the years, which is among the highest by any writer. Ramen was chosen as the ‘Author and Storyteller of the Year’ (2022), on ‘Talking Stories’, London, UK’s number one Radio Programme dedicated to the art of storytelling. He was nominated as a Jury Member for the Best Children’s Author Category of The Times of India’s ‘Women AutHer’ Awards, 2020. Ramen was also selected as a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy. An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramen is an Engineer & an MBA. He and his inspiration, his wife Madhavi, were General Managers at SAIL, when they took Voluntary Retirement to pursue their respective passions. Their children are bonsai celebrities in their own right. While Ankita is a youth icon and a travel blogger with an Instagram following of 296 K, Aniket creates cool Apps and designs covers for his dad’s books. Ramen is now a Cancer warrior and an inspiration to many. His website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
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