Actor Kajol lately opened up about her expertise with motherhood and the way her kids have taught her shocking life classes in sudden moments. Chatting with Bollywood Bubble, she shared how arguments together with her children, particularly round meals, was moments of non-public progress and introspection.
“Let me let you know, a lot of the fights between me and my children have occurred on the eating desk,” she mentioned. Reflecting on one such disagreement together with her daughter Nysa, Kajol shared, “So many instances there have been situations the place, you understand, typically I look again and particularly with regards to meals… At one level, I realised, Nysa checked out me and mentioned, ‘Mother, simply calm down. I do know what I’m doing, and I’ll eat after I’m hungry.’ And I checked out her and thought, sure, she is going to eat when she’s hungry. She’s lived in a boarding faculty, gone to London. And she or he’s nonetheless alive and doing wonderful. She’s comfortable, she’s thriving, so clearly, she’s finished one thing proper.”
Kajol additionally admitted how her kids challenged her views and altered her in methods she hadn’t anticipated. “I’m a really opinionated individual… and to vary my opinion, you would want to debate with me and persuade me that what you’re saying and considering is correct. I feel the true shock got here when my kids may try this to me with out saying an excessive amount of… only one line or one look. I don’t imagine I’m being smug after I say I’m mom. However sure, to be a greater individual, typically I’ve turn out to be a greater individual as a result of my kids have taught me learn how to be higher.”
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Why accomplish that many parent-child energy struggles occur round meals and mealtime, and the way can mother and father handle these conflicts?
Sonal Khangarot, licensed rehabilitation counsellor and psychotherapist, The Reply Room, says, “Dinner is often the one time households pause all the pieces, to return collectively. That pause makes the desk an area loaded with expectations. For fogeys, feeding is an act of affection. For youngsters, it might really feel like strain or management. So when a toddler refuses to eat or insists on selections, it’s not often nearly starvation; it’s about asserting autonomy.”
She continues, “As a therapist, I typically counsel shifting the main target from ‘how a lot’ or ‘what’ a toddler eats to ‘how’ the meal feels. Create rituals round meals, laying the desk collectively, and sharing a excessive and low of the day. Provide selections throughout the construction. When mealtimes are protected and versatile, the ability battle fades, and connection takes centre stage — precisely what we’re all craving.”
What does it take for a mum or dad to be taught from their little one genuinely?
For a mum or dad to genuinely be taught from their little one, Khangarot notes, it takes humility, curiosity, and a willingness to let go of the concept that age equals authority. As kids develop into younger adults, they start forming identities, opinions, and values of their very own — and this may problem long-held parental beliefs. However it’s additionally an invite to develop collectively.
When mother and father practise actual listening, not simply listening to, however receiving and responding with presence, they create house for honesty and connection. “Psychology defines listening as an lively strategy of absorbing and making that means of what’s being mentioned. Receptive listening, particularly, permits kids to really feel seen relatively than corrected. This shift — from parenting as instructing to parenting as relating — helps the connection evolve. It nurtures mutual respect and creates an surroundings the place each mum or dad and little one can proceed studying from each other, strengthening their bond by the transitions of life,” says the knowledgeable.
