ParentEdge Magazine - November - December 2015

In this issue

The parenting journey is fraught with anxiety and situations of self-doubt. At ParentEdge, we address the top-of-the-mind concerns of parents, discuss the latest developments and trends,demystify systems and concepts and so on. Education is a prime concern for all parents and an area where we make significant investments of money, time and energy. A natural outcome is the trend of reports with school and college rankings. How can we use these well? The Cover Story dwells on this. Every street seems to have a ‘Montessori House of Children’. While some of us may wonder what Montessori is, others may have certain perceptions of the system – the Demystifying Education article attempts to separate the myths from the facts. As parents we are concerned with tracking our child’s growth and well-being. But are we using supplements wisely or mindlessly? This issue’s Wellness article outlines the situations and phases in a child’s life when supplements are essential, and when they may actually be harmful. What are the unique challenges faced by adoptive families? Let us understand these through the Family Matters article. We caution our children not to blindly follow trends or happening’ things. But we are ourselves often carried away by media blitz and Internet advice when it comes to choosing our diet – we are tempted to jump onto the olive oil or quinoa bandwagon. The Nutrition article explores the facts behind these trending foods and suggests using locally grown, less expensive alternatives that give the same nutritional benefits.
Where do we draw the line between being an involved parent and a hyper parent or helicopter parent? Are we mollycoddling and spoon feeding our children too much?
We are often left wondering this. The Parenting Quotient article has a quiz that will help you diagnose this, and take corrective action. The article in the Everyday Parenting section takes this theme further, outlining the day-to-day steps to take to make our children self-reliant.