7 Eternal Truths for Raising Happy Humans

Dr. Karishma Stretton is a doctor and medical educator who has focused her attention on parenting. Here she speaks with Elizabeth Denley about her new book, and the timeless wisdom that will help us to raise happy and well-adjusted children.

- By Elizabeth Denley

Q: Hi, Karishma, welcome to Heartfulness Magazine.

Hello, Elizabeth. It's lovely to be talking to you. Thanks for your time.

Q: We're here to talk about your book, Parenting Homo Sapiens: The Seven Eternal Truths for Raising Happy Humans. A great title and a hot topic, so first tell us about yourself, and why you're interested in this.

I'm a wife and mother of two daughters, and we live in Sydney, Australia. After graduating with a medical degree, I worked at Nepean Hospital, and then moved to education at the University of Notre Dame, where I taught medical students.

Right now, I spend most of my time with my children, and am very involved with their education.

Q: Tell us about your book, Karishma.

The inspiration came after the birth of my eldest daughter. I was a young working mother. There was so much information available on parenting, and I was determined to distill the essence of it all.

At that time I worked long hours as a doctor at Nepean Hospital, with very few holidays. The environment required me to suppress the fact that I was also a mother, and commit my full attention to the job. I'm sure many women relate to a high-pressured work environment. Denying my role as a mother at work was very confronting. It made me question what I was doing, and what effect this would have on my children, my husband, my family, and myself.

Are there common threads to effective parenting methods?