A Fine Parent

A Life Skills Blog Exclusively For Parents

101 Easy Ways to Show Your Kids Just How Absolutely Loved They Are

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(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

101 Ways to Love Your Child

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon.

My daughter was reading a book, I was folding laundry and there was music playing in the background.

I was humming to myself along with the music, when she looked up from her book and smiled at me. I smiled back and playfully replaced the words in the song I was humming with “I love you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

It was one of those silly, goofy, whim-of-the-moment things. But she beamed. Her smile could have lit up a city block. For a long while after she returned to her book, she still had the smile plastered on her face.

And I couldn’t help but think — we have literally hundreds of simple ways to show our kids how much we love them! During simple watercolor moments like these. And during the not-so-simple, definitely-not-watercolor moments as well.

So, I decided to make a list of all the different ways we can show our kids our unconditional love for them… during the times everything is nice and beautiful. And during those other times when things aren’t going quite as well.

Check it out –

[Read more…]

Positive Parenting in a Box:
Connected Hearts Journal

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(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

For about a year now, I’ve worked with many of you to put together a beautiful, custom-designed, parent-child journal. It is time now for the big unveiling…

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Note: The print versions of the journal are SOLD OUT! I don’t have plans to reprint them at the moment. You can however get the downloadable PDF version of the Connected Hearts Journal HERE.

The “Executive Summary” Version

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And all this while requiring just a few minutes of your time, and done at whatever pace that works for your family’s schedule.

Got elementary school-aged kids? Then you don’t want to miss this!

What Makes the Connected Hearts Journal So Special?

You can walk into any bookstore and pick up a journal. So what makes this journal special? (And why should you absolutely get one for your kids? 🙂 )

The devil is in the details. And we have spared no effort. [Read more…]

A Personal Story:
Life, Goals and Gobi Manchurian

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(This article is part of the Wisdom From the Trenches series. Get free article updates here.)

Personal Story - Life, Goals and Gobi Manchurian - Main ImageDo you believe in the power of stories?

I do.

And today, on the almost-3rd anniversary of this blog (it’s on Oct 7th, woot!), I want to share with you a story that has driven some of the biggest decisions of my life in the recent years and helped me turn my life around.

This is a story from my college days.

As many of you know, I was born and raised in India. The culture and lifestyle there, particularly 20+ years back was very different than it is here now.

Back in India, parents fund children’s college years. There are no jobs for students to do to earn an income. You learn to make do with whatever allowance your parents give you.

I am a middle child from a middle-class family. My years in college overlapped those of my sisters… first my older sister and then my younger sister. Consequently, the allowances we received were pretty meager.

I didn’t think too much about it at the time though. It was the norm. Most students fell into one of two distinct classes — the “rich” or the “others”.

I firmly belonged among the “others” and for the most part, I was perfectly fine with it.

During the first years of my college, I received an allowance of Rs. 800 (USD 12) per month, and a little more in the later years. Out of this Rs. 600 – Rs. 650 would go towards my board (a small room shared with two others), food and electric bills. That left me with roughly Rs. 150 – Rs. 200 (about USD 2.25 – USD 3) to for all other expenses — from books to tampons.

The cost of living in India 20 years back was quite low. But still, Rs. 200 didn’t go very far. Ever the resourceful, we — the “others” — made up with creativity what we lacked in the financial department. [Read more…]

8 Fascinating Insights from Psychology Research That Will Make You a Better Parent

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(This article is part of the Research Insights series. Get free article updates here.)

Psychology Research - Main PicDo your kids sometimes exhibit completely unexpected and irrational behavior?

Heck, do you sometimes do the same?

Psychologists have been studying human behavior and our minds for eons and some of the things they’ve discovered are fascinating.

I love reading about these studies that explain some of our crazy, cooky behavior! And while not all of the studies that I’ve come across are related to parenting, I find that their insights can nevertheless be applied to our day-to-day parenting choices to make us much better parents.

So today, I decided to consolidate some of these studies in one place. I hope you find them as fascinating as I do.

Alright, here we go –

#1 Marshmallow Experiment

[Read more…]

On Unconditional Love, Vulnerability, Being Non-Judgemental and More

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(This article is part of the Wisdom From the Trenches series. Get free article updates here.)

On Unconditional Love, Vulnerability, Being Non-Judgemental and More - Main PosterHave you even met someone who seem like they are very different from you, but before you know it, they touch your life in irrevocable ways and inspire you to be a better version of yourself?

One such person in my life is Lori Deschene.

Lori is the founder of Tiny Buddha, a site I frequent for the touching stories about life, love and healing shared authentically by people just like you and me.

During a particularly rough patch in my life, a mentor suggested I should find a creative outlet.  Knowing my love for Tiny Buddha, he asked “Why don’t you write for Tiny Buddha?”

It was well before I started this blog.

I just laughed.

I’m not a writer. Millions of people read Tiny Buddha. Surely Lori, the founder of the site, is too busy to even consider an article from an amateur like me.

The idea was just absurd.

After much dragging of feet though, I decided to give it a shot anyway.

Just as I expected, Lori turned down my article.

What I didn’t expect however was how gentle she was about the rejection, and how encouraging she was that I should try again.

[Read more…]