SKParenting Sizzlers with Vasantha Vivek

From technical to blogging and then parenting, Viveka’s journey has been stellar. You’ll find her blogs all over the web and her insights life changing indeed. We caught up with her and she got talking…

SKParenting Sizzlers with Vasantha Vivek

Name: Vasantha Vivek

Designation: Blogger, Content Creator, Freelance Writer

Blog: My Sweet Nothings

Parent to: Mitesh, 14-year-old

Family details: Vivek works as an HR Corporate Manager at South Africa. Myself stay at home mom and blogger of my teen naughty son Mithu.

Background (what your usual life is like, in brief): As I always enjoy reading, my house is full of books. We are a reading family. Also, I enjoy cooking. Mostly I will be found either cooking, reading or blogging.

SKP Q1. How have you built a relational bridge with your children?

Vasantha: Like all mothers, I would also love to be his friend first then this mother. I always ensure to be available for all his needs at any time. The bond which we build during their early days makes the relationship stronger. And for us, Story Telling time helped much for building our relational bridge.

SKP Q2. What top five values do you feel most compelled to instill in your kids?

Vasantha: Compassion, Empathy, Self Confidence, Resilience, and Mindfulness.

SKP Q3. What life skills would you like your kids to develop this year?

Vasantha: Time Management. I think this is the only life skill he seems to be lacking now. So I would like him to develop this year.

SKP Q4. In what ways have your kids exceeded your expectations?

Vasantha: Being cool always. He used to say that he never had mood off in his lifetime. And it’s true. His mantra is ” It’s ok to be not ok, Amma”. So this attitude of ” Mr Cool” has exceeded my expectations.

SKP Q5. What is your greatest area of weakness as a parent?

Vasantha: At his earlier stage, I was not able to handle motherhood calmly and patiently. My work and family situation made me go into depression. I feel so sorry for not being a compassionate mom during his early stage. But with many failures and pitfalls, learnt the art of parenting now.

SKP Q6. What is your greatest area of strength as a parent?

Vasantha: I always respect my son’s feelings. And I’m sure his decisions won’t go wrong. I trust him for who he is. I wanted to make all his dream come true. Enjoy Parenting Happily. Life is not a video game, and you don’t have any choice to restart it, pause it or delete it !!! So you have to accept and live your life as a parent. Then why can’t you live as a happy parent? The key to Parental Happiness lies in keeping yourself happy and powerful always. This will, in turn, keep your family happy and powerful too.

SKP Q7. In what ways do you hope to be different?

Vasantha: Parenting is the toughest yet most enjoyable journey. You should not worry about the destination but you should enjoy the journey as you travel through. There were times when I cared not to know about my son but went on yelling that he should understand me. How poor was my parenting attitude???

When I was a working mom, I used to hear from many, that my son seemed to be a hyperactive child. Also, I have never gone to any place without getting a complaint about him for his naughtiness and over-talkative behaviour. So I hesitated even for going out with him. Then slowly, I researched and learnt from the net about Mindful Parenting.

Many methods, I tried with him and got a mix of hit and fail results. But all are learning only. In the whole period, I never ever compared my son to anybody. Now he’s such a good lovable teen. Very proud momma moment. All these happened because I made a big decision to be a Mindful Stay At Home Mom (MSAHM), some 5 years back.

My Parenting Mantra – Mindful Parenting To Raise My Words And Not My Voice

SKP Q8. How authentically do you speak with your kids?

Vasantha: Here’s a list of mommy’s resolutions to my son.

Mithu, My boy, I Love You So Much …. You mean the world to me ….
I resolve to offer you unconditional love always with lots of hugs.
I resolve to be more patient than before.
I resolve to set positive boundaries and limits.
I resolve to spend quality time with you daily without any excuses.
I resolve to say no when needed and I should mean it.
I resolve to raise you as a strong, self-assured, confident person.
I resolve to be your friend, not your parent.
I resolve to have more sense of humour and fun with you.
I resolve to cook healthy meals.
I resolve to keep myself cool in any hard situations too.
I resolve to set holistic family environment.
I resolve to be available for you when you really need me.
I resolve to support all your efforts by all means.
I resolve to be your role model.
I resolve to enjoy everything in this world with you.

Vasantha’s Review of SmartyKidsParenting.com :

The website is a boon to new age moms. It discusses a wide range of topics on family and parenting. And the videos of smart Aurius are amazing. Looking forward to more such thought-provoking articles.