Bollywood films still have a long way to go in portraying some good examples. But many Bollywood celebs have taught us to be good parents and shared a few tips too.
Being a celeb and a parent is a daunting task, and a few celebrities have mastered this art. Let’s see how they fulfill their parental duties.
1. Kajol
Kajol has offered a lot of honest parenting tips in the past. She shared a genuine piece of parenting advice and said:
You’re definitely not going to love your children all the time. If you manage 60%, you have a fantastic relationship with your kids. And that 40% is going to be when they throw tantrums when you throw tantrums. So 60-65% is fab.
She also talked about the best parenting advice given to her by her mother Tanuja and said:
You have to make your children think for themselves. They have to learn how to think for themselves, make their own decisions, and find out whether they can live with their consequences or not. That is the only way they will learn whether this decision is the correct thing for them.
2. Sushmita Sen
Sushmita Sen adopted two daughters, Alisah and Renee, and believes parenting is a beautiful combination of being a student and a teacher. She highlighted the importance of discipline and said:
It’s not all as romantic and beautiful as they say. Being a parent is a beautiful combination of being a student and a teacher. It’s about learning and unlearning and both teaching your child and learning as a parent.
3. Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor, who also wrote a pregnancy bible, talked about gender-equal parenting and said:
We need to look after our girls just as well as we look after our boys. As females ourselves, it is incredibly sad that baby girls do not always get the same care that baby boys do. If your baby girl becomes unwell, get help for them just as quickly as you would do for a boy.
4. Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek’s parenting mantra is pretty simple, and here’s what it is:
As a parent, it is not about material goods. The gifts a parent can give the children are love, care, education, and understanding. These are the most important gifts any parent can give.
5. Malaika Arora
Malaika and Arbaaz are co-parents to Arhaan Khan. She emphasized how mothers should take care of themselves too and said:
I believe a lot of mothers forget about themselves while trying to take care of their families. They become too selfless. I feel every woman should be a little selfish in a good way. There will always be a hundred things to do but you must remember to give some time to yourself too. Treat yourself for all the hard work that you put in; go for a spa or on a shopping spree, whatever makes you happy. Don’t always compromise; keep some time for yourself too.
6. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Aishwarya had a beautiful piece of advice. She talked about how children should feel comfortable being themselves and said:
I’m not here to dictate to her or choose life for her. I’m here to be her mom in a way, which I’m discovering on a day-to-day basis. I just want to see her happy, healthy, and grow to be a secure person. A person who is comfortable being herself. You see God through your child and that’s what you want to experience for her, with her, and through her.
7. Twinkle Khanna
Twinkle Khanna’s unique perspective on parenting hit all the right chords, and we agree with her.
We teach our children to study hard, to strive to succeed, but do we teach them that it’s okay to fail? That life is about accepting yourself? That there is no stigma in seeking help? Our Indian culture is based on worshipping our parents. We grow up listening to words like respect, obedience, and tradition. Can we not add the words communication, unconditional love, and support to this list?
8. Shah Rukh Khan
The King of Bollywood, SRK, talked about how parents should owe up to their responsibility.
Our children are not our responsibility. They are a measure of our capabilities When someone says ‘my kid is such a problem’. I want to tell them don’t look at them as that. Because actually, their ‘issues’ are a call to our potential. A source of telling us we can exceed our energies more than we know.
9. Sussanne Khan
Sussanne and Hrithik are co-parents to Hridaan and Hrehaan Roshan. In an old interview, Sussanne talked about we should treat kids as equals and said:
From the beginning, Hrithik and I have believed that children need to be treated as equals and as your friends. Your child is absorbing what is around him, so we take care of what we say in front of the children because before we know it, they are repeating random words! You do not have to be rigid with your child, let him follow his own path—whether it is what career he wants to take up or what religion he wants to practice.
10. Akshay Kumar
Akshay spoke about how he ensures his kids are grounded and don’t take anything for granted.
No one gets out of their pram in our house. Tina and I are both very grounded people. There are no starry, starry moments allowed in our home. We both make sure that no matter what we have or we can provide for our children, nothing and no one is taken for granted.
Read: From Parag Agrawal to Virat Kohli, 8 Dads Who Took Paternity Leave & Shared Responsibility.
