'Parents Don't Have To Be Perfect'

Parenting, says mom, actor and author Soha Ali Khan, is not always rainbows and unicorns, especially when one juggles multiple responsibilities.

She is, she confesses, "impatient" sometimes and even loses her "temper" but adds that it is okay to make mistakes as parents.

Soha has a clear understanding of what would work best for daughter Inaaya and this, she says, stems from her and her husband Kunal Khemu's individual life experiences.

She also credits her mother, the lovely Sharmila Tagore, for her role in helping Inaaya evolve.

"Children understand that imperfection is a part of life and a part of our personalities. And the idea is not to try and be perfect (but) accept who you are," Soha tells Mayur Sanap/Rediff.com.

Being part of a big family -- and Soha belongs to an extended clan -- she says gives children "a rounder approach to life; they are not just a reflection of you or your husband".

At the same time, she confesses, she has also had the experience of being part of a nuclear family.

Here's what she has to say about both:

"Every child," says Soha, "is a superstar in their family."

The pressure increases when they are children of celebrities and the paparazzi haunt their every move.

How then does Soha, as a parent, keep her daughter's childhood 'normal'?

 

Gadgets and screen time are an unavoidable reality today, a battle fought daily between parents and children.

But Soha and Kunal ensure that their daughter still enjoys the offline world.

 

When two different people come together for a common goal like parenting, the challenge lies in how they successfully combine their own unique dreams and aspirations for their child.

"Kunal and I are both very different because we both have had different experiences of growing up.

"As a parent, you remember what it was like for you and you tend to either emulate it or do something completely opposite."

Asked to share what she is good at, and what Kunal is good at, when it comes to Inaaya, this is what a smiling Soha had to say:

Who we are as parents is often defined by how we were parented.

And Sharmila Tagore was, says Soha of her mother...

As a parent, says Soha, "I have to be the strict one."

Her mother, as the grandparent, can be "indulgent".

But, says Soha, she has received important parenting advice from Sharmilaji.

 

Effective parenting hacks are always welcome.

Here are Soha's...

 

If there is one thing Soha would like her daughter to know about her, this is what it is: