When I first arrived in the UK as a Masters student, the first couple of weeks were not only trying but even made me want to catch the next flight back home. It was a new place with a different social fabric and lifestyle. But as I slowly settled down and started...
As a parent, you always want the best for your children. You always want to give them the best of everything, whether it’s food, clothes, or education. You get them the best gifts that you can afford on their birthdays and work hard to give them a comfortable...
Typically, when adults feel stressed, the usual retort is “I feel stressed” or “I need a break”. But when younger children use words like “I am scared”, “I feel confused” or “I am sad”, it’s time to read between the lines as kids don’t use the S-word or have the...
What do kids love most in a story? And who can answer this question better than all of us? The best critics of course — Children Themselves! In 2015, a survey conducted by Butlins in the UK revealed some startling facts about what kids find endearing in a story. The...
As adults, many of us relish the very thought of dropping off to bed early, lazy hours in bed, and long lie-ins. But convincing children to call it a day and unwind at bedtime can be a trying time with a capital T. An easy-to-implement way of comforting children at...
The other day I was talking with my friend Dani and he said to me “A few days ago, I finished reading ‘The Little Prince’ to my two daughters. It has been years since I last read it so naturally, I did not remember the whole plot. What got me by surprise was that I...
What is common between a person who loves cave paintings and someone who is a social media butterfly? Or what is the common thread linking someone who digs paleography and one hooked to the latest gadgetry? If we look closer home, do you find any similarity between...
Just a reminder of why it is so important to read together, parents and children. This is true, not only for the very young ones. Reading to children has been shown to be extremely beneficial also for children up to later ages, even 12 years old: Foster &...
We all have that one friend who is an engaging storyteller and the life of all parties. And some of us who are as good a storyteller as Queen Scheherazade of 1001 Arabian Nights fame, might even be able to save our skin and get out of a life and death situation. But I...
Have you ever wondered about the story behind storytelling? Or how did it all start, particularly before the discovery of the written word or even a spoken language for that matter? As a writer I often resort to imagery and paint pictures with words but how did...