What’s the Best Gift You Can Give Your Child? Is it love ? Education ? Pocket money ? A cell phone , perhaps? Each of these has its place. But if you ask me, the greatest gift we can give our children is independence — the space to explore, make decisions, take risks, and learn from real-world experiences. In short, to grow by doing , not just by listening. 🌆 The Urban Irony In today’s urban life, we often work in reverse . We overprotect our children under the guise of care and security. We want them to succeed, yet we hesitate to let them stumble , even a little. Let me give you a simple example. Imagine asking a child to go to a stationary shop — just across the street — to buy a pen. In many households, this would raise a chorus of objections: “The traffic is too dangerous.” “It’s not safe.” “What if the shopkeeper cheats them?” “The maid can go.” “Besides, my kid is super smart — he ordered a ₹5000 shoe online for his dad!” Do you see the irony? We t...

🌍 What Should We Really Do on World Environment Day? Every year, we celebrate World Environment Day by planting saplings, writing blogs, conducting environmental quizzes, or organizing painting competitions. These activities are important — but are they enough? What do we do for the environment the rest of the year? And more importantly, how do we teach our children the real value of trees and sustainable living ? Watching nature documentaries or listening to lectures may create momentary awareness, but do they leave a lasting impact? 🌱 A Real-Life Environmental Education Example from Bhutan My son recently shared a simple yet eye-opening anecdote his teacher told him — one that made me rethink how we approach environmental education. In Bhutan , young students are each given a tree sapling to plant and care for. This isn’t a one-day activity — students are responsible for the tree’s growth throughout their school years, sometimes up to 10th grade . Their academic performan...