Indian Parents & Counselling: What Makes It So Difficult?

“Therapy is a western concept; it doesn’t apply to us Indians!”

“You are just inspired by all these American TV shows, you are fine, stop overthinking!”

“You want to go to a brain doctor? Are you mad or what?”

These are some of the most common reactions Indian parents have given every time their children or someone tries to tell them that they need to see a mental health profession. Even before the conversation takes shape, it gets shut down by these statements, and followed by a long lecture on how they never had to rush to therapist every time they were stuck somewhere or felt bad.

The final insult to injury would be them comparing the therapist’s fees with that of a physician and making their point on how it is a very costly affair.

But our counsellors who are experts in couple and family counselling in Ahmedabad at We Positive Parenting believe that it’s NOT OUR PARENTS’ FAULT. There is a massive generational gap between us and our parents and our children too. And with Indian parents, the idea of seeking counselling is a concept that they have only seen in American and English movies and TV shows, and the stigma around it only makes it worse.

So, how do we make Indian parents come to terms with the fact that seeking help is completely okay and that they should further support their children rather that deride them?

What does counselling involve?

First of all, let’s try to understand what counselling means and what processes are involved in it. Counselling is a therapeutic practice which involves talking and working out solutions for the various personal and professional problems, seek clarity on the various challenges you are facing. This, is conducted through multiple sessions by a mental health professional like a psychologist or psychotherapist who help you explore options, increaseself-awareness and develop habits that add to or improve your lifestyle.

What makes it so difficult for the parents to understand?

There are various factors involved here, that have shaped a thought in our parents’ minds about therapy and counselling. The first and foremost being, lack of awareness.

The times when our parents grew up were starkly different times, riddled heavily with problems like patriarchy, inequality, economic turmoil, and of course lack of access to resources to educate themselves about mental health and its importance. Due to these challenges, talking about mental health or caring for it never even featured in their list of priorities.

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A Healthy Pregnancy Guide for Expecting Mothers

“Do I really have to eat food for two now?”,

“Can I exercise?”,

“Why am I so tired all the time”,

“Is this even good for me and my baby?”.

An expecting mother has a lot of questions in her mind. What to do and what not to do, she is always stuck between these questions while everyone around shares their own unsolicited tips and tricks.

The parenting professionals from We Positive Parenting, offering prenatal guidance in Ahmedabad have come up with this health guide for mothers-to-be

What should you do as a soon to be mother?

1) Have a healthy diet

An expecting mother should eat 5 to 6 meals every day. And these meals should be well-balanced.

A nutritious and well-balanced diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and iron-rich food, that includes protein, vitamin A, C & D, calcium, potassium, folic acid, iron and adequate fat etc. They are as below:

Vegetables	Fruits	Dairy
Beans	Mangoes	Fat-free milk
Peas	Bananas	Low-fat yogurt
Carrots	Apricots	Skimmed or 1% milk
Sweet Potatoes	Oranges	Soy milk
Pumpkin
Spinach

Aim to drink at least eight or more cups of water each day. Remember, avoid overeating as an expecting mother’s body needs only 300-500 additional calories per day. Moreover, avoid coffee as increasing dose of daily caffeine intake during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage as well.

Maintaining a food diary can be very helpful.

2) Exercise regularly, but don’t overdo it!

It is completely safe for an expecting mother to do basic exercises regularly. Many mothers-to-be fear increasing the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, or early delivery due to exercising and end up avoiding them completely. We suggest you take the guidance of your doctor and gynaecologist and start working out as advised by them.

Experts suggest brisk walking, water workouts, and cycling on a stationary bike as some of the safest exercises for pregnant women. Remember do not exercise out in the open. Wear loose clothes and workout in a temperature-controlled room to avoid becoming overheated. Consume an ample amount of water post workout every time.

3) Get enough sleep & rest

Pregnancy can be physically tiring and mentally draining. Mothers often complain of lack of sleep due to the discomfort from the changes occurring in their body.

Ample sleep is very important for the mother and the offspring.Kathy Lee, a professor of nursing at the University of California San Francisco studied how pregnancy affects sleep. In the conclusion of her study she stated that to assure adequate sleep, health care providers should prescribe 8 hours of bed time during pregnancy.

In order to get good sleep, develop a relaxing bedtime routine. Try to avoid electronics for at least an hour before you go to sleep and use a maternity pillow to support your back and knees while doing so. Yoga and mindfulness meditation also help in getting good sleep.

To avoid having leg cramps while sleeping, consume a lot of water. Apart from that try to limit caffeine intake in the diet as it reduces total sleep time and efficiency.

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5 reasons why you shouldn’t hit your child

Don’t answer back, else I’ll give you a tight slap!

This has been the standard reaction from parents towards their children, when they respond back with denial or defy their advice and ideas. What parents from that generation never understood is that this style of disciplining can have serious effects on their children for the longest time.

A study on Effective Discipline to Raise Healthy Children published in the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics further states that physical punishment is linked to an increased risk of negative behavioural, cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional outcomes for children.

Let’s look at why corporal punishment, or hitting children to discipline them is not the right way, and some words of advice from Ahmedabad’s best parent counsellor at We Positive Parenting

a) Corporal punishment weakens the bond between the parent & child

Hitting a child will never teach that the road they are on is unsafe. It instead plants the seed in their mind that the person hitting them is unsafe to be with. This is one of the reasons why children who were brought up with corporate punishment start distancing themselves from their parents as they grow up.

It is human nature to dislike someone who hurts. Hence, when a parent hits their child, it drives an emotional wedge between them. The practice may look like it’s working on the child. But it only produces superficial good behaviour in the child, which is born out of fear. When parents showcase their authority on the basis of fear, the child tends to lose respect for them.

On the other hand, a bond based on love, respect and empathy grows stronger with time.

b) It makes children more aggressive

The Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment conducted to study the Impact of observed violence on children’s behaviour showed that children imitate or copy the aggressive behaviour of adults around them. If they see an adult acting aggressively, they are likely to act aggressively even when the adult model is not present. This means, when parents hit their child, the child can become a hitter eventually. Moreover, when kids or teenagers are not able to get even with their parents, they take their aggression out on others.

Hence, it is important for parents to set an example of empathy, towards them and others, in front of their kids.

c) It harms the self-esteem of the children

“Stop crying or I’ll hit you again”.

When children hear such comments from their parents, they tend to feel helpless. Their self-worth is damaged by the actions of their parents as they feel like their cries for help are being ignored and they are being humiliated by the people who are supposed to love and protect them. They not only feel betrayed but also feel like they don’t have any control over their own life.

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6 Tips for Parents of Children with Special Needs

The birth of a child brings joy into the lives of the parents and their families. But not every child is born in the healthiest form. They require special needs, attention and care while growing up, and a large majority of parents in India do not have the knowledge or the resources for it.

Our qualified parenting counsellors in Ahmedabad at We Positive Parenting understand these challenges and have come up with a list of 6 tips for parents with children requiring special needs, to help them in their upbringing and make their lives easier and harmonious.

1. Ask for help

You may have heard it, but it is worth repeating. ‘Asking for help does not mean you are weak’. Rather than struggling to figure out your child’s special needs all by yourself, seek help. Open up and talk about it to gather more and more information. There are high chances of you realising that your parenting techniques were right all along, but all you just needed more information on it and some support to sail through.

And the best way to get started is by seeking help from a parenting counsellor or guide. They are equipped with the knowledge, experience and resources to help you and your child.

2. Join support groups

We know, it gets frustrating, when people with absolutely no idea about your struggles as a parent of a special needs child start giving you advice on how to do parenting.

Knowledge grows when knowledge is shared. And challenges become easier to achieve when they’re shared with like-minded people. We always encourage parents with special needs to be part of various support groups where other parents with similar challenges and struggles come together.

Joining such groups or communities will make you realise that other people are also walking the same path as you. This will help you discover their coping strategies and new resources. Moreover, you will also get support from other parents who ‘actually get it’ and learn how to seek hope and strength by their stories.

You can feel free to get in touch with our parent counsellors at We Positive Parenting to know about such groups for parenting in Ahmedabad or in your city of residence.

3. Take breaks

Taking a break does not mean you do not care for your child. Your body just needs to take rest regularly as mental exhaustion is a thing. Don’t over work yourself and give yourself a chance to recuperate. Be it drinking coffee in silence, be it reading a book or be it just lying down to rest. Recharge yourself by doing what you like.

You can even put your child in a stroller or wheelchair and take a walk with a friend. Both you and also your kid will benefit from the change of the scenery. And it gets refreshing to break away from the monotony of you everyday tasks

The parenting guides at We Positive Parenting have also created special programmes to help parents of children with special needs to learn how to deal with stress and the additional responsibilities.

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