LIFE AS IT IS

"For a working mother to be able to successfully blend and balance work and family lives, the key ingredients are planning, planning, and planning. Even during normal times, this involved setting out a basic routine for myself and the kids for weekdays, and even weekends," said Nadia Tabassum, regional manager at Unilever Bangladesh, and mother of three boys aged 11, 7, and 3. "I thrive on routine and for me, a single unplanned day can truly create havoc!" So, one of the biggest hurdles that working mothers like Tabassum faced, especially in the early days of the pandemic, was the complete meltdown of all established routines. The Daily Star link Career women have always shouldered a heavy burden of responsibilities and social expectations, long before COVID-19 was a thing. A working woman was already juggling work, family, and life, but at the onset of the pandemic, their responsibilities suddenly increased. Overnight, a working mother became a teacher and a childc...

These are the books 📚  my 7-year-old finished reading in this lockdown...  Here goes the list:  ~ The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton ~ The Secret Seven series by Enid Blyton ~ Amelia Bedelia chapter book set ~ Roald Dahl complete collection ~ The Secrets of Droon book series ~ Magic Tree House book series  ~ Junie B. Jones book series These pictures here do not include, obviously, the couple of hundred e-books that she read on Epic! I want to congratulate myself on her achievement, even if no one else congratulates me on this. But the truth is, a lot of people did praise me and congratulated me when I shared with them these photos. As a parent, I would like to encourage you to sow the seed of love of reading in your child. If that seed ever germinates, your child will never get bored easily. I know every child is different, but I also know that when we were kids, all my friends and cousins loved to read. Reading was our favorite pastime. And that helped most of u...

The sign outside the gym door says that children are not allowed inside. But I pretend I cannot read English when I hit my proximity card key fob on the gym door to allow me in. Why? Because I have no other choice but to ignore this particular sign.  When my husband is at work, there is no one at home I can leave my toddler with. But does that mean I cannot workout out every day or at least a few times a week. Won't that be unfair to a full-time mum  who wishes to stay fit and healthy? Well, I certainly think it will be.  Photo: Google Images I have never noticed if there are hidden close circuit TV cameras inside the gym, but even if there are, the property managers either do not monitor them regularly, or pretend to ignore the presence of a two-year-old visitor inside their gym. Kindhearted people, I must admit.  The Daily Star My toddler, however, is not nearly as kindhearted as the property managers. She does not care to show compassion to m...