Twinkle Khanna has offered a fresh take on modern parenting, telling an audience at the launch of her new book Mrs Funnybones Returns that she often relies on tears to manage her children’s screen time.
“I cry, if that helps. I stand at the doorstep and cry. I think that's the only solution I can offer,” Khanna said during an interaction at the event, attended by actress Sharmila Tagore, publisher Chiki Sarkar and dancer Geeta Chandran.
Responding to a question on parenting challenges, she added that bribing the wifi technician once seemed like a workable tactic, but quickly proved unsustainable. “Crying is the only thing that works,” she said.
Khanna, mother to 23-year-old Aarav and 13-year-old Nitara, contrasted the pressures on today’s parents with her own childhood with sister Rinke, raised by actor Dimple Kapadia.
Back then, she said, responsibilities were limited to meals, homework and braided hair. “If you could manage all that, your work was done… What they did after that didn’t matter,” she recalled, describing carefree trips to the beach and impromptu performances for visiting guests.
Today’s mothers, Khanna said, shoulder a far heavier load. “You're like a psychologist… their trainer… their nutritionist… their chef… an educator… and you are also their screen monitor. And you still have to make the hair along with that. I think our mothers had it much easier.”
Mrs Funnybones Returns, published by Juggernaut, follows her 2015 bestseller Mrs Funnybones and draws from Khanna’s weekly columns on work, family and everyday life.
Khanna, also the author of Pyjamas are Forgiving, Welcome to Paradise and The Legend of Laxmiprasad and Other Stories, said those close to her sometimes fear winding up in her writing, where her husband Akshay Kumar appears as “man of the house”, her son as “the prodigal son” and her daughter as “Miss Smarty Pants”.
She described herself as less judgmental with age, valuing empathy and loyalty in relationships.