Dr Malavika Desai, actress Churni Ganguly and Rita Bhimani interact with residents of Koyla Vihar at the GoodLife Talk Show on Sunday evening; (right) Churni Ganguly at the same venue. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

With temperatures taking a quick dip, Sunday evening was meant to be spent indoors with family and friends over cups of steaming hot coffee. But for the residents of Koyla Vihar on VIP Road, the venue for this week’s GoodLife Talk Show, the action was all outdoor.

The residents of this complex turned up in good numbers to hear the star guests of the evening, actress Churni Ganguly and behavioural scientist and psychologist Malavika Desai speak on Parent’s Role in Child’s Growth.

Moderated by Rita Bhimani, a pleasant surprise awaited the audience as child specialist Dr Dutta, a resident of the complex, was invited to join the panel. The first question of the evening was directed at Churni by Rita: what did she consider more important, quality time or quantity time for children?

Looking striking in a green sari, the actress said: “I am a working mother of a seven-year-old son. My day may begin as early as 7 in the morning and continue late into the night. Right from his childhood, my son has seen me work and knows that because of the profession I am in, I cannot give him as much time as the parents of his other friends. But he never complains because at the end of each day, no matter how tired I am, I always sit with him, listen to all that he has to say, about his school, about his friends. The main idea is to be able to relate to the child completely in whichever way. Nothing else matters.”

Rita then brought up the question of today’s parents and the extent to which they spoil their children. Dr Malavika Desai took the cue: “This is a dangerous trend. Very often working parents are not able to give time to children and try to make that up by giving gifting them expensive things. So, they are used to being pampered and when they grow up and parents say a no to something, they very often become aggressive. Parents should rather play with their children, tell them stories and let children be their natural selves. They should also make their wards realise that every demand of theirs cannot be fulfilled.”

The session was then thrown open to the floor and the first question was put forward by Manish Kumar who wanted to know what could be done to tackle sibling rivalry at home in a healthy way. “Friendly rivalry among two siblings is very common and normal. But one has to be careful that things don’t go out of hand. There should be no element of jealousy; the elder one should never feel that the younger child is being given more attention and vice versa,” said Dr Desai and Dr Dutta.

Questions then ranged from a child’s diet to effective tools for teacher-student interaction.

The evening drew to a close after more than an hour with S.K. Das asking how the generation gap between parents and children can be reduced. “Become a child yourself,” was Churni’s prompt answer. “Play with your child, talk to him and act his age. There’s nothing more that a child will ask for if he gets your company. And try to answer most of your child’s querries. Today children are far more exposed than we were in our days. So, never leave a question unanswered and don’t feel embarassed by anything they ask. And make sure you say the truth,” smiled Churni and Dr Desai.