Supermoms save the day

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How do soccermoms manage to keep pace with kids of fast forward generation? If some are picking up cool slangs, others have tuned in to the Internet lingo. Many are developing a taste for their kid’s choice of movies so that they have something common to talk about. And others are brushing up their guitar skills, and even taking up dance classes to actually belong to the kid’s generation.

“Gone are the days when you would coochie-coo your kids, and order them around. Today’s children listen to you only if you give them a reason, not just because ‘mom said so’,” says yummy mummy, emcee Ramneek Pantal, who likes to treat her kid as an adult.
“Also, children today feel indignant if treated like kids,” feels Anju Soni, a psychologist and mother of two tweens. She sees change as the only constant, and feels one has to change with times. “Taking the best bits from my relationship with my mother, I try to be in my kids’ shoes to understand them better, without imposing on them,” adds Soni, who has watched the entire Harry Potter series with her daughters. She says, “They’re embarrassed if their parents aren’t cool.”
Fashion designer Anjana Bhargava is not only a mother, but also a colleague to her teenage daughter Ankita. The mother-daughter duo has found a balance, Anjana explains, “I try to identify with her tastes and choices. And that understanding helps at work too. I tried to introduce her to the movie of my generation, which are mainly about the freedom struggle,” she says. “I too made myself fall in love with her hero, Robert Pattinson. She always talked about him. And I think Twilight is an amazing movie,” adds Anjana.
Animal rights activist Ambika Shukla, who’s growing up with her 16-year-old daughter Aashali, finds it important to only be friendly, and not try to become a friend to one’s kids. “Let a mother be a mother, she already has so many friends,” Ambika says. “We try to grab a few TV shows together. I know she’s interested in fashion, I take her along for fashion weeks,” she adds.