The cover story ‘Positive podcasting fever sweeping India’ was an enjoyable read (PW March). During the lockdown, I began listening to podcasts on health and fitness. I was amazed at the variety of podcasts available on subjects ranging from entertainment, books, education, business investments, to relationships and current affairs. And the best thing about podcasts is that you can listen to them while performing other tasks such as cleaning the house/cooking. And they are free-of-charge.

I also liked your suggestion that parents should encourage children to become podcast creators rather than mere listeners. Especially since podcasting is a low-cost enterprise and all that’s required is a smartphone and a pair of headphones. My teenage son has recently taken an interest in F1 racing and is thinking of doing a podcast on this subject. Thanks for suggesting podcasting as a creative activity for children.

Manju Kumar
Bengaluru

Excellent & relevant

Thank you for publishing a very informative story on dental hygiene for toddlers (PW March). Parents need to be made aware that good oral health practices must begin from infancy to prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

The common affliction of my children while growing up was dental caries. Thankfully I had access to an excellent paediatric dentist who guided and encouraged me to teach my boys good oral hygiene from early age.

The most important of which is to teach children to brush their teeth correctly, twice a day.

In this connection, your tips on making the daily tooth brushing routine of toddlers enjoyable, were excellent and relevant.

Malini Rao
Chennai

Start reading habit early

Thank you for the beautiful essay by Usha Mukunda on encouraging the reading habit in children (PW March). As a teacher, I believe in the power of repetition. And that is why we need to repeat and reiterate that ‘reading is important for children’. Reading develops vocabulary, increases attention span, and as Mukunda writes “brings wonder, joy and a deeper and wider understanding of the world around them”.

With rising addiction of children to digital gadgets, it is becoming increasingly difficult for parents and teachers to get children to read. My suggestion is for parents to start early by reading bedtime stories to children. The earlier we start introducing them to books and reading, the better chance of hooking them onto reading.

Also thank you for the excellent suggested reading list for 6-12-yearolds. It is an excellent starting point to introduce children to the joy and wonder of books.

Rose Pratipa
Hyderabad

Expert mental well-being advice needed

ParentsWorld is an excellent parenting magazine. I enjoy reading your informative pages. I request you to publish interviews with experts and counsellors on how parents can cope with the stress of managing work from home and child care duties. I am a working mother with two young children. The stress of managing office work and household chores as well as supervising my children’s online classes is getting to me.

Now, with the country facing the second wave of the pandemic, I’m becoming increasingly frustrated that things will never get back to normal. There is also the fear that any one of us may contract the virus.

Rima Das
Kolkata

Build children’s immunity

Your story ‘5 ways to ease children’s return to school post-pandemic’ was very useful and relevant (PW March). I agree with you that we need to support our children’s return to school by arming them with all relevant facts about the pandemic and safety measures that need to be taken.

Simultaneously I believe it’s important to focus on building children’s immunity through healthy diets and regular exercise. Schools should also ban sale of junk foods on their campuses.

Suchitra Sharma
Delhi