Thanks for your timely cover story ‘Evolved males redefining fatherhood’ (PW June). It was nice to read how millennium male parents are increasingly sharing parenting duties and household chores.

However, this is only true in some progressive households in metro cities. In rural India, it’s the norm for women to do all household work, raise children as well as help out on the farm. Men believe their duty is limited to being financial providers. Sadly, such patriarchal fathers are poor role models for their male children who grow into insensitive men with little respect for women’s freedoms and rights.

Surabhi Saxena
Delhi

Father’s Day history

After reading your cover story ‘Evolved males redefining fatherhood’ (PW June), I did some googling on the origins of Father’s Day. My family has never celebrated Father’s Day so it was fascinating to read about it. Only in some countries such as the UK and US, it is celebrated in June. In others such as Russia, it is celebrated in February, Spain in March, and Australia in September.

The origin of the day dates back to 1910, when during a Mother’s Day church service, Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington suggested that like mothers, male parents should be honoured. Dodd’s mother had died when she was 16 years and her father, an American civil war veteran, had raised her and her five siblings. She convinced the church to declare June 5, her dad’s birthday, as Father’s Day.

In 1913, the first bill was introduced in the US Congress, to designate Father’s Day as a national holiday. But the bill was finally passed half a century later in 1972 when President Nixon declared Father’s Day as an official celebration on every third Sunday of June.

James Joseph D’Souza
Bangalore

Speed reading imperative

The story on speed reading techniques was very informative (PW June). Today, the school syllabus is so vast and children’s textbooks so detailed, that unless they practice speed reading techniques, it will become very difficult for them to complete the syllabus portions on time.

I’ve done some further Internet research on speed reading and intend to train my two children in this art.

Selina Rodrigues
Chennai

Pleasures of art journaling

I started art journaling two years ago and therefore it was a pleasure to read your well-researched essay on this subject in ParentsWorld last month. I also got my daughter to start a year ago, and now it has become something we do every day together. It has become a wonderful way for the two of us to bond and share insights and ideas. 

I’ve realised that it’s very important for parents to involve children in creative activities to develop their attention and cognitive skills. Since creativity involves exploration and problem solving, it encourages them to come up with new ideas and think outside the box.\

Shweta Lakshman
Coimbatore

Stressful parenting

I am a mother of two school-going children and am stressed on most days trying to get them ready for school and managing their after-school activities schedules in addition to coping with my office work. I request you to give a psychologist’s/parenting expert’s view on how moms can cope with the daily stress that is sapping all our energies.

In this context, your June cover story on ‘Evolved males redefining fatherhood’ was very relevant. In most households the stress of a mother would reduce by 90 percent if the male parent shared and helped out in child care and household chores. But unfortunately this is rare. Patriarchy is too entrenched in the Indian male psyche.

Vimala Shankar
Hyderabad

Good counsel

Thank you for publishing an excellent parenting magazine. The stories are relevant and give good counsel to new-age parents struggling to balance their child care duties with office and social obligations. I especially love reading your Health & Nutrition and Ask the Doctor columns.

Maria D’Souza
Mumbai