Fundamental principles of parenting are essentially the same irrespective of where you belong to, what you do for a living, what language you speak, and so
on. In the Indian context, especially with the shrinking size of families, parenting is slowly appearing as a struggle, mainly for the urban dwellers. The pressure of competitive workspace, cost of living, increased childcare expenses, and all make life seem more difficult than it actually is. The financial demands of the family are driving them to focus more on the earnings than nurturing the young ones to be the promise for a brighter future. And in between this struggle, for many parents, career ambitions are often taking a back seat.

What happened so dramatically in the past 10 or 15 years that parenting became a task rather than a new journey of life? Many factors can be put out here, but the main reason could be societal isolation where we all went back to live in our cocoon with little or no social relationships. We no longer trust anyone or build relationships beyond a certain circle. Whether we acknowledge or not, our children are also learning to be alone in a crowd exactly like us.

Let’s just pause here for a while and take a tour of our childhood. The village/town where we grew up, the neighbourhood where we played day and night, and the memories that we still cherish. Our parents were never anxious about us because we were part of such an extended family. The trust and bond they shared with each other made our childhood secure, festive-like, and unforgettable.

Today, would you be comfortable leaving your children in the neighbour’s house for the whole day? How many times would you go and ensure that they are fine?

Now, imagine how it would be if you had access to people, resources, talent, and skill to provide your kids with diverse experiences. Knowing that they are not only safe at home but also are learning valuable life experiences from their extended families while you are stuck at work.

Sounds pretty unimaginable right? We believe it isn’t. Nothing is lost forever if you know the ways to find a balance. What if we say that you can give them a childhood like yours! Wouldn’t it be the greatest thing to do for our children? At 2getherments, our endeavour is to establish the concept of community living that encourages collective parenting where our children can learn not just from us but from our extended family too. Let’s introduce that amazing life to our Gen-Alpha.