Sunita Marshall on raising level-headed kids

Actor reveals parenting mistakes she later corrected

Having been a mother for over a decade, Sunita Marshall spoke to Nida Yasir about what it takes to raise a child with a healthy mindset regarding personal health. During the interview, the Baby Baji actor shed light on the mistakes she made at the beginning of her parenting journey.

"I have an older son and a younger daughter," she began. "In the beginning, I was going crazy; I was determined to get them to pursue horse-riding, I wanted to get them into swimming, I also wanted them to have good grades. So, in pursuit of all that, I made myself sick. And I understood after a long time that what I was doing was wrong."

The actor emphasised how strenuously she would juggle her self-assigned hectic duties. "I first calmed down myself, and then I started paying more attention to my kids," she said, admitting that all that competition was detrimental to the health of everyone involved. "I couldn't give myself time. I was working simultaneously, and I'd get into scuffles at shoots, telling people that it's time for my kid's horse-riding session."

Sunita noted that at the time, her husband, actor Hasan Ahmed, was less proactive than she was. "I later realised that I was only putting my kids through exhaustion and destructively competitive moods, which was wrong," she admitted. "Anyway, once I realised all this, I managed to quell my own stress, which in turn relaxed my kids as well. This change had a positive impact on me and them," she recalled.

According to Sunita, competition is necessary, but only when it is healthy. "You shouldn't drive yourself mad over it," she advised, revealing how this change has affected the life she leads now. "For instance, my son is part of his school's rowing team, and he recently had a regatta. Now, I didn't tell him that he had to win at any cost. I just reminded him to have fun.

"I said, of course, if he were to win, we'd be extremely happy. But even if he did not win, we'd still be happy for him," she explained, adding that parents of today tend to push their children. "I think that sort of thing does have an impact, even though I'm not a psychology expert by any means."

In Sunita's view, both parents and teachers shape a child's mindset, and it is important to take a step back when needed. "We need not get involved in everything," she said, maintaining that gratification has a pleasant bearing on a child's upbringing.