Keeping up with Keyah

Hanikarak bapus no more. Mumbai's parents run, swim, ride and do yoga with their kids. And pushing the young one means, you've got to be disciplined yourself as well

For Papiya Pal, a daily yoga practice was something she adopted in 2010 when she got pregnant and after, just as a form of exercise she could be consistent at, at home. Her daughter, Arpita, started copying her movements at age two, but it was only at age four, that she realised Arpita had a knack for it. "I could see that her body was conducive to doing yoga poses. Her body was structured in such a way that she was adapting to yoga beautifully. So, I started nudging her into it," says the Pune resident, also the founder of the Children, Art and Nature group, which tries to educate children about the environment through art. As Pal points out, that unlike 20 years ago, where kids had plenty of open spaces to play in and hence never thought of "exercise", these days, the habit of exercising is one that the parent has to actively introduce into their child's life.

"Now at the age of nine, Arpita is also training in endurance swimming, and is great at gymnastics, because of her yoga foundation. We do yoga for 45 minutes every day, and she is working on some tough postures these days. Her current focus is on holding a posture for long. She is currently trying to master the head stand, but loves showing off her splits," says the 44-year-old proud mother.

Yashita Suchde and her daughter, Keyah, work out at their Pedder Road home. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Guilt-free time
A fry cry from the '90s kids, who only went for dance classes or sports classes under the guise of "co-curricular" activities, kids today do yoga and horse riding, even hitting the gym with their parents. It could also help parents ensure their kids stay off cellphones.

A 2014 paper in pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, titled 'Activity Levels in Mothers and Their Preschool Children' found a direct correlation in physical activity levels among mothers and their children. A child engaged in more physical activity if their mother made exercise a higher priority, found the study conducted in UK. Home-baker Yashita Suchde, 37, agrees with the findings. "They will do it if they see you doing it," says the mother to nine-year-old Keyah. Suchde, a resident of Peddar Road, has been working out all her life as she suffers from PCOD which also meant that she needed to keep her weight in check post pregnancy. "Since I was a hands-on mother and had no help, I had to make her a part of my workouts. I would put her on my legs and do leg raises!" If Keyah's initiation into the world of workouts began as a prop, today, she eggs on her mother too.

Riyhad Kundanmal and son Nikolai go horse riding. Pic/Ashish Raje

The mom-and-daughter duo now, daily makes space in their building gym or garden, where they spend 60 minutes doing burpees, squats, planks and pushups. "This way, I don't feel guilty taking that one hour out for myself when she is at home, and she gets to spend time with me." Suchde isn't worried about spending all her me time with her daughter. "I quit my corporate job to spend time with her, so I feel guilty if I am not spending time with her." For Keyah, as well, it's all about having a fun time with mom. She credits her mother for bringing her up right. "It's because I have been brought up healthy, that I have got it into my head that junk food is not good for me. And the exercise adds to that habit. I will continue to get more hard core as I grow older," says Keyah.

Actress Manasi Parekh and her daughter Nirvi. Pic/Sneha Kharabe

Pushing the envelope
For designer, entrepreneur, polo and yachting enthusiast Riyhad R Kundanmal, it was natural to introduce his son, Nikolai, 11, to horse riding. But the start was a bit bumpy.

"Three years ago, he fell off a horse at the race course, and I was scared to continue." Kundanmal says he waited for him to grow taller and heavier. "He was ready to get on the horse immediately after the accident. I was the one afraid. He had to coax me, and so did his mother, Alisha."

Now, he is back on, and can't get enough of it." Both of them head to Mahalaxmi racecourse from their Bandra home every chance they get, and these days, Nikolai is eager to master the sport of polo. "He plays scooter polo these days, where a specialised scooter is used. He can't contain his excitement," says the 46-year-old, who has been playing polo for more than 20 years. He says his son has taught him to be calmer, and not get ruffled at small things.

Body and soul
What exercising with your child also achieves, feels actor Manasi Parekh, 32, is bring an awareness to the physical body at a younger age. "And that's so important. It will just mean that the children will take that awareness into the rest of their life. And that why it's worth it." Parekh's daughter Nirvi is just two years old, but she's already made her witness her every day workout at home, and sometimes Nirvi is the resistance weight while doing lunges, jumping jacks or even the downward dog.
Kundanmal feels that interaction with the horse, has also given rise to emotions like love, sympathy, empathy in both son and father, and hence, helped them bond as well. "It's improved our one-on-one interaction and communication as well."

A change that both Yashita and Papiya have noticed is how their children have started to choose better food. While Keyah loves her salads and even makes her own dressing, Arpita leans towards herbs and wants tulsi and ajwain in her post-yoga drink.

But, a workout partner in your kid also means that making excuses means lowering the bar for your child, and that's a big no. "I have to live up to my word," says Pal. "If I ask Arpita to hold a posture for two minutes, she wants to know if I can do it too. And so I have to. It motivates me as well. And she thinks I am cool because I can do what other mothers can't."

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