Shared parental leave- potential benefits and pitfalls

Dads can share the parental leave with mother is the recent headline.A welcoming suggestion indeed. Sounds very idyllic in theoretical terms, but less cogent in practical terms and does require some time and efforts from our male counterparts to transform this wonderful motive from rhetoric to reality.

But have to say like any intervention or act that hit the headlines it comes with its own positives and pitfalls.

Firstly parenting and looking after a new born 24/7 is not a familiar territory for most men, they need to cram out of their comfort zone to sacrifice their career for some months and look after their new born, changing nappies and feeding them- not sure if many alpha men would be prepared to take on this challenge.

We all are aware of the beneficial effect of breast feeding that we even have breast feeding awareness week for the world to be aware of the essential benefits of breast feeding- if men were the share the maternity leave with mother it would be difficult to sort out this practicalities.

Blog- parental leave

What about the mechanisms of attachment formation in infants as first year of live is an important phase of attachment formation and if that's disturbed by shared primary care givers, may have an impact on their attachment and emotional development.

But please don't dismiss this enticing suggestion as preposterous here are the potential benefits;

1. Men will also do a fair share of weight bearing in child care so we could scale up our career ladder without big breaks.

2. Children develop a good attachment and relationship with both parents.

3. Women can let their hairs loose, foots up and enjoy their temporary break from the world of nappy changing.

At the end of the day, we have flexibility to choose and the one size does not fit all stays true here too, so we could manoeuvre our decisions based on our family dynamics and individual choices.

Looking forward for that wonderful time when women could break through our glass ceilings in our career ladder and could see more father and toddler groups in children centres.

Stay in the present

Yesterday is a history

Tomorrow is a mystery

Today is present

Enjoy this present the most without letting your life slip away

Keep moving ..

Albert Einstein said many years ago   Life is like a bicycle to balance it well we need to be moving.

Metaphorically, problems to solution is not to run away from it but to Run

Keep running.increase your fitness levels.

Are we that much time poor that we can't even dedicate 15 minutes each day to motivate ourselves for a fitness activity.

This morning when I was sipping my daily cup of cappacino and reading The newspaper , was shocked by the alarmingly raising diabetic epidemic. Lets take small steps for our long term wellbeing, as prevention is better than cure, let's take a pledge today to increase our fitness levels by dedicating atleast 10 minutes a day for any kind of exercise like running, fast walking etc

Powers and pitfalls of psychopathology

Today I was at the powers and pitfalls of psychopathology at the royal society of medicine, very intriguing presentations by various elite scholars. 

Macmillan cancer support coffee day

I am hosting coffee morning at my home this year in support of Macmillans charity.

I am fascinated by the great cancer support work done by this charity, so this is a small gesture that I could do to raise cuppa for a great cause.

The prevalance of cancer continues to increase and as a medical doctor I am well aware of the horrendous effect of cancer on the affected patients physical and psychological well being.No person should be let to suffer cancer alone and charities are doing great work in increasing awareness, providing psychological support to persons affected by cancer and their carers and many more.

Lets do whatever we can to support their great efforts.

My favourite quotes

Spicy chicken curry

It's very easy to do a tasty chicken curry with a rich blend of flavours

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry cinnamon , bay leaves and cardamom 

2. Slice two onions and fry them until golden brown along with the spices

3.pour a tin of tomato purée over this along with finely chopped garlic, ginger and some salt to taste

4.fry 500 mg of diced chicken along with this mixture and add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, I tsp chilly powder and corraiander powder

5.add water and boil it in a medium flame for 30 minutes

6, add corraiander and a teaspoon of garam masala before taking the pan off the fire

Serve with basmati rice and enjoy ..