“Give children the freedom to make their own decisions”

Dipta Joshi interviewed Sunaina & Rohit Gera, directors of the Pune-based Gera Developments Pvt. Ltd, who stress the importance of providing happy and inclusive home environments for growing children An alumna of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and the Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s College of Architecture, Pune, Sunaina Gera (SG) is CEO of architecture firm Gridlines and managing trustee of the Gera School, Panjim, Goa, which is all set to admit its first batch of students in June. Her husband Rohit Gera (RG) is managing director of Gera Developments Pvt. Ltd, a reputed real estate development company which has completed projects in Pune, Bangalore, Goa and California (USA). The Pune-based couple has a 23-year-old daughter Diya, who recently graduated from the London School of Economics. What’s your parenting philosophy?  SG: Our parenting philosophy is to give our daughter Diya the freedom to make her own decisions. During her school years, she chose to bury her head into books and wasn’t interested in sports. While we both believed she should take her foot off the pedal, we let her be because exam outcomes mattered to her.  I believe the freedom to make her own choices has helped her develop into a self-confident and reassured adult. Moreover, we have always encouraged her to speak her mind freely and openly. Of course, there were times, especially during her teenage years when I was strict with her but at that point, Rohit was the more liberal parent. Perhaps, it was this combination which helped her make balanced decisions.     How difficult was it to balance work and home when Diya was young? SG: It was challenging but I managed to schedule my work around her activities — making sure I was home when she returned from school and scheduling meetings when she was busy at tuition, painting or tennis classes. For the past five years she has been studying in the UK and is currently working with Deloitte in London. We are empty nesters now!  I believe parents should give priority to children even at the expense of their career goals. The full-time attention of mothers in the early years is very important and can make a big difference to a child’s future. However, I am not advocating that women should give up their careers. I suggest managing one’s time better. And this applies to both parents.  Sunaina, what kind of education do you value and what motivated you to promote the Gera School?  SG: The current rote-based education system prepares students for a job not for life. It doesn’t help to develop their personality and life skills. The purpose of education is to nurture and develop the ‘uniqueness’ of every child and prepare them for jobs of the future. Our exam-centric education system doesn’t allow the individuality of every child to develop organically.  The idea of a new type of school is the outcome of my experiences as a parent. I observed that most schools follow an archaic system of education focused on rote learning and exams, and…