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Health is wealth Thanks for the informative and upbeat cover story ‘Starting the New Year positively’ (PW December). I fully agree with nutritionist Dr. Ruchita Maheswari that it’s important to prioritise health and well-being in 2023. Just when we thought the Covid pandemic was behind us, we are hearing news of new Covid variants and a huge surge of cases in China. We need to do all we can to ensure the health and well-being of our families especially children by ensuring they eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Health is wealth! Ramola Vemana, Trivandrum Excellent suggestions New Year is indeed a time for fresh beginnings. Your December cover story ‘Starting the New Year positively’ provided excellent suggestions to parents to make special efforts to improve family bonding and children’s health and well-being in 2023. We intend to visit the local museum followed with a picnic at the park with the children this month. With both of us working full-time, it’s difficult to carve out quality time with children this month who are also busy with their school and extra-curricular activities. I also liked your suggestion to encourage children to build positive new habits in 2023. Waking up early, drinking water in mornings, brushing teeth twice daily, and reading a bedtime story… are all excellent habits which parents should inculcate within children from early age. Vimala Seelam, Bengaluru Mindful parenting Your story ‘Mindfulness is the new mantra for parents’ was thought-provoking (PW December). In this fast-paced world parents are super-stressed managing office, children and family. They are often irritable and pass on their irritation to children. Practising mindfulness and meditation will help parents de-stress and calm down, and improve parent-child bonding. I also liked your Health story in which Smriti Sivakumar’s shares useful advice on how practising yoga can strengthen children’s immunity. Practising meditation and yoga can go a long way not only in relaxing the mind but also improving physical health and well-being. Misha Chandran, Hyderabad Monitor children’s food habits My friend’s son is only ten years old. But he has been diagnosed with diabetes. She is shattered by this news. I believe parents should carefully monitor children’s lifestyle, diet and food habits from early age. Unfortunately most parents are casual about children overeating and lazing around without exercise. They erroneously believe that the more a child eats, the healthier she will be. This is the opposite of truth, and by the time they become aware, much damage has been done. The first warning sign is obesity. Please include more stories on child health and expert medical opinion on how parents can prevent obesity and diabetes within children. Deeksha Mandara, Mumbai Informative & enlightening Congratulations on publishing an interesting and informative parenting magazine. I enjoy reading your stories especially the Fun with Words section. The latest essay on antiphrasis was excellent and my son and I had a really enjoyable time trying to identify books in which this literary device has been liberally used. Also the advice provided…