Hitu Kanodia and Mona Thiba Kanodia , our jury members for the Ahmedabad Times Little Star Talent Hunt , are all praise for the contest. Talking about it, where parents will share their child’s unique talent with us, they share, “It’s an excellent initiative to create awareness about the importance of encouraging offline hobbies, which is crucial for overall development of a child’s personality. It enhances creativity and imagination. These days, parents often complain about how kids lack focus and are not able to concentrate for long periods. The solution lies in encouraging them to pursue different activities and hobbies.”

The D-Town couple, who will be sharing screen space in the upcoming Gujarati film Chhuta Chheda and are parents to a nine-year-old son, Rajveer, adds, “When kids engage in different activities, it promotes critical thinking and helps them manage stress and anxiety effectively. Also, it makes them more confident and teaches them the importance of teamwork. They also learn empathy, patience and become more disciplined and responsible, which is crucial.” Excerpts from a chat:

As a parent, it’s important to lead by example: Hitu Kanodia

Rajveer is into drawing and reading, and he loves illustrations. In fact, now he can’t sleep without reading a few pages every day. I believe that to promote offline hobbies among kids, it’s important for parents to lead by example. I try to be involved as much as possible when I am with Rajveer and we do different activities together. I see so many kids who are on their mobiles all the time and keep playing unnecessary games. I was never into playing online games and so, Rajveer also isn’t too interested in screen time. This may seem like a very small issue, but it’s important. When Rajveer was three years old, Mona and I encouraged him to start reading and today, he has a small library of his own. He loves buying books over toys.

We always encourage Rajveer to pursue different hobbies: Mona Thiba Kanodia

Today, parenting is not easy because thanks to peer pressure, a lot of kids demand more screen time and are addicted to their mobiles. However, we have always encouraged Rajveer to pursue different hobbies and he loves that. I also try to be a part of those activities so that he has more fun. During COVID, when he was a little over four years old, Rajveer would collect leaves and paint on them every day. As parents, we would celebrate it as an achievement, and that encouraged him to try out more activities. He also loves cycling and now, when he sees other kids playing games on mobiles for long periods, Rajveer tells me, “Momma, look, that kid doesn’t know that he is wasting his time.” He loves arts and crafts and writes stories. I am not against technology; it’s a very important tool for learning now and kids should use it to their advantage. However, as parents, it’s our duty to ensure that there is a healthy balance and they pursue different activities. Kids also need face-to-face interaction so that their social and emotional skills are developed properly. We must provide the necessary resources and support to kids for experimenting with different hobbies.