“Do you know why kids don’t listen,” asks a harrowed-looking mom who is seen lecturing her son even as he stays buried in a book. “It’s because their ears are sold separately,” she answers with a straight face. This reel garnered several thousand LOLs from parents, just like most of the content posted by Linda Fernandes aka ‘ thatquirkymamma ’. The Mumbai influencer and mother of a 10-year-old spoke to Neha Bhayana about her parenting style


Raising a child or making people laugh — which one is tougher?

Both are tough but at least with an audience, you don’t have to beg them to eat their vegetables! Parenting is like being on-call 24/7 for the world’s most demanding boss while as ‘thatquirkymamma’, I just take that chaos and turn it into humour. The funny part? My followers might not always laugh at my jokes, but at least they don’t throw toys at me like my kid does when he’s angry.

Most mommy influencers show how difficult parenting is or offer gyaan. What made you turn to comedy?

Diving into the challenges of parenting or offering advice is great, but I find humour to be my way of surviving the chaos. I used to work as an electronics and communication engineer. When my son was born, I quit and decided to focus on him. I realised that laughing at the craziness of life as a full-time parent helped me (and others) get through it. Plus, sarcasm has always been my secret weapon, and sharing the funny side of motherhood is my way of saying, “We’re all in this together — let’s laugh instead of cry!”

Your son is 10. Are you dreading the teen years?

I’m both dreading and looking forward to it. Dreading the eye rolls but looking forward to the moments when he finally finds my jokes funny — if that ever happens!

So, your jokes always fall flat on him?

Oh, yes! He does not love my sense of humour. He laughs... but only because he knows it’s the quickest way to escape a 10-minute explanation of why it’s funny.

There are many parenting styles these days — helicopter, tiger, panda, jellyfish, lighthouse, free-range and so on. Which style do you think Indian parents follow?

I think Indian parents follow a masala mix of styles. Traditionally, they’ve been tiger parents, making sure their kids are disciplined and top of the class. But with the changing times, they’ve started to slow down a bit and get more involved, moving more towards the lighthouse style, offering guidance and then watching their kids sail through life (though still with a watchful eye — because, come on, they’re still Indian parents!). So, for Indian parents, the parenting style of the day really depends on the time, their mood and how many cups of chai they’ve had. On a serious note, I would say to each their own. There is no right or wrong way of parenting or any method that works best. As for me, I think I have been a helicopter parent, constantly hovering around my boy. But I am slowly learning to let go and let him choose his path.

Your son sometimes features in your reels. Does he enjoy participating or do you have to coax him?

He does enjoy it sometimes, especially when the idea is fun and he relates to it. When it’s collaboration time, I have to bribe him (guilty as charged). But for other content, I never force him. If he’s not in the mood, I respect that and move on to pestering my husband for some content with me.

What has been your funniest parenting moment?

I often make reels where I portray being angry or irritated (about typical marriage/parenting issues). Once, when I was angry with my son for something he did, he asked me “is this reel, reel angry or are you really, really angry at me?” And that, I think, was the funniest parenting moment for me as a content creator.

Dads try to be more involved these days. Are they passing the test?

Absolutely! Today’s dads are way more involved. No more just sitting on the couch watching cricket while mom handles the kids and the dad as well. Dads are changing diapers, packing lunches, trying to remember which school event is when, and even showing up at PTA meetings (sometimes even on the right day!). Of course, they’re not always perfect — there’s still the occasional “where’s the kid’s uniform?” moment. But still, progress is progress!

While one hears of moms experiencing mom-guilt, one never hears of fathers facing dad-guilt. Your thoughts?

Moms are expected to juggle everything — school projects, healthy meals, emotional support — all while looking fabulous. Meanwhile, dads have their own version of guilt, they just don’t talk about it. Maybe it’s missing out on family time because of work, or feeling clueless about which kid goes to which activity (“Wait, is it cricket or karate today?”). Dads tend to keep it under wraps, but trust me, they’re feeling it too.

My husband’s a sailor, so he literally sails away and misses most of my son’s events or day-to-day activities. Meanwhile, I’m here dealing with school homework, birthday parties, along with creating content and attending events, and wondering why no one told me being a mom also comes with permanent mom-guilt!

My husband has his own dad-guilt, though. When he’s back, he tries to make up for it with “Hey, I’ll take him to the park.” Of course, that will happen only if he remembers where the park is. We laugh about it because, let’s face it, whether you’re out at sea or at home, parenting guilt is just part of the deal. We need to normalise these conversations for both parents.