'Let's go for a swim, mom!'

It is a windy Thursday morning and tiny raindrops are creating waves on the surface of Ozone Swimming Pool in Goregaon In one corner of the pool 40 yearold Shweta Raikar and her 15 yearold daughter Ruchita are gigglingu00a0Shweta would never have stepped into a swimming pool a month ago She was hydrophobic since childhood and never went swimming with her friends preferring to sit by the pool as a mere spectator Until last month ldquoOut of the blue Ruchita solemnly informed me that she was going to teach me how to swimrdquo says Raikar taking a slow deep breathu00a0 Shweta Raikar with her daughter Ruchita The two take a Bollyhop dance class and swimming session together every week PicPradeep Dhivar She puts on a black swimming cap and helps Ruchita wear her water gogglesu00a0Slowly she breaks into a breaststroke and swims towards the deep end while a watchful Ruchita follows closely behindu00a0An employee at an insurance company Shweta works 10 to 12 hours a day from Monday to Saturday Taking swimming lessons once a week from her daughter then has become a way to spend time together which is otherwise tough ldquoDuring the week our schedules are completely differentrdquo she explains ldquoWe make the most of whatever time we get togetherrdquo says the Malad resident That also includes a private Bollyhop dance class twice a week or a pottery workshop once in a while While Shweta comes home pretty late every day so does Ruchita a Class 12 Science student ldquoThatrsquos why rather than sitting at home and having a quiet dinner we indulge in adventurous things on Sundayrdquo smiles Ruchitau00a0Shweta sees this as a different sort of parenting ldquoAs parents we have to evolve and step into our teenagersrsquo shoes to understand them better I talk to my daughter like a friend mdash we discuss her studies boys and almost every topic under the sun mdash instead of asking her about her day which bores children todayrdquou00a0The motherdaughter duo also conducted an art workshop for underprivileged children during Ruchitarsquos summer vacations in April mdash another attempt to reach out to each other in ways that add more value than distracted chitchat while watching TV ldquoThose who could afford the fees paid I asked Ruchita whether she would like to donate the proceeds and she chose Welfare for Stray Dogsrdquo smiles Raikaru00a0Shweta and Ruchita arenrsquot the only ones As the BlackBerry take over dinnertime and bonding takes a backseat to the pressures of tuitions work and a stressful lifestyle parentchild duos across the city are finding new ways to carve out quality time to spend with each other Shall we dance Take 61 yearold Joaquim Sequiera The retired investment executive was looking for inspiration in a ballroom dance class at JJ Rodrigues Cours De Dance Colaba ldquoMy wife Hilda and I signed up for ballroom dancing last month and realised it was a lot of fun I encouraged my 21 yearold daughter Charmaine and 15 yearold son Vernon to join as well Before I married I had great interest in English songs and dancing and now I am fulfilling that wish with my familyrdquo says the retired Santacruz resident The family now learns Jive Rock and Roll and Fox Trot together twice or thrice a weeku00a0 Joaquim Sequiera takes a Ballroom dancing class with his wife Hilda daughter Charmaine and son Vernon at JJ Rodrigues Cours De Dance Colaba PicAnita Anand And it is the mood in the classroom that Sequiera loves ldquoCan you be angry while dancing It is impossible It gives me pleasure to see my family smiling and calm and dancing gracefullyrdquo says Sequiera He laughs adding ldquoThis also gives us the edge when we have to dance at partiesrdquou00a0When Charmaine first heard the proposal she was not so keen she tells us ldquoIt was my dadrsquos idea and I wasnrsquot sure what to expect But it turned out to be fun Now all four of us have one thing in common mdash dance So we also have a lot to talk about We attend a lot of parties and now we have a blast at each because we know how to perform different steps and styles in accordance with the musicrdquo smiles the student of St Andrews College Skating together Thirty yearold Shirin Amrute and her seven yearold son Aryan donrsquot dance mdash instead they put on their skates and chase each other across the skating rink at Atria Mall every week A PR executive the Thane resident often stays over at her parentsrsquo home to make her commute to her Churchgate office easier while her son stays with her husband Hemant u00a0ldquoBut we make up for it prettywellrdquo smiles Amrute who confesses she turns into a kid with her son Aryan ldquoWe miss eating dinner together as my work hours are different every day But I make it a point to accompany Aryan to the iceskating rink which is his current favourite playground I donrsquot want to be the mother who stands outside the rink watching her child I want to be his buddy and experience the fun togetherrdquo says Amrute who understands that children have their own areas of interest separate from their parents ldquoI donrsquot want to be the mother who tells her child not to do this and that When we do these crazy activities I notice that Aryan responds to me much better He expresses his feelings and takes suggestions from me Similarly my husband makes an effort to spend time with him at our farmhouse in Yeoor every week as Aryan loves climbing trees Though we may not have regular sitdown dinners this I think is an awesome replacementrdquo Itrsquos hard to disagree New bonds Harish Shetty visiting psychiatrist at Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital Powai agrees Family time he says was ldquofirst assassinated when the television launchedrdquo He continues ldquoMeal timings varied with the shows on television mdash children wanted to see their cartoons housewives their soaps and fathers the news channels Today parents are picking a sport eating out going windowshopping and finding creative ways to bridge the distance Family dinners used to be a traditional way to bond but who has the time anymore Everyone has a different schedulerdquo Shirin Amrute and her son Aryan visit the icestaking rink at Atria Mall in Worli every week PicBipin Kokateu00a0 Juhubased psychotherapist Dr Anjali Chhabria seconds him ldquoFamilies donrsquot have time to eat and share a meal together anymore But it is a must to find bonding time When people look back at their childhood they will not remember how much their father spent on them but they will remember that their father took them to the beach Dinner or not family time should be created without failrdquo Chhabria concludes A similar thought seems to have taken root in Shwetarsquos mind as she steps out of the changing room with Ruchita The motherdaughter duo smiling and sharing an inside joke are already planning their next lsquobonding activityrsquo ldquoHow about an adventurous trek next weekrdquo asks Shweta And we can only guess Ruchitarsquos answeru00a0