Shouger Merchant Doshi - The Power of Make-Believe: Parenting through Pretend Play

The Power of Make-Believe is a book that every parent must have, particularly after persevering through the Covid-19 crisis. When we were in lockdowns with our children with little to no resources, we have all realized the power of make-believe and creativity while facing the difficulties of entertaining little ones in the confines of the house. The activities listed in the book require meagre resources, are fun, educational, have a great conversational element and there is a take-away from each one. The idea of using books and play to explain everyday phenomena is one that I very much endorse and practise even with my child. The recommended list of books is also very extensive and covers every topic. I highly recommend this book to parents who have children between 17 years of age for sure! Soha Ali Khan, actor and author.

I have always believed in the power of real discourse with my kids over the standard parenting rat race stuff. The Power of Make-Believe hits home with my personal parenting principles. First, what parents do during their time with their young children has a major effect on their output later in life. Second, the best skill you can impart to your kids is the ability to reason and to have a great conversation on various topics with confidence.

Creating your own path as a parent and having meaningful discussions with your child is an important centrepiece of forging their personality and raising a free and liberal thinker. Shouger Merchant Doshi crafts this book with equal doses of intellect and humour, and brings out a fresh perspective on parenting through pretend play. She shows how we can best impact our childrens futures, their careers and choices in simple yet effective ways Mini Mathur, actor and TV host.

As a mom, this book really resonated with me and was very special. It simply yet eloquently describes pretend play activities that mandates every parent to have various discussions with their child. Shouger has incorporated reading and good vocabulary practices in play, which truly helps in building the childs confidence. Children will be getting educated while playing and wont even realize it!

The Power of Make-Believe is sure to be a winner for 2021, especially given the Covid-19 crisis that we are all going through. The book is a great way to immerse yourself in your childrens world, while building good memories and skills that will benefit them as they grow Amrita Raichand, chef.

One of the best parenting books out there; it doesnt preach or tell you what to do, instead tells you how you, as a parent, are that special someone who can impact your childs life by doing small but effective things at home to better engage, bond with and educate your child. Sure-shot winner Deepshikha Deshmukh, film producer.

This book is an absolute delight; what I think hits the chord is the realization while reading that simple activities have such an impact on our childrens growth and imagination. As a mom of three, I can vouch for the fact that becoming a mother is one of the best as well as the most challenging things that can happen to a woman. Moreover, since the lockdown due to Covid-19 continues to test parenting skills, this book will help immensely in keeping children purposefully busy while at home. The book will also help enhance your childs vocabulary with its many carefully curated activities, tips and tricks, and will enable many dinner table conversations with your children. In fact, this book is a result of the dinner table conversations Shouger had with her father; so one cannot emphasize enough the importance of meaningful conversations with your children. I highly recommend this book. It will be special for every child and parent Vinti Lodha, adviser, Lodha Luxury.

Growing up in a nuclear family, dinner table conversations were the most important time of the day. My sister and I always loved hearing stories of our fathers childhood, the highs and lows of his past, and how he went from living in a room with fourteen family members to running a company with over 500 employees. He talked to us in adages, quotes and songs and told us plenty of old folktales and stories to inspire us to work hard and never take anything for granted. He was always giving us little nuggets of wisdom and found new stories each evening to delight us with. As we grew older, conversations turned to bookswhich we all were big fans ofartists, movements, theatre, music, politics, the state of the world and entrepreneurship. Our dining table was the one dining table in the world where the food placed on it was unimportant. We dissected several countries, spoke about the world wars, manufactured conflicts and created their resolutions, engaged in heated arguments and when not doing that, we would indulge in a great deal of jokes, laughter and love. Every point of view was heard and validated and never trivialized. There was a lot of value placed on knowledge, communication and critical thinking, which inspired us to form our own informed opinions on every aspect of life. Dad often quoted Steve Jobs, Dont let the noise of others opinions drown out your inner voice. So, to no ones surprise, we turned out to be big communicators!

While my father did not live long enough to have in-depth conversations with my son, I took it very seriously to continue his legacy and create an environment where the same open dialogue could be had with my child.