Tata Group's Chief Sustainability Officer Siddharth Sharma recently had a "proud dad" moment. One of his sons graduated from Harvard University with a distinction.
Sharma's eldest son is pursuing his PhD at Oxford University. His third child will soon start studying at a premier French university.
Given his sons' academic accomplishments, it is no surprise Sharma is often asked about his "secret sauce" of parenting. He took to LinkedIn to share what he learnt bringing up three children.
Sharma advised parents to support their children's career and personal choices.
"Remember, they are your children, not your clones," he said. "Give them love, respect and confidence and it’s the best thing you would ever have done."
The Tata Group officer added that parents must encourage their children to debate and discuss matters.
"Guide them gently but let them arrive at their own decisions," he said. "They should have the confidence that whatever the issue, their parents will always be there for them without being in any way judgemental."
Parents must spend sufficient quality time with their children, no matter how packed their schedules are, Sharma added.
"There is nothing that children want more than your time and love," he wrote in his post. "That cannot be outsourced -- you have to make sure that both of you, or at least one of you, is always available with them spending quality moments."
Sharma acknowledged that raising children is difficult, given parents' work schedules, but they must be prepared to put in extra effort.
"Remember, the children did not ask to be born, you got them into this world," he added. "Go all in as far as parenting is concerned, no half- measures here."
Sharma advised couples to put up a united front before their children.
"Handle differences between you and your spouse separately, never in front of your children," he said. "They should always see their parents as a united, indivisible whole. Don’t try and score brownie points in front of your kids vis-a-vis your spouse or partner."
