It’s always hard to find places that parents and kids can equally enjoy and it’s even hard to find recommendations from fellow parents. As such wanted to share the stuff we enjoyed with kids on a recent trip to Napa / Calistoga.  Napa Valley near San Francisco is world known for its wine & vineyards and seems like a place where kids will get bored zzz... and as a result drive you crazy. Well the kids found the below activities quite fun and we had a fun too.

1.    Old Faithful in Calistoga - It’s a geyser that shoots up from an underground river at regular intervals. The interval varies - average is 40 mins during the year. We were lucky that the interval for the day was like 10 mins. Great place for a picnic ( you can get food and even beer / wine) and have a great picnic there. Carry lunch from outside as there is nothing available there. Has few animals like  sheep,  goats and also saw a lone Llama. The ticket price is 10 bucks for adults and kids under 6 are free.

2.    Petrified Forest - The small trail through the forest has tree exhibits of redwoods that turned to rock (petrified)  3 million years ago due to a volcanic ash from nearby Mt St Helena. It’s quite amazing to see those tress and get to know more about the history of the area. The trail is about half a mile and is part paved but we could use a stroller on it. The way back winds down steep so you might wanna get the stroller down backwards if you have a small kid in it. The gift shop is amazing with great exhibits of petrified trees, fossils, crystals etc. Great learning place for kids & adults alike. The ticket price is 10 bucks for adults and kids under 6 are free.

3.    Sterling Winery in Calistoga - It has an aerial tram that  takes you up the hill where the winery is located. The view going up in the tram is just great and kids are sure to love the trip up. It is a small ride and not comparable to Gondola ride say in South Tahoe but still enjoyable. There is an open terrace as part of the winery which has great views of the Napa Valley and the surrounding hills. The price is a little steep but perhaps worth. $ 25 for adults and $10 for kids for kids.

What a fantastic way to spend a Saturday, surrounded by kids painting, drawing, public speaking and having fun. The Art & Public Speaking contest at Fremont, CA organized by Ajay Bhutoria was a blast. Humrahi is proud to be one of the sponsors this year.

Coming back to kids, it was magical to see the budding talents during the art contest, like the place transformed into a world of creativity, color and eternal happiness. It's an amazing experience being in midst of hundreds of kids who are transforming their  thoughts onto paper. I am one of those people who have a hard time drawing a straight line without a ruler (secret is out now :))  and it always amazes me when kids make such magnificent art.


The magic continued through the public speaking competition. Ms Renu Dhillon (founder of Genius Kids) was one of the judges and she gave great tips to the kids on public speaking. Listening to these kids speak on different topics of India, I realized how less i knew about India. Some of the kids sang Jan Gan Mann, Vande Matram & Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram so well that i am sure all of  us parents went back in time to the days when sang these songs at school. The speeches and the confidence of the kids is amazing to watch. No matter who got the trophies, all kids & parents are winners for the great work that went into motivating & preparing their kids to participate. More important than winning is the spirit of participation.

Check out the event pictures at our Facebook Page here

Amy Chua's Parenting memoirs (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) has created quite a global furor & debate and rightly so as it touches upon an issue that is as complex as the human DNA itself - the code that every responsible parent wants to break.

The issue at hand is, what is the best way to raise a child to be a successful adult ready to face the challenges of today's global economy. This is an extremely sensitive topic for most parents and the yardstick to measure their success or failure.

While I read through various articles in Wall Street journal and Time (still to read the book, ordered from Amazon today), several thoughts race through the mind on what style of parenting is effective or how much pressure is good for kids but the most important aspect of the issue seems to be widely ignored. Are the "Tiger Cubs" happy, did they have a happy childhood that they can cherish and the freedom to make the right decisions for themselves in life ahead.

While there are many events in Bay Area to expose kids to Indian topics through art & public speaking contests, I was really impressed by the simplicity & focus of the event put together by Ajay Bhutoria last year at Fremont temple. The event was simple, well organized & focused. I was also impressed by the energy, dedication & selflessness of Ajay in organizing such community events for last few years. This year, Ajay is organizing another event on Jan 29th at Lake Elizabeth community center. Check out details and pictures of past events below.

Also this year, HUMRAHI.net is proud to be one of the sponsors  and be part of this community event. Hope you can join, it will be a wonderful opportunity for kids to self express and build confidence while learning about India.


Kids Painting Competition . 10 am -1pm
Age Groups ranging from Age 3-15
Paper Provided , Bring Color and Pencils and Supplies
             Pubic  Speaking  Competition , Age 5- 12
Choose your own Topic , maximum 4minutes . Jan 29 ,2010 : Saturday  1.00 pm - 2.00 pm Venue : Fremont  Community Center ,
Lake Elizabeth ,Fremont
40000 Paseo Padre Pkwy.Fremont, CA-94538

Winners to get Awards, Certificates from Fremont City Arts Counci,Recognition from  City dignitaries  and council Members of Fremont  at 2.30 pm same day

To Register Contact : Ajay Bhutoria, 510-378-0698 email:bhutoria.ajay@gmail.com

Pictures from last event

I am writing this entry on the misconception of childrens' performance in school and their participation in sports.  While many parents believe that getting children involved in sports can be intrusive to their education and influence them for not focusing on school, there are many case studies and experiments that were done by California Department of Education and several famous psychologists and teachers that proved this misconception wrong. A case study done by several psychologists state that" youth receiving additional physical activity tend to show improved attributes such as increased brain function and nourishment, higher energy/concentration levels, changes in body build affecting self esteem, increased self-esteem and better behavior which may all support cognitive learning:.  Also, getting your children involved in sports helps children learn about teamwork and how their actions affect other people.  It teaches them how to work with people who they don't enjoy working with and try to communicate effectively with their team mates.  Another way sports can benefit children is by helping them develop their time management skills.  Getting them involved in sports is the perfect way kids can learn about time management because it gives them their first taste of priortization.  Teaching them how to effectively handle their responsiblities while still having time for sport practices and trainings.  Thus, this helps children realize that homework is important and it is critical. Thus, the combination of children learning teamwork skills, time-management skills, and higher energy/concentration levels can definitely have a positive impact on their children's academic performance and can encourage them to do better in school, as well as their future successes.  

America is home to people with a great variety of attitudes, opinions and values. Americans have different ideas and priorities, which can affect how we choose to raise our children. Across these differences, however, research has shown that being effective parents is very crucial in the child's future and successes.  While every parent wants to give the most love to their children and many parents have a tendency to "constant spoonfeeding",  it is also important to in addition of giving them love and support,  make sure that they learn the key skills of growing, learning, and becomming independent.   As children grow up, they need to learn to take more and more responsibility for such things as:taking on community activities, ,finding ways to be useful to others, admitting to both the good and bad choices they make. By making them involved, they will be able to learn strong teamwork , leadership skills,  and effective communication skills. Some ways parents can help their children to take some initiative and responsibility is making them complete their chores, such as doing yard work, cleaning their rooms or helping to prepare meals, that contribute to the family's well being. A way to make them self-sufficient is by letting them  complete their homework without being nagged. These skills , such as, strong leadership, initiative, communication, responsibility, hard work, and independence are essential skills that have a strong impact in life and can be affiliated with the childrens' future relationships, work, and their conflicts.   In a society, ,where young adults have a constant thrive for independence, parents have to realize to start teaching them these essential skills as early as possible, so children can master these qualities and utilize these skills to prepare their life to the fullest. 

Developing strong self esteem in children is very important and have a huge impact in their confidence and future outcomes.  There is one thing to discipline your children, but when teaching them the right tactics one has to remember that don't be too harsh and negative at the same time.   Some ways to increase childrens' self-esteem is by praising accomplishments.  By praising accomplishments, this  will make them feel proud; letting kids do things independently will make them feel capable and strong. By contrast, belittling comments or comparing a child unfavorably with another will make kids feel worthless.  Make sure you don't emphasize that they are stupid, their very childish, never going to learn, or are hopeless.  Such comments will negatively impact their self esteem and after hearing these comments, the children will start to doubt their abilities and strengths.  It is important to choose your words carefully, be compassionate, and still deliver a strong message.  But, the most important thing is let your kids know that everyone makes mistakes and that you still love them, even when you don't necessarily approve of their behavior.