Written by Crystal Tan Tong Xin
This article is part of Active Parents’ From Parents to Parents series, brought to you in collaboration with Republic Polytechnic, School of Management and Communication.
Shradha Thapliyal, is an Information Technology (IT) manager in IHiS by profession, and a fitness freak by passion. She is a certified reiki practitioner too. As a loving mother to her five-year-old and eight-year-old sons, Ms. Shradha hopes to inspire them with her active and healthy lifestyle.
Ms. Shradha, who used to play badminton frequently during her University days for leisure, taught herself how to skate with the intention of passing on the knowledge to her children. She also ensures that activities such as yoga, meditation and skating are incorporated into their daily lives. She picked these activities as being suitable for her family after the effects of Covid-19 posed a challenge to them maintaining their active lifestyle. She said: “We learned skating as this is the type of activity that you can do at home, in the hallways, corridor areas, or the living area.”
With every goal comes obstacles, which Ms. Shradha encountered as she finds time management a challenge due to the difference between her and her husband’s work schedule. With gadgets being the main source of entertainment today, Ms Shradha also struggled in persuading her children to take part in activities as they tend to be engrossed in TV and iPad screens.
Despite the many challenges that Ms Shradha face when fostering an active lifestyle in her children, she believes that the change you want to see in people can only start when you change yourself. “Be a role model for your child. Start every change from within. First, you have to change yourself, be active,” she said. She converts her beliefs into actions as she makes an effort to show her children how active she is, from going on daily walks to playing with them at the playground. The butterfly effect from Ms Shradha efforts can truly be seen as her children now often join her for yoga without the need for convincing.
Ms Shradha encourages families to take the first step of creating a healthy lifestyle by prioritising time and making a schedule where the whole family can follow to carry out activities together. “You will encourage an active lifestyle when you prioritise such things (activities) and plan a timetable. These are very important.”
“I feel that you cannot buy health, you have to earn it, and you earn it by having a holistic and active lifestyle,” she added.