Sameer Shaikh

2·20 Sept 2026·on Class 10 pre-boards went badly — how did you keep the house calm?

We found coaching brochures made every path sound urgent. Talking to two older students was much more grounding. My spouse had a different view initially, so we tried it for a few weeks before deciding. Our child responded better when the plan felt partly self-chosen. We are in Pune, so local logistics may be a little different.

0·13 Sept 2026·on Admission interaction for a 3-year-old: what are schools actually expecting?

Interesting — we had assumed the opposite. Helpful to hear a first-hand experience. For us, the admission office answer and the parent answer were not always the same. We are in Pune, so local logistics may be a little different.

4·8 Sept 2026·on Parent-teacher meetings when your child has learning differences

Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? We learned to ask who is responsible for each support, not only what is written in policy. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.

1·2 Sept 2026·on Exam revision plan for a child who starts only at the last minute

For projects we help with planning, materials and safety, but the child's hand should be visible in the final result. Otherwise it becomes a parent competition. We are in Pune and this came up for us last year.

3·26 Aug 2026·on Montessori till age 6 and then mainstream school — smooth transition — looking for recent parent experiences

Did your child take time to adjust, or was the improvement fairly quick? For us, the admission office answer and the parent answer were not always the same. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.

0·21 Aug 2026·on Nanny + grandparents vs full-day daycare for a 1-year-old

Thanks for saying this. Online advice often makes normal family life sound much more organised than it really is. Reducing handoffs made our weekdays noticeably calmer. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.

3·17 Aug 2026·on LKG admissions in Hebbal: when should we actually start visiting schools?

That is reassuring. We are trying to avoid making this a bigger issue than it needs to be. I wish we had asked this before paying the registration amount. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.

0·16 Aug 2026·on Sibling fights over the exact same toy even when we have two

I try to respond to advice with 'we'll think about it' instead of debating in the moment. Then we make the decision privately.

1·15 Aug 2026·on Grandparents and parents disagree on screen-time rules — how do you avoid daily arguments — looking for recent parent experiences

Thanks for saying this. Online advice often makes normal family life sound much more organised than it really is. We picked the two boundaries that mattered most and relaxed about smaller differences. We are in Pune, so local logistics may be a little different.

5·15 Aug 2026·on Toddler will only sleep if one parent lies next to them

This helps. I am going to add this to the questions for our next visit/meeting. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.

3·12 Aug 2026·on Do you tell your manager about recurring school commitments upfront?

We put school events and pickup commitments directly on both work calendars. Hiding them made last-minute conflicts worse, not better. The system had to work on a bad workday, not only an ideal one. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.

2·12 Aug 2026·on Homework taking 2+ hours in Class 4: normal workload or time-management issue?

Ask the child what part feels hard before adding another class. In our case it was not the subject; it was copying slowly from the board. The biggest surprise was that the practical routine mattered more than the option that looked best on paper. The biggest gain was less conflict at home, not just better marks. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.

0·12 Aug 2026·on How many extracurriculars are too many for a 7-year-old — looking for recent parent experiences

Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. We cared more about whether the child wanted to return the next week than early performance. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.

1·12 Aug 2026·on Is tuition really necessary in primary school if homework is getting done — looking for recent parent experiences

I agree with this. Once we reduced the number of moving parts, everyone became calmer. The biggest gain was less conflict at home, not just better marks. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.

0·12 Aug 2026·on How much independence do you give a Class 9 student with study schedules — what did you finally choose?

This is useful, thank you. The practical detail is exactly what I was looking for. Our child responded better when the plan felt partly self-chosen. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.

5·12 Aug 2026·on How to compare two schools when both look good on paper?

That is reassuring. We are trying to avoid making this a bigger issue than it needs to be. The commute piece changed our final shortlist more than expected. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.

0·12 Aug 2026·on Domestic help is on leave for a month: what did you simplify first?

That makes sense. I think consistency is the part we are currently missing. Sharing the calendar between both parents removed a lot of last-minute confusion. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.