Kittima Sethi on Inspiring Positive Parenting March 20, 2010
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Tell us about yourself
I was born in New Delhi, India and came to Thailand as an infant. I grew up in Bangkok and completed by high school from Ruam Rudee International School and went on to New Delhi for my Bachelor’s Degree, graduating from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. I spent my childhood both in Bangkok and New Delhi.
I have always been actively involved in all activities in both my school and college, including magazines and yearbooks which eventually led me to work in the field of media.
I returned to Bangkok in 1991 and joined The Nation, where I worked for 10 years. I first started writing for The Nation Junior, a youth magazine and worked with Andrew Biggs, who was responsible for making it one of the most popular English-language magazine for students and young Thais. Most of my stories revolved around education and issues related to the youth. I became the Editor of the magazine in 1995 and also continued on to become the Editor of Nation Kids!, a weekly English-language tabloid for young kids and English Editor for the Nation Education page in The Nation. I continue to freelance for the The Nation and have also worked with television and radio.
I also worked at BEC-TERO Entertainment, a leading concert and events promoter as well as in a PR company. I continue to freelance for several English language publications, do translation in both Thai and English as I am fluent in both languages and copyedit books and articles. I currently run my own small PR firm where I assist clients in media relations and organize PR events and activities.
How did you become involved in the International Parent Network (IPN)
I have two boys, aged 10 ½ and 15 years and they both attend an international school here. I have been a very involved parent in my sons’ school and was responsible in setting up the Parents’ Group, where we organised various activities for the school community and also acted as a support group for parents within the school and as a liaison between the school staff and parents.
I believe that children perform better in school when their parents are involved in their education. Children do better academically and socially and they also feel valued and important when their parents take interest in their school and what they do. It sets a positive context for growth and achievement.
I think this has a very important impact on children when they see such positive and constructive interaction between parents and other members in their school community. Parents are also able to understand the programs implemented at their child’s school and work closely with teachers.
It also gives parents the opportunity to share information and voice any concerns or issues they may have. Being in the Parents’ Group gave me the opportunity to meet other parents and help them and their children settle into the school. It also allowed me to discuss issues parents had and to find a constructive way to resolve them.
The International Parenting Group was set up in late 2008. It was the brainchild of David and Terry Arnold, who have three sons and were also very involved parents at the same school that my sons attend. Having been involved in a parents group at school, we three wanted to take this to another level. We wanted to set up a network of like-minded parents who wanted to connect regularly on a more personal level to share experiences, advice and recommendations from what they as parents had learned over the years from raising their children. We felt there were many parents who would benefit from such a network. We wanted to offer various parenting support services through events, workshops, seminars. We want to inspire positive parenting - which is also our slogan.
Other countries such as the US, UK, Australia, to name a few, have parenting organizations that offer a plethora of support services to parents. There was none in Thailand, except for parent groups in various schools. We feel that being a part of a larger network of parents and childcare professionals can greatly benefit parents as we can get a larger perspective and outlook on different parenting issues. We wanted to set up a network where we could provide parents with a community platform where they could exchange parenting experiences, share solutions and ideas on positive parenting and receive advice and counsel from experienced professionals, support groups and other parents.
Sometimes we parents need to step out of our current or smaller circle of friends and families in order to meet new people, build new friendship and enjoy an evening with other parents, while gaining insights from the informative presentations and topics which are presented at each of IPN’s monthly events.
We provide parents with the opportunity to meet with child psychologists, counselors, pediatricians, authors of parenting and children’s books, school principals and other families from around the world to share with effective strategies on how to raise happy and healthy kids in this fast-paced world.
We are partnering with Plant A Tree Foundation Today where part of the proceeds from our annual membership will be given to PATT to grow a tree in the member’s name.
Our events are held on the last Tuesday of every month from 6.30pm-8.30pm at Bangkok Lotus Hotel Sukhumvit 33. We have had some very interesting and insightful speakers at our events and I have learned so many new things about parenting and other issues related to my children.
Some of the topics IPN have covered include: financial planning for your child’s education, Homework issues, Nutrition and children, cyber bullying and internet safety, challenges of sex education and adolescent, family fitness, finding your child’s passion, sibling rivalry and many more.
This month IPN’s event will be held on March 30th and the topic is on “International Schools: How to select the right educational curriculum for your children.” International Schools are a common choice for most expatriates and is also popular among Thai parents. However, selecting the right school for the child depends largely on the curriculum, which parents often find challenging to understand how it fits their child’s needs.
To answer these queries and facilitate parents in selecting the right schools for their child, IPN has invited representatives from three International Schools in Bangkok, each representing the three popular curriculums, for a discussion followed by a Q&A. We have Heads from three schools who will participate – ISB (American), Harrow International (British), and KIS International (IB).
Our events are open to both members and nonmembers and these details are available on line at www.ipnthailand.com. We are also developing our website to include more online services as well as forums for parents to discuss parenting issues and to find answers to queries they may have on parenting. We want to assist families and provide them with the right support.
We have received queries from Chiang Mai and Phuket to set up IPN and we are flattered that parents here realize the importance and necessity of such a group.
IPN is a young organisation and we welcome feedback parents may have to make IPN a strong network community. We are always looking for volunteers to join our committee and look forward to a growing participation from families and hope they get inspired about parenting.
We have a few exciting events that are scheduled for this year, with some speakers coming from overseas. These include topics on positive discipline, learning difficulties with children, talking with teens and vaccinations. We also plan to organize a seminar for parents and teenagers later in the year which we will update on our website. Most of our topics have been based on the feedback from parents and educators who attend our events.
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