“Oh honey, I’m only teasing”, I say smiling as I ruffle my six-year-old’s thick thatch of blonde hair. He’s annoyed that I’d gently ribbed him about the adorable cowlick on his head, and his need for a haircut. “Teasing isn’t allowed at school. It’s bullying”, he says with a grave look in his blue eyes. This stops me in my tracks. Is playful teasing really the same as bullying? I’d mostly thought of teasing as a form of affection, especially within the family and with close friends.Prosocial teasingBecause the line between teasing and bullying can be blurry, many schools adopt zero-tolerance…
Author: Doha Family
There’s no doubt that food is an important way to strengthen traditions and culture. Celebrations, holidays and gatherings bring people together with food often playing the central role. Favourite family meals become warm childhood memories. Well-loved recipes are handed down from one generation to the next. With the majority of residents in Qatar far from their home countries, food is an invaluable reminder of culture, identity and family.Maysa Taleb, her husband Wesam and their children, 12-year-old Omar, nine-year-old Khaled, and six-year-old Nada have called Qatar home for the past two years. Though her family originates from Palestine, Maysa was born…
Yes—our kids are smarter than us, and there is no shame admitting it. Their time is way different than ours was, and our challenge now is to swallow this fact and learn how to deal with it. Our parents never gave us the chance to talk about or share our ideas. It was always “stay still” and “don’t talk when the adults are talking”.But, I believe, that despite their best intentions, this was a mistake on their part. I’m saying this so that we’re not shocked the next time our kids say that they want to be YouTubers, Instagram influencers,…
Guilt. That little niggle that appears and worms its way into your brain, taking up valuable headspace.Guilt over whether you’re parenting the right way; whether your children are content, fulfilled, academically stretched, safe, warm, loved, not active enough or too active. Oh! And did I mention the constant checking whether they’re even happy? Then there’s the guilt over working or not working. Ruminating over whether you’re setting the right example—the “right” kind of work-life balance. Guilt over being on social media, or not on social media. Whether you’re on your phone too much and too digitally aware, or not enough.…
SPONSORED BY ACS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, DOHA Exam season is coming—and with it, a lot of stress, headaches and perhaps a few tears. As a parent, it can be bewildering to watch your teen prepare for something so critical to their future. It’s hard to know how to give them help or support, so we spoke with Nickeisha Thomas, the high school guidance counsellor at ACS International School, Doha, and student, Melanie Meijer, for tips on keeping your teen on track for success.1. Prepare a study spaceYour teen likely already has a favourite study space. Before the start of revisions, make sure it’s clean…
Moving from the home that you have always lived into a country that you hardly know is tough and overwhelming. You have to start a whole new life, make new friends, and live in a new home. My parents thought that moving to Doha would be a great opportunity for us and without a delay, booked five plane tickets to the city. I wasn’t too sure about this “great” opportunity at first…Back in London, hardly anyone looked like me. By the time I started wearing a hijab, I was the black sheep in my year and some kids hated me…
Fifteen years ago, Bali stole my heart.Despite being a travel addict and having years of living abroad, two gap years, and countless crazy holidays under my belt, I had never been to Southeast Asia. It turned out to be a turning point for me—I would never travel in the same way again. We had been keen but nervous to return to Bali with the kids. What if it had changed too much since we were there? What if we had? Could a place we had once loved so much give us a family holiday that changed how we travelled, yet again? The…
With a marathon runner in the house who’s brought home several medals from a variety of races, it was only natural that my boys would be interested in running. And more specifically, interested in earning medals of their own.Having spent the summer practising in England at various junior parkrun events, we came back to Qatar ready to take on the challenge of earning a medal. Lucky for us, the challenge was ready and waiting in the form of the Qatar Running Series (QRS).As my husband signed up to complete the 10K, my seven-year-old the 3K Primary Junior race, and my…
Dealing with a viral disease outbreak in a nation is no easy feat. This is especially true when the pathogen in question is so new that there is no standard treatment to manage it, nor a vaccine to prevent it. Or when it is so contagious that each infected person could potentially infect 2–2.5 individuals—a rate higher than seasonal influenza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite these challenges, it is our view at Doha Family that Qatar’s response to the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has been stellar.When the virus had just started spreading in the Middle East, Qatar…
As the Covid-19 pandemic steamrolls its way through 2020, and our children adapt to shifting “new normals” every other week, we have seen many changes here in Qatar. First, schools closed back in March. Then, they reopened in September when both blended and full-time online were options. Now, we have moved on to a rotated learning scheme, and through it all, our children have proven time and time again how resilient they are. However, resilient or not, one thing remains the same, our children need to stay active.According to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) website, children over five should…