A child’s relationship with their parent is their first taste of love and safety outside the womb; but as they grow old, the parent-child relationship can become complex and get influenced by various factors. Actor Aamir Khan and his first wife Reena Dutta’s daughter Ira Khan, who married fitness trainer Nupur Shikhare in 2024, has now spoken about how ‘nobody really tells you that you have to build a relationship with your parents, just as you ‘work on your marriage’. Also read | 8 effective parenting tips for navigating parent-child conflicts and building a healthier relationship
‘You have to build a relationship with your parents’
Ira, who has been open about her struggles with depression for a few years, was speaking with actor Ahsaas Channa in a recent interview, when she opened up about ‘complicated’ parent-child bond.
She said, “During my depression, I learned a lot of things that I wish I had been taught earlier. For a few years, you have heard that marriage is a compromise, and you have to work on your marriage and things like that. But that’s the same with your parents also. Like in any relationship you have to work on it. Nobody really tells you that you have to build a relationship with your parents. Also, because you’re a child and at some point, you turn into an adult where you are supposed to no longer see your parents as parents. You are supposed to see them as people. But that shift never happens, which means they (parents) are not allowed to make mistakes, which they will, and they will keep babying you, not intentionally. It’s just very complicated.”
‘Interesting to get to know your parents as people’
As children grow into adults, the parent-child relationship evolves and Ira says it was her therapist, who inadvertently made the star kid release that open and honest communication is essential for a healthy adult parent-child relationship as both parties should feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, feelings, and concerns.
Ira said, “I realised that when my therapist said, so what are your parents like? I was like, I don’t really know them as people. I only know them as my parents. And how can I have a relationship with someone if I don’t know them, like them? And it’s really weird and interesting to get to know your parents as people.”
If you are a parent or a child looking for tips to build respectful connections between yourself and your parents or children, in a 2022 interview with HT Lifestyle, Tulika Mukherjee, psychologist at PeakMind, shared how you can nurture respectful bonds.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice.