In honor of Mother’s Day, we asked readers to nominate the #CoolestMoms they know, the ones who admit to not being perfect—and not trying to be. Then, we reached out to those mothers to find out more about what makes them tick. Today, we wrap up our Mother’s Day 2015 celebration as Lavanya and Anuradha share their joys, struggles, and parenting philosophies.

LAVANYA WADGAONKAR

I am a Telugu married to a Maharashtrian. We have been married 14 years. I have a 13 year old daughter. We live in Mumbai. My daughter is an amazing kid – she’s top of her, is learning classical dance and music, she paints, she plays the keyboard and she’s an amazing cook (something I never mastered). All this without any assistance from me. And she also does my nails J I am VP – Communications for the Nissan Group of India. I travel almost 3 days in a week. It’s loads of work that sometimes spills over into the weekend.

TS: What are three struggles you face as a parent that you aren’t ashamed to admit?

1. Finding time to do all the ideal things parenting articles say you should be doing
2. Helping my daughter with her studies – I hear many say they take days off during their kid’s exams. Most of the time I’m not even there when my daughter has exams. We treat them as a part of everyday life, so there’s no ban on TV, no special study sessions etc.
3. Cooking – Never been good at that

TS: Do you think there’s a lot of pressure on women to be perfect? How can moms help create a healthy role model?

Yes. There’s so much societal and peer pressure which makes you feel guilty for every little thing – coming home late, not attending your kid’s open house, travelling for work… Being a mom is to be yourself. Your kid will accept you for who you are; not who you want to be. Nobody is perfect and your kid is intelligent enough to know that.

TS: What is your craziest mommy trait?

“I gave you so much freedom, don’t take it for granted.” I keep saying it whenever I feel guilty.

TS: If your child could put you in time-out, what would it be for?

Excessive use of my laptop and phone.

TS: What are three annoying habits of your child?

• What’s App

• She does everything to avoid taking bath

• No cleaning up after cooking

TS: Take your pick: 

• Parenting advice columns or Fashion tips? Fashion tips

• Paint on the walls or Paint on the face? Paint on walls

• Educational apps or Educational puzzles? Educational puzzles

• Staying up post-baby’s bedtime for some quiet time or Catching up on beauty sleep? Staying up

TS: Please describe your parenting style in 3-5 words.

Reason – Convince – Collaborate

TS: What or who was the biggest influence on your parenting style and in what way?

My father. Thanks to him, I never felt any pressure growing up – true freedom of thought, speech and action.

TS: Fill in the blank: I’d feel content that I raised a compassionate, good kid if…

…she is herself and willing to help others.

TS: If there’s one thing you could say to every mom in the world, what would it be?

You need to love yourself, then your child will love you more.

ANURADHA POGALUR

I live in Secunderabad, offering my services as an HR & Training Manager for a private organization. My kids, Ashwin and Akhila, are in classes 12 and 10; they are naughty and adorable, and I feel slightly disappointed since they had to witness a lot of unavoidable trauma during their growing years. It’s been just over a year since I convinced myself to get out of my marriage of 17 years. My siblings, my sister-in-law, my dad and my dear friends are a great source of support and they are the ones who are constantly helping me evolve as a human being: to ignore the social stigma associated with the woes of being a divorced woman. There’s nothing to be sorry about; rather, I celebrate my achievement as a single parent and have no complaints whatsoever, because I truly enjoy and cherish my responsibilities.

TS: How do you think you’re keeping it real as a mom?

I scream, yell, cry, complain, investigate, nag and hurt. But I also laugh and dance and freak out with my two overgrown bundles of joy!! My kids are my blessings—attitude of gratitude!

My kids tell me that their friends find me cool and they don’t know how and why; they are in fact annoyed when their friends send me a friend request on Facebook or connect with me on Whatsapp. I call that jealousy. Haha! But I seriously love and truly cherish the smiles and hugs that these kids give me when we meet during my visits to the school.

TS: What are three struggles you face as a parent that you aren’t ashamed to admit?

• Time and again I am taken for granted by my kids. And I don’t mind it much.
• I am vulnerable. My kids are both my strength and weakness!
• Guilt pangs that I’m unable to give the life they deserve—I hope and pray to be there soon.

TS: What’s the one thing you look forward to doing by yourself when/if you get the chance?

It would certainly be a solo day at the spa 🙂

TS: What is your craziest mommy trait?

Too many. In fact this is an out-of-syllabus question. You should ask Ashwin and Akhila to elicit the appropriate response.

 TS:  If your child could put you in time-out, what would it be for?

My OCD: my belief in a place for everything and everything in its place.

 TS: What are three annoying habits of your child?

My son, Ashwin:

• His awful sense of punctuality; never on time for school, but much ahead of time when it comes to football tournaments or an outing with friends.
• His so-called fashionable lingo—he can use it with his friends but I am absolutely not okay with his non-urbane language he uses it with me.

My daughter, Akhila:

• Now-or-never syndrome (maybe she picked it up from me again :))

 TS: Please describe your parenting style in 3-5 words.

A friendly banter in the arms, affectionate hugs, to being at loggerheads the very next minute—that’s my style!

Many thanks to everyone who nominated and participated in the #CoolestMoms campaign! We finish up this special day with Pooja, Sailaja, Priti, and Kiranmai next!