A child’s relationship with their parents is their first taste of love and security outside the womb; but as they grow older, parent-child relationships can become complex and depend on many factors. Actor Aamir Khan and his first wife Reena Dutta’s daughter Ira Khan, who married fitness trainer Nupur Shikhare in 2024, has now opened up about how ‘no one tells you that you have to work with your parents as you work over his marriage’. Read also | 8 effective parenting tips to help resolve parent-child conflict and build healthier relationships
“You have to build a relationship with your parents”
Ira, who has been open about her struggle with depression for several years, spoke about the “complicated” bond between parents and children in a recent interview with actor Ahsaas Chana.
She said: “During my depression I learned a lot of things I wish I had been taught earlier. You’ve heard for years that marriage is a compromise and you need to work on your marriage and things like that. But it’s the same with your parents. As with any relationship, it takes work. No one really tells you that you have to build a relationship with your parents. Also, because you are a child and at some point you turn into an adult where you don’t have to see your parents as parents anymore. You have to see them as people. But this shift never happens, which means they (parents) are not allowed to make mistakes, which they will, and they will continue to nurture you, not on purpose. It’s just very difficult.”
“It’s interesting to get to know your parents as people”
As children grow into adults, parent-child relationships evolve, and Ira says it was her therapist who inadvertently led the child star to say that open and honest communication is essential to a healthy adult parent-child relationship, as both parties need to feel feel comfortable sharing your thoughts, feelings and concerns.
Ira said: “I realized this when my therapist said, so what are your parents like? I felt like I didn’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 him as he is? And it’s really amazing and interesting to get to know parents as people.”
If you’re a parent or child looking for tips on how to build a respectful relationship with your parent or child, in an interview with HT Lifestyle 2022, Tulika Mukherjee, a psychologist at PeakMind, shares how you can foster respectful relationships.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice.
