NEW JERSEY, U.S., October 4, 2024 (RNS): Three years ago, as she scrolled through an Instagram feed saturated with viral child psychologists and so-called Christian momfluencers, Niki Patel came across the account of “Dr. Becky,” the psychologist and Instagram-famous “conscious parenting” coach with nearly 3 million followers who preaches the importance of mindfulness, gratitude and affirmations within parent-child relationships. “I’m like, ‘This is what we learn in Hinduism,’” said Patel, 36, a pharmacist and mother of two in New Jersey. “This is literally how we try to teach our kids, like, certain values.” That’s when Patel saw her niche: Switching her private account to public, Patel began her personal journey of seva, or service, as a Hindu spirituality and parenting content creator.


Today, she shares tips with her more than 30,000 followers on how to calm restless toddlers by chanting mantras and offers ancient wisdom from swamis and gurus about the crucial role mothers play. Patel’s posts are drawn from her daily life as an American mom but with an eye to making “modern-day” parenting, she said, compatible with a faithful Hindu lifestyle. “In American culture, you talk about parenting values, and in our culture, we talk about sanskars (virtues) — respecting each other, respecting parents. I feel like there are a lot of opportunities for women to help raise the next generation.” Patel doesn’t consider herself more than typically religious. “I’m trying to raise our kids with some sense of spirituality, but I don’t expect them to be, like, super-religious or anything,” she said. “I just find that this is very valuable to a person’s life, like it can bring a lot of benefits.”

More at source.
https://religionnews.com/2024/10/04/for-hindu-momfluencer-niki-patel-conscious-parenting-is-tk/

Post Views: 128