Kalki Koechlin learned ‘patience’ from her daughter Sappho

Talking about that one lesson she has learned from her child that she wishes she knew earlier in life, Kalki told IANS, “Patience. Everything in its own time.”

New Delhi: National Award-winning actress Kalki Koechlin revealed the biggest lesson she learned from her five-year-old daughter, Sappho, is patience.

Talking about that one lesson she has learned from her child that she wishes she knew earlier in life, Kalki told IANS, “Patience. Everything in its own time.”

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The 41-year-old actress spoke about the importance of understanding a child’s developmental stages, especially how their brain affects impulse control.

“You realize the difference in your child’s capabilities between ages three, five, and seven, and it goes by so fast. But when you’re in that moment, when they’re three and struggling with something, you have to remember they haven’t fully developed their prefrontal cortex.”

“That’s the part of the brain that controls impulses. So, if I’m angry with you, I could slap you, but I don’t because I have a developed prefrontal cortex. Kids don’t have that yet, so they might slap you. We often don’t realize that there’s a biological reason for these impulses.

“It’s not because they hate you, and it’s not personal; it’s just that they don’t know how to manage their impulses. By four, she was able to manage her impulses; she could be angry and not hit me,” she added.

She talked about how guidance from a child psychologist helped her navigate milestones.

“Knowing these developmental stages is so important. We were informed about these things through our child psychologist—things like at what age a child should no longer need diapers or at what age they should be sleeping on their own.”

She added, “These are things you don’t know unless you speak to a professional, or you figure it out by the time you have your second child, having seen it with your first. So, it’s very important that there’s education on that.”