Juveriah Suman

Being born and brought up in a town, stepping out and living in big cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore was an absolute delight. But it was more than that for an ambitious girl like me. And why would it not be? I had just got recruited as a Software Engineer into IBM, my dream company! I was over the moon, and to make this transition easy, I had the support of mentors, my cousins, and family-like friends. I began working and loved everything about my job – right from the workplace, the parties, the visibility of growth in my career, everything! Nothing bogged me down. IBM even gave us the flexibility to work from home. Choosing that, I had some of the best and most comfortable days of my career then. I am not sure if everyone is going to agree to this now!

All was well, and after about 3 years, I was offered an onsite opportunity – I had to fly to Australia. But, as strange are the ways of nature, I had to turn it down. In simple words, it was a “sacrifice.” You might have guessed why by now. Yes, I was getting married, that too in that very month! I still regret that decision of mine, but I happily got married. I then applied for LOA (Leave of Absence) to spend time with my husband and my new family. Soon, my husband got busy with his projects. Having worked as a software professional, I completely understood his situation and never forced anything on him. But it was in those times that I felt a void in myself. So, by the time my LOA lapsed, I managed to take permission from my husband and in-laws to work! I was now back at work, resuming my career with IBM. I even started attending interviews to get into a project out there. A few days later was when I discovered that I had conceived. As happy I was with that news, some complications came in with it. With a heavy heart, I decided to resign from my job. Yet again, I became friends with my old friend – “sacrifice”. After all, as it is said, ‘Women are expected to be an Epitome of Sacrifice in the male-dominated society, right?’

Fast-forward to 16th September 2017, a day that I can never forget in my life, for two reasons. One is the birth of my dear son Talha, and the other being, the birth of a mother within me. With the little angel of mine coming into this world, I was a completely changed woman! Just like all other mothers, I too became busy looking after him and had no time to think of anything else, thoroughly enjoying this phase of my life! Many of my friends would even ask me as to when I’d be getting back to work. Honestly, the only answer I had was that I didn’t want to go back to work. The very thought of leaving my child alone, that too with someone else, was a nightmare! I knew that nobody can take care of a child as a mother would do, and I was happy to be a stay-at-home mom!

Like all parents, I was also pretty excited to see my child growing. It all seemed too quick by when we had to watch Talha go not just to play school, but also to school next! Unfortunately, the pandemic struck and schools were shut down! An increase in screen time constantly kept me worried. When there was no hope of schools re-opening, I decided to home school Talha. Luckily, before my stint with IBM, I had gained the experience of an educator in a school, for 7 months. That worked as a boon for me! I got fascinated with the Montessori way of teaching kids and taught Talha Nursery too!

Around the same time, I met my old friend Sweta and was truly inspired by her approach to teaching her daughter, Eva. It was a different approach to learning and also kept them engaged with toys, all at once! That was it for me, and there began my Instagram page – “Tinytots_learning.” My niche was clear – I wanted to share my homeschooling journey, spread awareness about play-based learning. I wanted every parent to know that they could invest in these learning toys instead of the expensive ones like remote cars, guns, etc., for their kids. Another reason that made me start this page, were the sky-rocketing fees of the playschools. It blew my mind to think that parents need to pay forty thousand for their kid to just attend nursery school! On the contrary, amongst all the professions in the world, teachers are paid the least. This made my belief stronger; I had to do this. Since then, motherhood hasn’t been a barrier but instead an opportunity that made me a “Mom Blogger”. Each moment amidst the moms’ community on Instagram feels real, raw, and unfiltered. I might not be living a fairytale-like those in the novels, but I sure am living my style of a happy motherhood tale!

Total Work Experience: 4 Years (IBM)