Hobnobbing tot-ingdom

The world was forever changed when North West sat on the front row of a fashion show with fashion’s godmother Anna Wintour and her parents Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West. Not because North, then a few months old, subsequently burst into tears but because it opened up a tradition of celebrity parents taking their tiny tots to high profile events. With baby Ziva making an appearance at the Rohit Sharma-Ritika Sajdeh wedding with MS Dhoni and Sakshi Singh Dhoni, social gatherings no longer involve just the boring and stately company of adults only.

While the likes of Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Angelina Jolie and the ubiquitous Kardashian family often take their children to events they were attending — be they black tie, informal, glamorous or a week-long film festivals — such dos were until recently considered to be the purview of adults alone. Now, however, with celebrity guardians becoming more hands-on with their daily parenthood, kids are no longer tucked away to sleep by baby-sitters but instead allowed to have an enjoyable time as well.

Child psychology researcher Kalpana Basu does not think that children of famous parents suffer due to such exposure. The doctoral student says, “Children as young as the ones mentioned always enjoy being with their parents. The lateness of the night and the strain that such an event causes doesn’t have an adverse effect on the child as much as we think it does, mainly because he or she will fall asleep whenever required. Of course, a routine incorporation of parties into a toddler’s daily life is harmful but I have never spotted a celebrity parent doing that. Who doesn’t like being fawned over I honestly think that such exposure does better to insulate the child from the outside than overly protective and shielding parents.”