5:30 AM. Two Toddlers. One Parent. Mumbai’s Wildest Classroom.
People think I’m slightly mad.
“You take BOTH twins? Alone? At 5:30 AM? To a national park?”
Yes. Every Saturday. And I actually look forward to it.
Tara and Tashi are three now. Every Saturday morning, while Mumbai sleeps, we’re on our way to Sanjay Gandhi National Park. We walk. We jog. We explore. Monkeys swing overhead. Deer graze in the mist. We meet runners, walkers, elders, families, vendors who greet us and cheer us with their smiles and eyes full of awe and admiration, but mostly with love and respect.
The part that surprises everyone: taking them out in the forest, wild or even a park is actually easier than staying home. Because that’s what children are naturally designed to do. To observe, get curious, get excited. To marvel at monkeys jumping across trees or spot a spider on a bark. To meet the same swan boats in the lake and eat watermelon and corn from the same Didi at her stall.
How Saturday Mornings Actually Look
This didn’t happen overnight. We started when the girls were around two. Took a few trial runs to find the rhythm.
5:00 AM - I wake up. Quick freshen up. Boil some eggs. Pack water bottles, fruits, eggs, one change of clothes (because, still toddlers 😛).
5:15 AM - Wake up Tara and Tashi. This is where trust kicks in. I tell them it’s ‘National Park’ day. They know what that means. Instead of crying about it, they spring up from their sleeping horizontal position to a peppy standing stance. They get dressed on their own and get ready faster than most adults I know.
5:30 AM - We’re out.
6:00 to 6:15 AM - We reach SGNP. Takes about 45 minutes from home. The gates open early for walkers and joggers. That first breath of cool morning air. The girls’ eyes go wide every single time.
6:15 to 8:00 AM - We walk the trails. Sometimes jog. These days the girls run to beat the morning cold. They point at everything. A monkey in the trees. A spotted deer in the distance. Butterflies they want to chase. The fallen bougainvillea flowers. Other kids they want to say hello to.
8:00 AM - Heading back. Tired in the best way. The girls often fall asleep in the car.
Why 5:30 AM Actually Makes Sense
People ask why not go later when it’s more “convenient.”
5:30 AM IS convenient. No traffic. Park is quiet. There are joggers and active trainers moving their bodies that our kids observe and internalise without distraction. Weather is actually pleasant in Mumbai at that hour. Animals are more active. Air is cleaner.
And toddlers have massive energy reserves. If you don’t channelise that energy early, it ends up channelising you. A morning in nature burns through it in the healthiest way possible. By 9 AM, we’ve already had a full adventure. Rest of the day flows.
One Parent. Two Kids. How?
This is the question I get most.
Two three-year-olds can be chaotic. But they’re also more capable than we give them credit for.
Tara and Tashi walk on their own. Have been doing that since before they turned two. They stopped using strollers at around 13 months and hence we got used to ‘No strollers on trails’. We walk at their pace, which is surprisingly steady when they’re actually interested in where they’re going.
Nature does the parenting. When you’re in a forest with 270 bird species and monkeys swinging overhead and the occasional deer sighting, you don’t need to entertain your kids. They’re already absorbed. Already learning. Already asking questions.
“Mumma, which bird is that?”
Today they showed me a mynah and when I asked why is it not a crow, they said because it has white in the feathers and a yellow beak.
“Why does that monkey have a baby on its back?”
“Can we see the caves?”
The park is the curriculum. I’m just walking alongside.
Consistency helps too. The girls know what to expect on Saturday mornings. They know the routine. The trails. This predictability reduces chaos. They’re not fighting me because this isn’t new or scary. It’s their weekly adventure. And mine too.
It’s a delight to see their wide eyes and excitement. Today, we stood for a good 15 minutes at a spot just because Tara Tashi wanted to see monkeys jumping on the trees. Other people initially wondered why we were standing like that, but when they saw, they heartily smiled and gave us thumbs up or a silent “way to go” with their gestures.
And I stopped over-preparing. Used to pack like we were going for a week. Now it’s water, fruit, eggs, one change of clothes. Less stuff, less to manage. If something unexpected happens, we deal with it. Kids are resilient. Parents are too.
What They Get from This
Could talk about the physical benefits. Fresh air. Exercise. Vitamin D. But the deeper stuff matters more.
Independence. They walk themselves. Observe. Process. They’re not sitting in strollers watching screens. They’re participants.
Curiosity. A forest is the ultimate curiosity trigger. Everything is worth examining. A leaf. A stone. A bird call. This is how children are supposed to learn.
Connection. We meet the same groups of walkers regularly. The elderly uncles doing their rounds. Runners who wave. Other families with kids. The girls are learning that community exists beyond our home.
Confidence. They know they can walk long distances. Handle the outdoors. This quiet confidence shows up in other areas of their lives.
What I Get from This
Being selfish for a moment.
These Saturday mornings are my therapy. Mumbai is intense. Life is busy. But for those two hours in SGNP, surrounded by forest in the middle of one of the world’s most crowded cities, I breathe.
I watch my daughters discover the world, and I remember why we chose this approach.
When we started traveling with the girls (Europe at 10 months, Iceland at 22 months) people thought we were brave. Or reckless. But those trips taught us something: children rise to the expectations you set.
Expect them to be helpless, they will be.
Trust them to handle new experiences, they will.
These Saturday mornings are an extension of that. Small, consistent adventures building big capabilities over time.
Start Your Own
You don’t need SGNP. You need a place that feels like an adventure to your child. Local park. Beach. Hiking trail. Whatever nature you have.
Start small. Wake 30 minutes earlier one day. Take your kids outside before the world gets loud. Watch what happens.
The anticipation of “National Park Day” creates structure in the week. The girls know Saturday is coming. They talk about it. Look forward to it. That anticipation itself is valuable.
No special gear needed. No fitness required. Just a decision to do it, and then keep doing it.
The Actual Secret
People want hacks. Tips. The “one thing.”
There isn’t one.
What makes this work is the decision to keep showing up. Even tired. Even when it rained the night before. Even when I’d rather sleep in.
Consistency isn’t glamorous. But it’s what separates “want to” from “do.”
Mumbai has a national park right in its heart. Leopards walk those trails at night. Birds chirp in morning mist. Ancient caves carved by Buddhist monks sit quietly in the forest. Every Saturday, my daughters and I get to be part of that world.
That’s not hard. That’s a privilege.
💬 Let’s Redefine “Smart Parenting”
At Life of PI Square, we believe that parenting is logical, and the smartest parents aren’t the ones using the latest apps.
They’re the ones who know when to pause and listen.
If this resonates with you, 📬 subscribe for more reflections on mindful, connected parenting in the digital age.
Follow our journey on Instagram @lifeofpisquare and explore our approach to raising confident, independent kids at lifeofpisquare.com