Ritu Rathee’s journey as a pilot and a YouTuber is marked with several milestones: She met Barack Obama in Singapore while representing Google Asia Pacific, has spoken about her journey in a TED talk and has more than 2.3 million subscribers on her YouTube channel The Flying Beast (which she runs with her husband Gaurav Taneja who is also a pilot). However, as parents everywhere adjust to an eerie new normal during the pandemic, Rathee shares how one can manage kids during this tough time and how she juggles between her many roles, almost effortlessly.
Excerpts from the interview:
ELLE: How do you manage to parent while pursuing your career? And, what would be your advice to working moms like yourself?
Ritu Rathee: I make sure that besides regular duties, I spend at least two hours of the day solely with my daughter where I make her study and play. Being a mom will always be my priority. When it comes to vlogging, I don’t find it difficult. But managing PR for my husband Gaurav is a hectic job. I need to make many phone calls; send emails to make things easy for him.
I don’t like to give advice to mothers because I think every mother does her best. But as working moms, it’s very important that when you are off work, you give extra love and care to your child, which your child might have missed the whole day.
ELLE: Could you share some tips for managing kids during the time of self-isolation?
RR: Share the workload with all family members including your children, it makes them responsible. Involve your kids in household activities and be part of their activities. Play games together. I like to play hide and seek, read books, do yoga, and walk on the terrace with my daughter. We did camping on the rooftop as well. That was a good way to get some fresh air during this quarantine.
ELLE: How has the current healthcare crisis affected your work?
RR: In vlogging, the best part is you do not need a team, a cameraman, or light experts. Now, we are spending more time with our family and we are capturing that.
