Thoughts of a Mum - May Abdel Asim

May Abel Asim, an arab mom and Managing Editor of What Women Want magazine in Egypt.

1. The best advice my mum ever gave me is...
Count till 100 before I react. I am still trying to reach 20…

2. What's the one thing you got from your mum and you'd like to pass down to your kid?
She always does what she thinks is the right thing to do, regardless. So I would say persistence and taking yourself lightly and not too serious.

3. Share with us a lesson that motherhood has taught you.
Motherhood has taught me that the universe does not evolve around me. It taught me that there are so many things out there that I would like to share with my daughter and that I need to be a better person so my child develops in the right direction. 

4. What's your favorite part of being a mum?
My daughter is five years now and the most fun part at the moment is to answer her many questions with logic. The favorite part in general is that kids love you unconditionally. 

5. Recommend a survival kit to the new mums out there.
For new moms with new-born babies: use a pacifier and don’t let anyone carry your baby all the time. For moms in general, I think that one should be honest and respectful towards one's child. Treat your child as a person with a mind and respect it.

6. What's the oddest thing you have carried in your handbag as mum?
Hmm, so far all was pretty much mainstream… My kid likes collecting stones and pebbles, so I might have some in my purse.

7. Do you get in the way of your kid's fashion choices?
Let's say I try not to stand in the way of her fashion sense, but when we are shopping she always goes for the "bling bling" stuff like sequined sneakers or glitter tops or God forbid sometimes the leopard print track suit, so I try to get out of these fashion statements by disappointingly mentioning that they don’t have her size. So far it worked. But I believe that we should let them dress the way they want from the items that they have in the closet and try to let them express themselves, after all we all aim at raising our kids to have an opinion.