Parenting is often shaped by small, everyday moments: reminding children to put away their clothes, asking them to clean up after playing and teaching them to take responsibility for their actions. For Amitabh Bachchan , these ordinary household rules are among the memories that have stayed with him from childhood.
The veteran actor recently revisited his upbringing on Kaun Banega Crorepati 18, where he spoke about his mother, Teji Bachchan, and the discipline she maintained at home.
She did as much as mothers generally do),” he said. His recollections offered a glimpse into the family environment in which he grew up and a reminder that parenting lessons do not always come through formal advice. Sometimes, they are taught through the habits parents consistently expect their children to follow. “Dekhiye, har maa jo hoti hai woh thodi bahut usmein discipline, ek jaagrit rehti hai bacchon ke prati… ‘Yeh karo, aisa mat karo, yeh theek karo, woh theek karo’. Toh jitni maayein karti hain utna unki ore se hota tha. (Look, every mother is, to some extent, disciplined and attentive towards her children. Do this, don’t do that, do this properly, do that properly. He also recalled that Teji was particular about keeping the house clean. She would reprimand her children if they left clothes lying around or returned home after playing in the dirt without cleaning themselves up.
they point to a practical aspect of parenting: children learn responsibility through repeated actions While these may sound like simple household expectations. When parents consistently ask children to put things back, clean up after themselves and respect shared spaces, they give them opportunities to develop habits that can stay with them as they grow older. Such routines can also help children understand that maintaining a home is a shared responsibility rather than a task that someone else will always handle. The aim need not be to keep children from making a mess or making mistakes. Instead, parents can use these moments to show them how to correct things and take responsibility for what they do. His account added another dimension to the story of his mother. Alongside the discipline she maintained at home, Teji had also made a significant personal decision in choosing to marry Harivansh Rai Bachchan despite their different backgrounds. For parents, the broader takeaway is that children learn not only from instructions but also from the choices and behaviour they observe at home. How adults treat others, manage disagreements, honour commitments and take responsibility can shape the values children see in practice. Bachchan’s memories bring together these two sides of family influence: the small habits reinforced at home and the bigger decisions that reveal a person’s convictions. His account is a reminder that parenting is rarely defined by one conversation or one rule. It is built over time, through everyday routines, boundaries and the examples children witness as they grow up.