The Teach Your Parents (TYP) initiative was started in 2023 by 12-year-old Nandini Sundram and 16-year-old Abhimanyu (Abhi) Sundram, together with their father, visual artist Sanjay Sundram. 

It began as a youth-led climate initiative that used comics, storytelling, and art to create awareness and start conversations about climate change among young people. 

Designed by Nandini and Abhi for other youth, the comics were created with the goal of making complex climate ideas easier to understand and relate to. Nandini led the illustrations, while Abhimanyu contributed research and helped shape the content. Sanjay provided mentoring and support.

What began as a small project with Grade 5 and 6 students at W.E. Johnston Public School in Kanata, Kanata (Ottawa), quickly grew larger involving more schools and art workshops for students in Grades 4 to 8. 

The initiative further expanded to include students from multiple schools across Canada and as far as Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Rajasthan in India.

TYP has grown through the support of Ottawa-based volunteers such as Pam Feeny, who edited the first comics; Tim Bolger, who contributed voiceovers alongside Nandini; Pradeep Maleka, who documented the project and its events through photography; and the artist Leslie Firth, who led school workshops. Educators such Ms. Allison Bloom have provided ongoing support. Many students, teachers, and principals, have championed the initiative within their schools. 

Abhi's paper on the project was published in the Canadian Journal of Children's Rights. At the journal's launch event at Carleton University, Nandini and Abhi were invited to present TYP to students and faculty.

Nandini and Abhi also received mentorship from Prof. Monica Ruiz-Casares (McGill University) and Prof. Virginia Caputo (Carleton University), whose guidance helped shape the project’s youth engagement approach and connect TYP with supportive organizations and programs.