Parenting tips during lockdown

Imake no claims of having discovered something latent in me, hitherto unexplored, during the course of the lockdown. I have however, come to realize that if you seriously, set your mind at something, you can turn inexorable in executing it to conclusion.

For instance, my bookshelves, all cluttered and messy, had been fanning my discontent for months. So, with plenteous hours at my disposal, I felt I could demonstrate my tenacity with an extra bit of elbow grease. I started by removing the books panelwise, then scraping off the dust across every pore, and putting them neatly back. Now every morning, I soak in an eyeful of my prized ‘literary’ companions. Keyed up now, I decided to repeat the exercise with my sizeable collection of DVDs. I separated the English, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali titles and then re-arranged them as per the language and the year of release; a leviathan task but highly fulfilling in the end. With my fetish for orderliness now jutting forth, I turned towards our precious gramophone records.

Though these were in fair condition still, the covers had been divested of their sheen. Polishing them one by one and placing them in order in the steel ‘almirahs’ made me feel that human effort can sprout to a veritable high if it concurs with one’s inveterate desires.

Looking at those gramophone records, it dawned upon me that life isn’t linear, it is a circle and what goes around, comes around too; the cycle of ‘karma’. Metaphorically, life that whirled at a speed of a 78 rpm earlier had now whittled down to the speed of a 33 rpm, but at the end it was all music to the ears. So, it was a question of reorienting yourself ‘audibly’ to a different groove without going into a sulk. Period!

JAY SUBRAMANYAM

The highly contagious Covid-19 infection that has spread across the globe so rapidly and has compellingly necessitated physical distancing to stop its spread is something that we cannot wish away.

Lockdown or some sort of restrictions that will limit our free movement and mingling with each other is here to stay for a while, and with schools shut and children at home, parents are often wondering what best way to deal with them.

UNICEF (acronym of United Nations Children’s Fund, formerly United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), has come out with “guidelines” for parenting during lockdown. Although it looks cold and unattractive in its blue lusterless web page, the points it makes seems sensible and worthy of attention of all parents and teachers (https:// www.unicef.org/coronavirus/ covid-19-parenting-tips).

1. Encourage open discussion with children about COVID. As the family watches TV together, children might be more aware of the infection than we think. Also, getting them to realize WHY we need to wear masks, wash our hands with soap, and avoid playing with friends help them comply better.

2. An undiscovered benefit of lockdown could be the close contact time that parents now have with their kids. This “restriction” can be easily changed into an opportunity of engaging, learning, creative activities, as well as of bonding. Children can learn to provide the helping hand when much domestic work needs to be shared.

3. Time structuring really helps when the phase gets long (discipline often sounds like school). Time to rise, time for chores, time for exercise (yoga), time for TV and entertainment, time for creative engagement, time for social interactions on phone, time for news watching, time for movies and so on. A short term and long term of goal setting helps.

4. Dealing with bad behavior can be a challenge. As parents do not now have schools and school teachers to blame, they must learn to tackle it. Scolding and punishing can, make matters worse as children are as frustrated as adults with these new restrictions. Getting them involved in a common creative activity such as singing or painting can be a win-win situation. This may help parents to rediscover themselves and peep into the interests and talents of their children.

5. Visit to the internet is often inevitable. Instead of prying and monitoring all the time, it may be a good idea to let them undertake tasks, such as learning or making a project on a topic. That would help them stay focussed and not stray.

6. Studies and scholastics are important, but let them discover and enjoy the process of learning try to beat the teachers at this game during these times.

Every challenge can be turned into an opportunity. Think how you would feel if your children remember these months years later as the best time of their lives bonding, sharing, working and learning with their parents!