Parenting In A Pandemic

The Covid induced lockdown has been the hardest on children. Especially, the smaller ones like my son. He is always high on energy and gets easily bored with his toys. To capture his attention for more than five minutes, with a book or a puzzle is an achievement. Pre-lockdown, he went on hour long walks and occasional play dates, with my neighbour's baby daughter. 

Our apartment, has one case of corona per week, two wings were sealed overnight and my neighbours have vanished into thin air. Everyone's doors are sealed shut, like Borosil's food jars. Forget conversations, they don't even let air enter their houses. Four days ago though, I met them all standing at their doorways. We conversed for over an hour. I could sense the fear and hysteria, in their voices. The mood seeped into my mind as well. 

We have slowly started going on short drives in the car and I take my baby for hour long walks in his pram. The mild exercise tires him out a little, whereby making him a tad bit easier to handle. The change of scenery does a world of good for his psyche. Staring at my face and the four walls of the house all day, can get boring.

Last weekend, the husband suggested we step into Starbucks. I was a little taken aback by the suggestion, considering we had our baby in toe. He persisted, stating that the store was not very crowded. So I stepped out of the car, with the little tyke and my worst nightmare came true. A couple standing in line behind us, didn't follow the rules of social distancing, clearly demarcated by the store. I tugged at my husband's arm and pointed to the offending couple. He didn't say anything at first. But when he noticed that they were edging dangerously close to us, he turned around and told them politely to follow the rules of the store. 

Two days ago, a young girl approached me with a toddler in toe. They wanted to say hello to my son as they had observed him walking with me. I mumbled a quick hello and went my way. I'm sure the little girl and the toddler did not have Coronavirus. But the protective mom instincts in me (and WHO guidelines), told me to retreat. The only way to beat this virus, is to assume that everyone has it. 

It's been a hard year. Social distancing has made us emotionally distant as well. I love conversing with fellow mums and enjoy watching my baby play with other children. But now, I run, like my tail is on fire. The paranoia of our helpless little children potentially catching the virus, has us all on our guards. Praying for the world to heal and for normalcy to return to ours lives, most importantly the lives of our children, who have so much ahead of them. No virus should stand in the way of their dreams. 

(Image Source : https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/survey-topic-parenting-pandemic/)