Thank You To All The Little Warriors, Our Children

While everyone is applauding the effort and dedication of several Covid warriors, we have accidentally missed out on the warriors in our homes!

One of my routine early morning rituals is to delete all unwanted whatsapp forwards. While I was deleting these messages, I came across a video that spoke about Covid warriors. That’s when I realised that while everyone is applauding the effort and dedication of several Covid warriors, we have accidentally missed out on the warriors in our homes!

Yes, these warriors are indeed, our little kids. They have withstood this long lockdown with patience and courage. Our kids not only showed patience, but also supported us through the lockdown.

Of course, there have been times when our little ones were stressed and bored of staying indoors. They have also been restless due to the school closing mid-way and not being able to meet their friends. They have not been to their favourite restaurants or cried about not getting a single toy for almost three months.

Rather, there have been times they have stood up and helped us either in cleaning the house or helping out in the kitchen. They have sailed across a once-in-a century crisis and in some cases have come forward to help us in our chores. Yes, there were hiccups initially, we parents had to handhold them for the initial few weeks, but once they got the hang of the situation they mastered it. Kids are quick learners and adapt to situations easily.

Now as the lockdown starts easing up across India, new questions will arise, and we need to be prepared for these and get our little heroes prepared for the same. Just yesterday I received his school curriculum and while we were going through it, my son asked me if we were ready to go to school, whether it was safe to do so.

I knew this situation had to be handled tactfully. So I talked to him in a language which he could easily understand.

It’s OK to leave due to an injury…

My son is an ardent football fan and hence I decided to use references from sports and football. We decided to watch a re-run of his champion’s league game. During the game, one of the players was hurt during the final and couldn’t play the game. I explained to him that just as in sports, sometimes you have to leave a game due to an injury, something similar has happened to mother earth too. I told him that the earth has been injured due to a virus and all the doctors are trying to heal the world.

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

On the football field, the players are required to wear shin guards to protect themselves from injury. I made him recall how when he used to be at football practice, he had to remember to change clothes after the session, drink water, practice safety measures etc. Similarly, he has to take health and safety precautions now too.

I made him our Head Coach and Protector-in-Chief!

As the lockdown is getting lifted, I decided to make him the head coach of the family. We wanted to start preparing for the unlock 1.0 phase. Kids love to boss around and feel important when they are given new duties. So here are some of the duties I assigned to my kid to protect us all:

• Continue to wash our hands frequently for at least 20 seconds
• Wear our masks even if it meant going down in the building for just a few mins
• Carry a pocket sanitizer, wet wipes and a spare mask in our bags while going out
• Sanitizing bells, door knobs and packages coming from outside

He also got the job of blowing a whistle as soon as we come home from outside, to remind us to wash ourselves thoroughly. Our little hero, surprisingly has grown more careful than any of us regarding hygiene.

Not all heroes wear capes. So, as we get ready and prepared for the new normal, and hope the world heals soon, we must remember to thank our little ones for co-operating and being heroes in the face of this once-in-a-century pandemic. With their level of maturity, they have coped beautifully and with a little handholding from us parents, they have become one of the unsung heroes of this lockdown. In addition to thanking the doctors and the front-line workers, thank our little ones too.

Thank you my little son – An article in association with ICICI Prudential Life.

For T/C disclaimers, visit: https://bit.ly/37L21bV

Image via Canva

Comments