If there is a section that needs to be truly applauded for their great contribution in uplifting the spirits of their elders during the long 21-day lockdown, it is the children in the family. These sunshine warriors, the feisty humans, even in the darkness of hours have kept their family entertained thoroughly.
Salutation to these little angelic souls and their upbeat demeanour, their chirpy patter, pranks have wiped off gloom and depression from many a household. In their turn, they did not fail to express their joy and gratitude in getting the undivided attention of their working parents and elders.
But life has not been easy for these children themselves. They have been confined within their houses, with no, absolutely no access to parks, game parlours, restaurants or parties. It is indeed a strange world that confronts the children during the lockdown. But they have taken it all in their stride. They are happy to be basking in Love, security and importance which they are getting now in abundance. The children have in more than one way expressed their sheer joy to have their parents around 24×7.
Never before has the family enjoyed the presence of their children so much. Proving to be real stress busters for the elders, the children are sunshine for the family in these gloomy and dark hours of lockdown. Their cheerfulness and glee have added so much brightness in the homes. They have kept the entire family entertained through their pranks, jokes, and of course and enthusiasm to learn a new skill –be it gardening, cooking or learning religious lessons.
For school-going children, it seems like one big holiday and freedom to laze around in their nightwear. They are happy to miss the mundane tasks- of getting up early to go to school, going for tuitions and doing homework.
Doll like Inaya Rizvi spends her time asking her mother to dress her up, She then performs fairy acts for everyone. These are enjoyed and applauded by the family as they sit around her. The live show is often shared with relatives often across the globe. Cute Inalya melts our hearts in a video when she refuses to share her chocolate cookies with even her mom.
Omisha Khanna is everything a Barbie doll is. She turned five during the lockdown. Hugely disappointed by the fact that she could not throw a birthday party and call her friends over her family made it up by decorating an area in the drawing-room as Party zone, made her favourite snacks, baked a cake and above all got her to pose for the video and pictures. It was her journalist aunt, Roli Khanna who shared her video.
Roli narrated to us the beautiful incident when the family was glued to the TV screen to hear the prime minister address the nation. He explained the grave situation and stressed the urgent need of breaking the cycle of the Coronavirus by announcing national lockdown. Little Omisha was alarmed, she could not fathom why Modi wanted to break the cycle. It was only after her dad explained to her that it was the cycle of disease that he wanted to break did Omisha sigh in relief.
There is another video shared by Mr Nadeem Uddin of his six-year-old son Nabil Uddin where he is helping Nabil brush up his religious lessons or what he calls “deen ki buniyaad.
Five-year-old Mohd Arshan is busy rolling out chapattis. This video was shared by his father, Dr Abid Asghar. The little one, who like his parents, wants to be a doctor when he grows up but it appears that he is enjoying the role of ‘Roti Chef’ during the lockdown. Practising his dance steps on the latest Bollywood numbers seems that when his parents are at the hospital Arshan sanitizes the entire house and uses the antiseptic solution to clean up all his toys. One important task for his family is to hide the sanitizers and soap and keep it under lock and key.
And then here is a video that strengthens the beautiful bond between a bro and sister. Nine-year-old Zoran is shown taking lessons from his mom to learn how to bake a cake for his older sister Zara’s birthday. A screenshot send along with we can see how Zara’s friends are enjoying the party online.
There are many more videos but we cannot accommodate them all here. Please add them to your own sunshine albums. We must fold our hands for these little sweethearts. We must pray that normalcy returns and these caged bundles of joy get a chance to run, and that they inherit the Earth that is pure, welcoming and free of all disease.
Here are some tips to keep your kids engaged during lockdown
*Involve them in easy crafts to make
*Play with them indoor games like ludo or carom.
*Teach them basic, kids cooking
*Teach them vertical gardening
*Involve them in online writing competition
*Design storytelling sessions with grandparents.
*Access for them free reading audios
*Assign them simple household chores
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