This pandemic is an opportunity to make memories!

When was the last time you looked at your child affectionately? Recollect how you rushed to work in the morning and returned with a frown on your face carrying the burden of the entire world on your shoulders.

• Think about the umpteen times you rued not having enough time or opportunity to spend with your family, listen to your daughter's childish banter or your son bragging about his football skills. Today you are given an opportunity to understand your child, his likes, his dislikes, his limitations, his strengths, his apprehensions and insecurities. Why not make use of this time and help shape his personality and also strengthen the bond with him?

• Today's children belong to an entitled generation who lack values such as compassion, humility and respect for others. These have to be inculcated in them at the right age and this can happen only with the concerted efforts of parents, teachers and society. The reasons for children not learning values which were inherent in the previous generation are of course today's nuclear families.

• To make matters worse, both the parents work and have very busy lives. Another reason is also that most families have only one child at home. It's time parents understand this and take care of the physical, mental and emotional needs of their children.

• Many parents also suffer from guilt of not being there for their children when they need them or during a crisis. Now is the time to understand your child, bridge any gap if it exists and prepare them to face life with a lot of confidence. We must all strive to bring forth physically and emotionally strong beings so that they contribute positively towards a healthy society and global world. Remember parents-life has presented you with an opportunity even in these adverse times. Make the most of it!

• Parents can spend time with their kids playing the games they played as children, teach them what they learnt in their childhood and can live their life all over again . Most importantly they can teach them how it takes very little to be happy. In today's ultra materialistic world where the amount of happiness is directly related to the number of possessions one has, an important lesson that parents can teach children while at home is that happiness lies in abundance of love and affection among family members.

• Take this long period of 'work from home' as a way of teaching your children how to analyse and control their emotions which in turn will prevent them from having a meltdown even when under extreme stress. This will help them to be more successful in their careers and their life as they will always be cool, calm and collected even under duress.

Happy bonding!!!

(The author is Principal, D A V Public School, Safilguda, Hyderabad)