Nagpur: As students find themselves in for a forced vacation due to shutdown, parents are forced to adapt to the situation and keep their children busy throughout the day. With restrictions on outside travel and public places, the task is even more challenging for parents. At the same time, all parents are enjoying the extra family time.
Dr Vaishali Khetrapal said the side benefit has been that all of them are spending more time together. “Though the actual reason behind this holiday is not good at all, we are enjoying this break as a family. Being a medical practitioner, I get less time with my family, but now we have made it a habit to have breakfast, lunch and dinner together,” said Dr Khetrapal.
Ahilyaa Taneja said indoor games have come to her rescue. “I play board games with my child and we have many hours dedicated to his study every day,” said Tanjea.
Amit Singh said it’s a mix of activities that keep his son engaged. “For entertainment, there are books, board games and educational videos. I also urge him to step out in the backyard and play for at least an hour. The main benefit of this shutdown is that he can spend ample time with his grandparents which is otherwise difficult due to daily routines,” said Singh.
Manish Puri said the holiday is bringing out the creative side of his son. “We are trying to occupy him with new paints and drawings as he loves that. We are trying our level best to keep him off the constant use of social media, and are making him occupied by online teacher training programmes,” said Puri.
Ujjwala Raut said it’s a difficult time to manage. “It takes a bit of doing because it is natural for kids to be attracted to TV, phone etc. But still, with a bit of thinking, we can keep them engaged in a productive manner,” said Raut.
Sheetal Sharma said she is encouraging her child to read more. “Instead of wasting their time on social media and video games, it is important to make the long days productive. Studies are of course important too. Due to this forced vacation, we are also getting to spend a lot of family time together,” said Sharma.
Shabhat Raza said the situation is unfortunate but this forced vacation has many advantages. “Those parents who are unable to spend time with their children due to their busy schedules are able to spend time with them. I prepare my child for exams regularly and fix time in the day for studies,” said Raza.
Sudha Raut said it was indeed a challenge to keep kids engaged all the time. “Due to this sudden vacations, daily schedule has been disturbed as there is no playing and all kids stay awake till late. We still try to keep them engaged in homework as tuitions are also closed, or any other physical activities at home only as it’s not safe outside,” said Raut.
Pooja Jichkar said she is simply enjoying spending time with her son. “We have a good time together and I give him some of the other work to keep him busy. When the schools reopen, there will be no problems and he will be back to routine,” said Jichkar.
