I have struck a deal with Mira - that I will tip her a small amount for reading the newspaper daily. She had stopped reading it after coronavirus struck, and gave me the excuse that she will catch the disease if she touched the paper even though KT sent it sanitised and in a polybag and later a paper shield.
She also get a token amount for exercising daily - which could be walks or zumba/aerobics using youtube channels.We had stopped attending the neighborhood gym after November when our membership expired and Mira said she would rejoin after her pre-Boards. And now the gym has closed down while the derelict gym in our building is not interesting enough to be patronised. Ash however uses it some evenings.
Mira has promptly created a To-Do list where she ticks each day's activities though I havent seen her reading the paper after the first two days!
Ashwin has been earning his pay for reading the Bible and the newspaper, both of which he does last in his day, which is around 12.30 am or 1 am after we remove gadgets from his room. How much he understands or reads is debatable going by a short quiz on the new American President yesterday.
With final exams round the corner, I have cancelled the Netflix subscription much to his disappointment. Suits, Stranger things etc will have to wait another month to get a loyal patron back. He contends he has improved his vocabulary by watching English series. With reading novels minimal and CBSE's English syllabus pathetically wanting, the children's command over English is not up to the mark.
Mira now wants to shift to an ICSE school in Kerala, which gives much weightage to English. After the initial difficulty, it could help her do well in life. That includes the discipline that comes with life in a boarding school.
Covid has thrown discipline and social life to the winds. It has affected school going children the most. Social interaction seems alien to them now. Ash, for instance, is up at 7:30 am for his class and is in front of the computer till 1:30 pm. Though he gets a couple of breaks in between, he doesnt use that to stretch his legs or take a walk. Breakfast is taken just as the morning break gets over. Mother plays waitress, bringing coffee, breakfast and other snacks to his table. By lunch time, there are half a dozen cups and plates on his table which he would happily let rest there unless I keep egging him to return them to the kitchen.
In short, he has become a prisoner of his room. The curtains are drawn to shut out sunlight which he doesnt like and the LED lights serve him instead. The case is no different with a friend who has kids around the same age.
After class, he continues on the laptop making music or watching movies unless hunger pangs urge him to step out. On the two days he gets to play his PS4, he is promptly out and waiting for me to fish out his controller from its hiding place. Sometimes I cant remember where I hid it! I have to be very innovative in finding new hiding places for his remote as well as sweets I stock up.
An evening walk is rare except on days two of his friends are free to accompany him. On Monday evenings, he has a keyboard session online, which he forgot to attend last week owing to a video game. Vinod is also planning to resume his football practice too just to make him get out of his dungeon and his gadgets.
Ah! the trials and tribulations of modern-day parents.
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