Bite The Boredom

The COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on the lives of billions of people around. Lives are affected not just physically but mentally, emotionally, financially and in every possible way. Thousands have  have lost their lives and the numbers are increasing steeply. Millions have been forced to stay at home in self-isolation to avoid contact with those affected. The working class are working from home and social distancing is at its peak. An equally huge number of people in retail like shopkeepers, food vendors, vegetable-sellers and the likes have shut down their shops and stores. The economies are on the verge of a collapse and the world it seems has come to a standstill.

Let us discuss the ways in which the mental and emotional well being of people has been affected. Social distancing has led to extensive use of social media and its adverse effect on our mental health needs no mention. People never had to face a situation like this before. There is complete lockdown in some nations and that has lead to anxiety and depression in many people. Man is a social animal.  In tough times like these, people are not able to go out to clear their heads of the negativity by indulging in their fitness routines, pass time activities and hobbies. They are not able meet their loved ones.

Children are missing school and on top of that they are not able to move out of the house to spend time with their friends. Parents are being conscious not to send their kids outside the house. Children being naive would not be able to understand the gravity of the situation. They do not have any work to do at home like the adults doing their office work or have access to mobile phones.

Please do not even think of giving your child your smart phones to keep them busy. Bad idea! It would only waste their creativity and energy, which they have in abundance. Their immense zeal and imagination need a channel to burgeon at home. The adults of the house must be feeling helpless in finding innovative ways to keep the children busy and occupied.

We can learn a lot from our children. They can teach us and we can teach them a lot of ways to keep ourselves happily occupied.

So what are some ways to indulge our kids in some indoor activities and at the same time being occupied ourselves in the same?

• Develop Reading Habits- Reading is one activity that can keep the kids and adults equally engaged. You can download some free books available over the internet. You can also order books online and make it a habit to keep the mobile phones at bay while reading. If possible, borrow and share books with your neighbors but only if it is safe to do that. 

• Inculcating Values- You might not get, anytime soon ,these valuable days to spend with your kids and family. Spend time talking to each other and the kids. Interact with them and make them participate in the discussions. Ask for their points of view as well. Topics like health, hygiene, importance of water, saving electricity and the likes can be actively discussed. You can also ask them to save water while washing hands, that is also the need of the hour. Ask them to save electricity, water the plants and take care of them and look after the old family members who need a lot of support during times like these.

• Practice Arithmetic Operations- The four basic mathematical operations- Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication  and Division need a lot of practice and many children are afraid to do sums. You can download some interesting and thought provoking printable worksheets from the internet. The kids will benefit from the extensive drill and practice and eventually master the skills.

• Newspaper Activities- You can also find various things to do with the newspaper. It has a lot of activities, puzzles, stories, Sudoku, Crossword puzzles etc. that can be enjoyed by the people of all age groups. You can pick up some old newspapers and you are good to go!

• Dancing, Painting and other DIYs- The internet is full of videos and dance routines that you can learn with your kids. Spend these priceless days learning various dance forms with your kids. You can also practice exercise routines like Zumba, Aerobics and Yoga with them and involve the whole family. There are many Do It Yourself activities that can keep you engaged with your family members like painting, drawing, crafts, best out of waste materials etc.

• Play Board Games- Take out the neglected board games kept in the cupboards and play with your kids. Various games like Taboo, Scrabble, Monopoly, Ludo, Brain Booster etc. can be played to get rid of the boredom. You can also play card games like UNO, Carrom Board and Jenga and involve members of all age groups.

There are umpteen ways in which we can entertain our kids and fuel their curiosity and imagination. 

  

Try all these measures or create your own and it will surely help you as well as the children in the house in overcoming the free time at home. Let us all use these days to the best and help nurture our relationship with others as well as the self.

There Is Room Enough For All Women

                                                   

I found this quotation on a social media app recently and boom popped the idea into my head to write about it. The restive 'Woman Power' propagator in me gets active on seeing or reading stuff like this. And uneasy and uncomfortable to the verge of being extremely anxious I get when I see or hear a woman tearing down another one in front of me.

I belong to a profession(Teaching) that is dominated by females. It is a piece of cake for us when it comes to overrule the opposite sex at our workplace. The feminists in us suddenly become bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when it comes to fighting for our pack(read pack of wolves) with the men around us.

The support and mutual adhesiveness is overwhelming in a group of women.

But something happens when the same is required to be practiced within the group for each other. There enters comparison, competition, jealousy, gossip, grapevine, belittling, undermining, leg pulling, judging and what not.

***Disclaimer- It does not happen every time and everywhere but it is there.

It is there not just in my profession but women in all professions, spheres and spaces have experienced the above and have been at the  giving or receiving end of such treatment.

Can a woman really rise above by pulling another one down? Is the society not enough to pulverize us since years?  History and our experiences are evidence and I will not elaborate upon that.

It is time that we, as women, accept the flaws, opinions, success, weaknesses, accomplishments, joys, sorrows, dreams and aspirations of each other and lift, uplift and help each other shine. If not, then at least not judge them or tear them down or apart. 

After all, there is room enough for all of us.