I clearly remember it was 13 March. At around 12:00 noon I received a message from my 6-year-old son Vihaan’s school saying that the school was closing for a few days in view of the coronavirus spread and we should pick up our children from school on time. When I went to pick up Vihaan, he and most of his friends were hopping with excitement; for them it was all about ‘chutti’. They were excited about getting the surprise leaves.

But slowly within a few days, when all the COVID talks started doing the rounds, Vihaan’s excitement started to fade out. Inadvertently we, the adults, were always talking about it amongst ourselves, on the phone, watching the NEWS, discussing forwards received and so.

Vihaan had been strictly told that he has to stay inside the house for a few days, he can’t go out to the park, meet his friends or play ball outside the home. He could talk to his friends on video chats and that was it. After a few inital arguments, once the talks and discussions on COVID were free flowing in the house and Vihaan was listening to all the stuff, he quietened down and started to spend time by himself. I was happy that he was no longer insisting on going out for ice-cream or cycling.

But his acceptance of the situation was far from calm acceptance. I did not realise how much my child was going through till the day he came upto me and asked me, “Mumma is grandmother going to die soon?” I was shocked by his question and didn’t understand why he asked me. But it all came into context when he said, “COVID is killing all old people, will it kill my dadi too?”

 That is when I realised what mental stress, anxiety and fear the child had been bottling  up inside him. He was scared of the virus equating it to a monster standing at the door ready to grab his beloved grandparent. It then dawned on me that in our hurry to protect our children from the virus, we have completely overlooked their mental well-being. We have laid  out the rules for them, told them what to do and what not to do, taught them social distancing, but we haven’t spoken to them or listened to them...

I hugged him and told him that the virus will not take dadi away because we will together ensure it does not come near her. We will take care of her and ourselves. This little question of his made me want to talk more to him about COVID.

He had already heard about COVID. Keeping silent about it or keeping it a secret from him will not protect him; what will protect him is our honesty and openness about the discussion.

There will be children who are not affected by the COVID crisis and possibly are looking at it like a long school holiday, but there are children who are very concerned and bothered about it also, they probably do not have the right words to express their fears, worries and concerns. We need to get them talking  to come  out with all that they are feeling. As a parent we know them best and we know how much they will understand and how to best put it into words for them.

Since, that day, I have started talking  more to him than before; we talk while I am washing  utensils and he is  hanging around; we talk while I am combing his hair; we talk while snuggling in bed at night...we talk whenever we get time.

I ask him questions...ask him if there is something he wants to share with me...sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t, but as a rule, I always tell him something..a small fact that reassures him that his dadi is not going anywhere soon.