WE PAW Bloggers E-zine — Issue 24
By: We Paw Bloggers E-Zine
Tags: Pandemic Diaries, Writing, Coronavirus Lockdown, Curated Content, Writing Prompts

How To Keep Your Quarantined Parents Sane In This Pandemic

Each day is passing like a month. As the day passes by, I discover a new issue arising during the quarantine situation.

As you and I are home, so are our parents. Unlike us, our parents aren’t working from home rather they’re just at home as their professions are different than ours.

After working for around 30+ years, our parents aren’t used to sit idle on weekdays. And now the situation demands to sit still in the houses for the entire day with restrictions forced upon them.

They’re doing their bit by staying home but they’re not doing justice to themselves.

So let’s help them cope with this unexpected and unusual idle situation that they are asked to be in.

Here are some things you can do to help them stay sane and not panic about the entire thing. Remember they need much more motivation than you do.

1. Stop them from reading WhatsApp forwards

This is something we need to do at the earliest. If your father keeps reading the illogical and misguiding WhatsApp forwards he’ll go insane sooner or later.

My father has been reading every single WhatsApp forward on the coronavirus since all these days. The first thing in the morning he did was read all the messages that had poured in over the night and continue to do this for the entire day.

His face looked depressing like never before. It was then that I decided to tell him very politely to stop reading those shitty messages because it’ll only add up to the anxiety levels.

2. Be kind and polite to them

It’s quite unusual to have our parents with us 24 * 7 which leads to small quarrels. Well, it’s natural to fall into disagreements on small things as we’re already pissed off and our voices tend to increase for no reason sometimes.

In this situation, the least we can do is be kind and polite to them.

Our parents are growing old. We, as adults, need to understand they’re not the same as us.

They need more love and caress in this lockdown situation. Let’s do our bit and help them cope with this dreadful, worrisome, and idleness that they’re put in.

3. Encourage them to pray to the Lord for a longer time

When nothing works, we often run to the Almighty for help. Believing in the good Lord shall help us get through this situation.

Inculcate this idea into your parents head, bring them back from fear towards hope and make them sit for a longer time to do the ‘pooja’ Or prayer.

Chanting mantras shall help them calm down a bit amidst the chaotic world.

4. Have a Karaoke night session

Do you have a Karaoke mike at home? Then why not have a family jam session tonight? Sing to your parents or ask them to sing and get entertained.

If you don’t have a mike, you can simply sing songs or play Antakshari with your parents.

Do you remember when was the last time you did that? No, right? Then don’t miss this golden chance.

5. Indulge them into interesting Web series/ YouTube movies

By doing this you’ll have them busy and keep them away from the news channels and messages.

6. Teach them how to use the computer

Our parents always complain about how we don’t teach them technology, don’t they?

So, why not start that from today as there’s all the time in the world.

7. Cook a meal for them

Take some time out from your work and treat them with a delicious meal cooked all by yourself.

Distract them as much as you can. In a way, this will help you also to cheer up a little.

8. Help your Mom in the kitchen

I heard my Mom murmuring today, “Whatever happens, we have to work”.

That’s so true and it hit me hard. We’re simply adding to our mother’s work by asking her to get a cup of coffee while we sit in front of the laptop.

So let’s help her out in the kitchen by cleaning the kitchen sink, doing the dishes, etc. at the end of the day.

Some of your maids too might be on leaves as they too need to be quarantined. So, this is the right time to help your mother.

9. Share the WHO link with them

To avoid all the confusion that our parents may have, simply share the WHO link with them to keep themselves updated by the relevant and latest news: https://www.who.int/

10. Remind them to wash their hands

Last but not least remind them to sanitize their hands. It’s possible they forget so it’s our duty to remind them.

All this may seem important for some of you and irrelevant to some others. But it was my duty to guide to through this because I’m sure we’re all going through a tough time right now.

And it is important to keep ourselves motivated throughout. The government is doing its best to keep its citizen safe.

Let’s also be grateful to them and help them by not creating more problems like we did yesterday by gathering on the roads like a bunch of idiots.

I hope you apply some of the things in your homes to help your parents stay sane in this pandemic.

Let me know in the comment section below if you could relate to my thoughts. And please share this blog with your friends and family as much as you can.

P.S. Today morning I handed over five books to my father and asked him to read the one which he finds easy. He picked up the autobiography of Swami Vivekananda and guess what, he has succeeded in reading 5 t 6 pages by now! I’m so happy!

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Byline: Shraddha Rane