Stay home, save lives.. that was the motto. With 4 children, including a young baby at home, I took this advice very seriously.
Watching the news in 2020 gave me such anxiety, was it safe to go for a walk? Could I do a food shop without catching a virus, having to queue or being trodden over for a pack of toilet paper?!
As a family we made the decision to stay in and as the government said, this will save lives.. however in some ways, the virus has taken away my sons early years. Pre COVID-19 I took my DS to baby groups such as baby massage, story time and stay and play. However, with the COVID outbreak, this all stopped, the childrens centres remain shut and even a local group started by parents had to close. I tried meeting other parents in a public area but as coronavirus got worse, the meetings died down.
I know I’m lucky as I have 3 other children who can play with my youngest, however because the youngest is at the stage of learning to crawl, walk and exploring their environment eating anything in sight, my elder children have little interest in entertaining him – they are too busy hiding their toys from the baby!
What I have noticed is this, in the home my baby is sociable and playful, however when we leave the house he is shy, reserved and almost frightened. If anyone smiles at him he clings to me for dear life. My parents came to see the children, just at the front door – no breaking the rule of 6 – and my youngest just cried and clung to me anytime he was spoken to.
This fills my heart with dread, I now have a million questions in my head, how will this impact my babys social relationships in the future, will he ever be relaxed outside the house or will be become a hermit?! Others have told me not to worry, once he starts to socialise he will be fine. But, socialise with who? There is a new tier system in place , COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere by the sounds of it and play groups remain closed. I cant even allow my baby to engage with my neighbours children because I can see that the parents don’t social distance, and call me paranoid but I AM worried about the coronavirus.
My saving grace may be that as my baby grows, my older children will engage with him more. I am also trying to facetime my family more to ensure that my youngest knows everyone. But facetime with four children is no easy task, there are sure to be tears (mine) and tantrums (maybe also mine haha).
So for all the socially anxious babies and parents out there, I pray you all find a balance, we cannot let covid shape our future.
By Mandeep Rai Kent
Mandeep Rai Canterbury 