So today is a Wednesday- the middle of the week. So far , it’s been a good week and I’m sure the half to follow will be good as well.

We started off with school early this week. That’s why the first two days were good .

Ms Papaya was unwell last week and missed school. I don’t know who was happier to see her at school – she herself who was right as rain once the fever broke on the second day, the teachers who must have missed her cheery presence and us at home who had to find ways from keeping her amused in bed without ‘the device’ .

Sadly, kids today are largely dependent on devices to keep them amused. I still remember how thrilled Anna Shetty was with the discovery that she could distract her little patient with her phone while she anaesthetised him .

Smartphones were a great way to keep the Little Ones quiet while waiting at the doctor’s clinic or out of your hair and conversation while you chatted with your friends.

But gradually they became essential to a child’s happiness especially after CoVid when the spent so much time in front of the screen because they HAD too. Yes, one of the long term effects of CoVid is the addiction to ‘the device’ .

Online school meant that the children were in front of a screen for at least three hours every day. And oftentimes they spent a few extra hours doing ‘research’ for school projects. Then of course there were days during the lockdown where their only window to the world was television! So it was only natural that they needed to watch in order to keep their systems going.

Once the device became a way of life , the kids negotiated an allotted time for watching television an hour on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and another half hour on Wednesday after school. On nights when their parents were out, they managed to wrangle a half hour of W ( as they came to call ‘watching’) a new currency of hush money I assume.

So now with Ms Papaya back at school I can catch up on my other chores which are classified as ‘nothing much’ in a housewife’s job description !

Have a great rest of the week .

A quick question before I go – do you have an issue with children and screen time ? What is your preferred device ?

Ciao