DRAPE YOUR CHILD IN A MOTLEY OF LOVE COSTUME

It has visibly profound effect.

- Bindu Saxena

Hold your horses!

• How many minutes per day do you spend with your child?

•What happens when your child feels less loved because of your work priorities?

• Do you have a full-time servant or domestic help who takes care of your child if you are a working woman?

If you are one of the above parents, this article is for you.

Does the following thought come to your mind ever? If not, it must:

If my child is in a situation where she does not receive a sufficient dose of love and care, she may not develop a close bond with me. And when left unsorted, she might end up in a condition called attachment disorder.

Attachment disorder usually develops in babies and children who have been continuously overlooked, abused, in day-care centre, or separated from their parents for some reason.

However, one cannot deny a similar situation in families where, even though living with parents, they may feel lonely because their parents are unable to share quality time with them.

Let us begin with a small test:

First and foremost, when did you tell your child last time that you loved her? Here, I do not intend to ask you the platonic or romantic love affirmation through the three words "I love you, baby" that one utters. Nope. I want to stress the package that comes under that umbrella.

In simple terms: it is HOW OFTEN AND HOW you convey that to your child. And it is what I wish to draw your attention to through this piece.

I focus here on women or couples who spend long hours at their workplaces. The subjects under discussion would primarily be the primary school kids, who start noticing and perhaps understand with a subtle confusion of how, when, why, where, and what of things that happen around them.

After they turn eight, they start processing random thoughts like respect, love, kindness, and care. It is when parents must delve deeper to understand them.