With some schools slated to reopen today and some others during the week, it’s not only children who are struggling to get out of their 2-month break but also parents.

 
While some parents are happy to get back to the routine, those who have no help at home are looking at it as a challenge. Every household has a different experience to share about getting back to the school routine. IT professional Arun Padki and his wife Archana have 2 children — a 9-month-old Aadhira and 8-year-old Adhwaya.

    Arun says the break had sent the entire family into a holiday mood. “We were used to having Adhwaya around and even the baby is used to seeing him around. Now we will be missing him when he is away at school. Managing Aadhira and getting the lunch box ready for Adhwaya is going to be a challenge for me,” says Archana. Arun pitches in, “We were also relieved that our son had a stress-free  break, which also meant that we were under no stress.”   

The problems in households, where both the husband and wife are working, are quite different.

    Anuradha Pattabhiraman, an employee of Intel, says that she and her husband have had to make changes to their work timings to make sure one of them is home with their 7-year-old son Aditya after he returns home from school. “We were so used to sleeping late and waking up late. It is indeed tough to work around the school schedule but we have to do it. I have  to start planning the previous night which includes deciding the menu and  planning my work accordingly,” shares Anuradha. She says she and her husband manage their time and office work in such a way that they both get to spend quality time with the child. 

With the number of nuclear families increasing in the city, raising children has now become a challenging proposition. Vishaka Dey Shenoy and Nakhul have 3 children — Iresh, Ishaan and Inesh. While Vishaka works with Accenture and has to report to work 2 or 3 times a week, Nakhul’s work is more flexible. Vishaka says, “We take turns to be with the children but there are days when both of us have to be at work. Then it becomes very difficult.

Now with school reopening, have to not only manage home but take care of children’s needs. Our children have different preferences when it comes to their lunch choices. So, I have to  cook three different kinds of meals for the children,” explains Vishaka. “Both of us cook and that’s a relief,” adds Vishaka.