Precocious child

Interestingly, my nephew, Ronav, who is barely three-year-old, has been growing by leaps and bounds during the lockdown. My brother and sister-in-law had their own apprehensions, as everyone is living in a secluded environment. They were scared that it would adversely affect his acquiring social skills as both he and his sister were cooped up in their apartment in New Jersey for the past so many months. I have been taking his virtual classes and teaching him the name of vegetables and fruits along with numbers and alphabets.

One fine day, my brother told me that Ronav had a slight temperature and a stuffy nose. On tele-consultation, my brother was advised by the doctor to give him steam inhalation. When my brother attempted to do that, Ronav was not very amenable, He said vehemently, "No, Daddy. I am able to breathe. No.” Wow!

What is really curious is that all boys and he included have by nature more inclination for machines in all forms. My niece, on the other hand, loves changing the dresses of her dolls and decks up as a princess complete with a tiara on her birthday. During our sessions, he shows us all the means of transportation that he has in the form of an army jeep, a garbage truck, a bulldozer and an excavator. He also has a police car and an ambulance replete with sirens. Not to be left behind, there are some racing cars too in flashy colours.

He is a bundle of energy and keeps on jumping from the couch to the floor nonstop. My mother has christened him ‘The Jumping Jack' of the family. Once while talking to me, he wandered away and returned after a while, looking perturbed. He said, “Daddy is lost. I cannot find him.”

He was looking morose and seemed to be in tears. I comforted and reassured him and said that Daddy must be somewhere around and would be back soon. When my brother returned, he ran towards him and hugged his legs real tight. My brother consoled him, “I won’t leave you anywhere, anytime. You know, I love you.” His humour was restored.

My brother and sister-in-law decided to take the kids to the countryside and rented a beach house, much to the delight of the children. They sent us videos. Ronav could be seen sitting with his legs in a rivulet. We could hear the sound of the trickling water.

Ronav’s happiness knew no bounds, as he waded in the water and loved the novel sensation. He said, "Dad, I am really having fun." In another video, he could not contain his excitement on spotting a squirrel among the trees.

Talking with him is a pleasure as everybody is looking for some or the other distraction in these uncertain times. These are a few positives in the otherwise difficult circumstances.

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