‘Lockdown babies’ with ‘Lockdown syndromes’

DISCLAIMER

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents in this Story are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and unintentional.

"Lockdown baby syndrome!" exclaimed Mrs. Snehal Mane, the child psychologist, the minute she heard the typical complaint, which was fast becoming very common.

Dr. Snehal was looking at the bewildered expressions of the young parent, Varun and Vinita Saxena, sitting in front of her, with their toddler two-year-old son Harsh, and was bemused.

She was counseling the parents of little Harsh who had a typical problem.

Harsh was still clinging to his mother physically and emotionally and that too totally, even two years after the umbilical cord was cut and he just would not let his mother go out of his sight. Whenever Vanita went from one room to another, he would trail behind her, often crying with the expression of fear of not finding her. Initially, it was considered to be natural even obvious by the parents.

The real concern was felt when Vanita had to go to the market just for an hour and Harsh had to stay back with his father. The outcome was disastrous for Harsh was crying uncontrollably for the entire time that his mother was out of his sight. So it was decided that they would take Harsh along.

So imagine their surprise, when Harsh started crying hysterically the moment he stepped out of his home (which was for the first time in his life) with his parents!!

He just did not want to leave his home where he had been born and had lived all his life!

Dr. Snehal smiled understandingly as she heard the story related by the anxious parents and nodded her head in agreement as if she was agreeing with Harsh's intention of never ever venturing out of his home, which was in sharp contrast to his parent's opinion who wanted Harsh to see the world outside, breathe in the fresh air, meet new friends.

"Babies born and brought up during lockdown have never seen the outside real world. We call such babies 'Lockdown babies'. The World according to them is just the safety of their homes." Dr. Snehal explained, and went on "Naturally, they fear going out! And do not know that people go out of their homes to work or study or play or interact. They also do not feel the need to go out, since, from birth, they have managed to do everything from the confines of their homes".

Dr. Snehal had been getting at least two such cases per day and they had shown no signs of reducing.

The parents still seemed unconvinced, so Dr. Snehal explained further "The World for the two-year-old Harsh world started and ended in his flat, which must be around 400-500 square feet. That had been the limit of his horizon, his world all his life, confined and compromised in around 400-500 square feet. World for Harsh so far had been only his mother and father and perhaps the weekly video calls with grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, where he used to peek into their lives and homes and they used to try their best to peek into his life and home.

World for Harsh had also meant all that happened outside on the road, all that can be seen from the bedroom window or the drawing room's French window. That is all that he had as yet seen of life and the World so far. Remember, he has never experienced the real World outside yet, because of the Lockdown. Naturally, he has a fear of the outside real world, which is similar to the 'fear of the unknown'. So when you took him out of his home, his cocoon, it was as if he has been flung into the big bad outside world, obviously, he felt overwhelmed, exposed, and vulnerable!"

"There have been many such cases" Dr. Snehal assured them with a smile "Believe me, you are not alone!"

"This is a new challenge for the 'lockdown babies or kids' and their parents" Dr. Snehal was going on and even narrated a few experiences of these strange but widely-prevalent 'Lockdown babies or kids' with the 'Lockdown syndrome'.

"A 2-year-old girl was referred to me. Let us say the girl's name is Nita for reference. She had a unique problem. Her parents told me that she just does not share anything with anyone and does not mix or play with anyone. Naturally, they were worried and wanted counseling for it. A few minutes of interacting with Nita was sufficient to understand her dilemma. Nita being an only child and that too a 'lockdown baby' had hardly interacted with anyone. She had no social contact with kids of her age and just did not know that there are 'kids like her in the world' for again her concept of the world was limited to her small flat, herself, and her parents. Much like your case" Dr. Snehal clarified.

 "Then there was that other case involving a small kid, let us call her Swati, who must have been around 3 years old and had been locked in her small house for the past one and a half years. Another case of a 'lockdown baby' with a 'lockdown syndrome'. Her parents complained that during a particular period of 'unlock', they had taken Swati out to play in a park. They wanted Swati to make new friends since there were quite a few kids of her age playing in the park. They even planned to record their daughter's 'first day in the park' and post it to their friends on social media. Naturally, they were both annoyed and surprised when Swati just did not want to play with anyone.

She also did not want to wait for her turn at the see-saw or swing and wanted everything to herself, crying every time anyone else sat on the swing or the see-saw. They thought that Swati might turn out to be a stubborn and self-centered person, so they rushed to me for counseling"

"Again, after a few minutes of my interaction with Swati was enough to understand that Swati also being an only child living with her parents for years during the lockdown, just did not know that other kids also existed in the outside world and that she had to compete as well as adjust with them in life. She felt that she alone was the center of the world and the world revolved around her. It took me some time to make her understand that there are similar kids in the world like her who also want to play with her"

Varun and Vanita Saxena relaxed a bit since it was now confirmed that they were not alone with this extraordinary problem.

"Then there was another typical case, which I just cannot forget" Dr. Snehal continued after a short pause "He was a small boy around 4 to 5 years old, we will call him Max, who had been similarly locked down in his tiny flat with only his young parents from the past few years. The result was that when his parents took him to meet his grandparents for the first time in his life, he got scared and ran away ………..and can you wonder what the reason was?" Dr. Snehal asked with a mystified expression on her face.

Varun and Vanita Saxena nodded their heads to say 'No'.

"Because Varun had never seen old people in his life!" Dr. Snehal uttered and smiled at the baffled expression on Varun and Vanita's faces.

"Yes! He had only seen his grandparents on zoom meetings that is digitally but had never seen them physically. So when he first came into face-to-face contact with them, he was surprised to see their wrinkles, their white hair, their bent backs, and their overall old-age symptoms………….something which he had never seen in his life. Naturally, he was frightened" Dr. Snehal concluded.

Varun and Vanita Saxena looked at each other and realized with a pang that they were certainly not 'a unique parent' with a 'unique experience'.

It was then that they understood that these were all symptoms of a typical 'Lockdown babies' with 'Lockdown syndromes' and realized that it was only time and more time that was needed for such kids to overcome their anxiety and often erratic and socially unacceptable behavior and become normal, naughty, happy and competitive kids again.