As 2020 faded away, the hashtag #2020worstyear was trending on social media. People the world over were happy to see the back of a pandemic year that wreaked havoc and misery upon humanity in every nook and corner of the world.
The Coronavirus aka Covid-19 pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, China in November 2019, has exacted a heavy toll not just in terms of disease and death — 90 million infections and 1.9 million deaths worldwide and 10 million and 151,000 in India (January 1) — but also devastated lives and livelihoods.
In India, the Central government mandated lockdown of industry and business is expected to shrink GDP by 7.7 percent in fiscal 2020-21 and expand the pool of unemployed to a record 37 million. Moreover, with preschools, schools, colleges and universities shuttered for almost a year, the education of 290 million children and youth has been severely disrupted. With the majority of India’s children and youth unable to afford Internet connectivity and digital devices, education of children has all but stopped with social activists estimating that 30 million children have dropped out of primary-secondary education.
But though 2020 will go down as the worst year of the decade, perhaps the century, it had some positives. Closure of businesses, education institutions and stay-at-home orders forced families indoors giving parents, children and other family members opportunities to spend quality time together, reconnect and bond. It also pushed parents, children and youth to slow down from hectic work, academic and social schedules while opening up opportunities to learn, relearn and adapt latest digital technologies for maintaining learning continuity. Most importantly, it compelled families to focus on health, fitness and mental well-being.
As we enter 2021 with the good news of India launching the world’s largest vaccination drive against Covid-19, in our first issue of the new year the PW editorial team presents the recommendations of several lifestyle gurus who advise reset of mindsets to practise FRESH — Fitness, Return to minimalist living, Education, Slowing down and Home — to restore the physical, social, emotional and educational well-being of parents and children in the post-pandemic era.
There’s much else in this issue. Check out the Health essay by Dr. Stalin Ramprakash on how the Covid-19 outbreak has made it challenging for doctors to treat child cancer patients; and musings of an NRI (non-resident Indian) parent on raising a child in a foreign country. Moreover, our highly-qualified columnists, the UK-based parenting expert Sue Atkins and well-known pediatrician Dr. Piyush Shah answer parents’ queries ranging from coping with bedwetting to infant vaccination schedules.