03 June, 2014

Parental attention!

I noticed this Koel resting on the wire netting on the veranda of a passage connecting the two buildings in a hospital. I noticed the bird staying at the place for too long, as if it is watching over something. While returning along the same passage, the bird was still there! That is when I noticed its mate coming in with food between its beaks and flying into a hole on the wall. I could vaguely hear some rustling and chirping sounds suggesting that there were some offsprings in the ‘nest’.

A mother watches over her little one. The avians are mo exception! The humans have a tendency to withdraw from the proximity to the little one after a few weeks of the arrival of the baby in order to return to work. But avians watch over the little ones till the parent birds feel confident about their flying skills. The young birds would leave their parent nest to pair with other birds. This is an interesting phenomena to watch.

As I walked back from this place I pondered over this instinct to care for the little ones. It is not species specific, but universal. However, humans seem to give lesser importance now to it as parenting perspectives have changed in the last thirty years or so.

I feel that many young couple would benefit from parenting counselling. Our children are entrusted to us. Therefore we have a responsibility of stewardship. I hope we would be willing to take a cue from the liberalised child care leave which the government of India currently offers  up to one year.

I believe that what our children need most when they are young is loving attention for their moral formation!

M.C.Mathew(text an photo) 

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