Choosing to Move!

I found watching this Egret and pick up some clues about process of movements. It alternated bearing the body weight between the two legs and balanced the body in each leg. Its pace was slow and steady. The body moved elegantly and swiftly corresponding to the rhythm of the legs. 

I have been through a difficult phase at work in the recent months. For some reason or other, the moves we made in the department where I work to go forward do not seem to be taking us to a revival phase after  the COVID season. 

I pondered over this during the last two months or so wondering how the work situation can be redeemed. At the end of ten years, having pursued a particular direction to have a flavour of becoming an Institute of Child development, we are still lingering in the periphery of such a dream. Actually the post-covid season having created a new generation of pre-school children without social engagement for two years, but over exposed to the screen time during most of the waking hours, who now struggle with language and communication challenges and maladjustment in the class room environment, our team ought to have been active to take a lead to find a remedial plan for re-introducing children to an interactive learning process. 

I suspect that this Egret leaves me with a message. To move forward, there is a need to be determined and consistent. It calls for a resolve and direction.  

I happened to see a family of pigeons at the edge of a swimming pool. They arrived together for their drink of water and flew away together after quenching their thirst. 

The sight gave me a sense of what is often missing in situations when one is at a cross road. It is the lack of sense of belonging and collective consciousness that would give momentum to take an adventure plunge. A swimming pool is not a place for birds and the place is under the watchful eyes of the guards posted there. The pigeons adventured into a territory that was not theirs by right. 

Sometimes we are overcome by hesitation, inhibition and reservation that the forward steps are faulty and faltering. 

A friend suggested me to practice an 'open house' policy for welcoming children as and when they come, instead of following a prior appointment system. I felt ready to move towards that practice. The day is longer and finishes late in the evenings since beginning of that approach. But a parent who came yesterday clarified for me its impact. He sought for an appointment three months ago and was given a time after one month. So he went elsewhere to seek help. He did not feel comfortable and wanted to make another effort to come to visit us in the department. He called for a date this week and was offered time on the same day. He chose the next day to visit us. While explaining his situation, he told me that often parents are desperate  having been told about the developmental challenges of their child by a doctor whom they  met, they were in a hurry to get help from a Neuro-developmental centre. 

I sense that parents seek for immediate developmental neurology consultation. They would seek for an early developmental appraisal, for which speech and language specialist, psychologist, Occupational therapist or a Child development specialist would need to be involved. That is another hurdle if parents have to wait! 

I felt compelled to overcome another waiting spell for parents for a developmental overview of their child. We are now making an effort to offer an opportunity for parents to meet one of the specialists for an initial  neuro-developmental overview on the same day, when parents come with their children for a developmental neurology consultation. This would mean that they are introduced to a new perspective about child development during the first visit itself. 

The three essentials to promote child development of pre-school children are: creating parenting readiness for interaction with the child, creating a child's corner at home where parens can meet with their children and demonstrating to parents the way to use toys, children's books, nursery rhymes, children's stories, etc to give children an alternative to the current media centred entertainment approach used at many homes!

I hope that this parenting consciousness will emerge when parents meet with other members of a child development team before and after the medical consultation. 

I look forward to see this happen and my longing is to make our child development centre  even more parent friendly and child supportive! 

I feel good about early indications of a movement in this direction at the child development centre! I feel grateful to the professionals for their openness and responsiveness! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)