The Blessings of crazy times

Picture this – a young father walking leasurely, in ther hours of the morning, near a green field with his sweet 1.4 year old daughter. The father gives his undevided attention to his child. He allows her to explore, to climb a rock, watches her so she wont fall, but allows her to experience the sweet empowering taste of independence. They smile to each other, they smile at a flower or a little stone she finds in her stroll…I approach this sweet dyad. I have seen them many times before in the passing weeks.

I share with the father my rejoice of this father-child interaction. He tells me – it’s all thanks to Covid-19. This could never have happened before. I thought i was an involved father. I work in Hi-tech, i used to work from morning till night. I thought i saw my girl. I did’nt know it could be different – i now work from home, and i understand what i have been missing… I thank these times with all their craziness – i have won moments with my daughter that never come back…I commend him on this undevided attention – no i-phone in sight – he says, yes, i know, this is thanks to my wife…

Last but not least – he tells me there is a change about – fathers who are now interviewing for jobs ask for better terms – being able to come home at an earlier time a few times a week, in order to be with their children. Again – rejoicing!!! I have been a school psychologist for 20 years now, and i have seen the enormous effect of the lack of parent-child times – due to long work hours, especially in Hi-tech… I told him how sad i always was to hear that only divorced fathers can leave work early twice a week inorder to pick up their kids from school. And now, because of Covid – with all its havoc, some little good might come to human basic interaction – the most basic, the most important, the most life-changing – the undived attention between – parents and child…

Irra Harari Friedman, Educational Psychologist, psychotherapist