We have all grown up with renditions of ‘Rain, rain, go away!” The popular rhyme gives us a picture of how childhood and the rains have always had a Tom and Jerry connect. Kids love rains and hate them too because of the obstacles it brings. Nevertheless, we all have loved floating those paper boats in the slush and get wet despite the scolding our moms followed up with. The rainy season has always been interesting. Delays cause concern while excessive rains cause confusion.
The New Age Parenting Mantra for Rains
As today’s parents are growing more protective of how they bring children up. One thing they still agree with their older counterparts is the spirit of the rains. For kids, a rainy day is generally bliss. It could mean a surprise school holiday, lots of samosas-pakoras frying up at home, a chance to drench themselves on the terrace and so much. Too much has already been written on the smell of freshly wet mud during rains. What has been less written about is the beauty of seeing children jumping with glee as drizzles change to showers.
The Smell of Nostalgia
The joy of being free from rules is what getting wet in the rain reminds us of. As the rains pour down, it is tough to not connect our rainy day memories from our childhood too. There will be no individual who has not had a special rainy day chapter somewhere on the mind!
The fun of having delicacies sitting on your dad’s lap as he reads the magazine. The excitement of your mom offering the warmest bhajias to you. The joy of rushing out with your cousins and observing slimy fish flowing through the garden drains! Oh, the memories could leave you teary-eyed. However, amid all the dramatic fun a nice rainy day brings in, you also have to understand that your children must be left to have fun responsibly.
To Let, or Not to Let?
The reasons for allowing kids to play in the rain are many. Some of these include the chance rains give for kids to unleash their creativity.
Role-plays are possible in a rainy atmosphere. Kids get to understand the way rains work. It is a good opportunity for parents to explain how the rains work, study time can be made all fun if parents use the ideas smartly.
Then again, some believe that exposure to the rains isn’t all that good thanks to air pollutions, chemical imbalances and so on. While these risks are always going to exist, it is no issue allowing your kids to have some fun by restricted exposure.
Make sure that rainy day and monsoon fun is restricted only when the related conditions are safe. No one will sanction the idea of letting kids play when there are thunderstorms or even the possibility of a strong wind gust. You have to be careful about such things.
Only if the rain is part of the usual monsoon cycle, some letting go and allowing kids to get wet is fine. Off-season rain or rain caused by climatic factors are not the best to have quick fun.
Check that even when getting wet, your kid has proper clothing on. Especially, mind what he is wearing. Poor quality footwear can cause slips in the rain and also invite things such as pebbles to prick in.
Of course, some precautions will help while getting wet in the rain.
- Make sure you change clothes immediately after kids have fun in the rain.
- Mix some antiseptic liquid with warm water for bathing purpose.
- Do not allow kids to stay in rain-drenched clothes for long.
- Make sure your kids are given a good head-rinse even post bathing.
- A light massage using a cream your child uses regular, after post-rain bathing, is helpful.
Regularly using immunity-boosting recipes for your kids, can actually make them less prone to developing a cold when they get wet in the first rains.
The main point to remember here is that kids will be kids. Instead of letting them stay wary of everything, let them be. Up to a point, everything is perfect and controllable. No kid will be allowed to stay out for hours in the rain, in any case.
The most important and last tip in this regard is to relax and loosen up a little as parents! This helps more than you can imagine. Then again, being pragmatic and always storing medicines relevant to common colds and flu is a helpful idea. You never know when you might need these. Precautions will help you sail through any issues. Better safe than sorry, after all!
You might also want to read about Mosquito bites – Symptoms and treatments for kids.
Some Fun is Good, After All!
Over the years, you have all heard how getting wet in the rain will be a precursor for the common cold. This is a fact but letting kids enjoy once in a while will actually freshen their minds up. Additionally, you must remember, rainwater is said to kill prickly heat and heat patches too. This gives an additional reason why getting wet in the rains will not be a bad idea at all.
Always stay around your kids when they get wet. You do not want to leave them totally unattended since there could be the risk of an accident if they are let off unmonitored. Use your discretion and keep your kids around you—the balcony, porch or terrace are best in such cases!
As kids grow up, they will gradually be able to have fun even indoors during rain.
Rainy days aren’t just about getting wet. They come loaded with scope to bond with family. It gives scope for fun chatter, getting close and conversational with loved ones.
Who can miss out gorging on food from the same plate, when it rains cats and dog? There is a lot of “add-on” benefit of rainy days. Yes, kids need to understand all this and much more! Sure, they will sing for the rain to go away when it comes on too hard but they sure will love the fresh rains too!
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