The One Smart Move I Am Making During These Uncertain Times

I am not a great planner- not the type that foresees things much earlier and lives by the book. I am more of a "let us face it as it comes" kind of person. But your perspectives change once you become a parent. 6 weeks ago, my child wanted a special holiday with the entire family so off I was charting plans with my husband for an International cruise with the entire family, to keep my daughter happy. Honestly, nothing is more important to me than her happiness. And cut to chase- I am cancelling my travel plans due to the current lockdown amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. Did I expect this? In all fairness, NO! I am now having a tough time explaining to my child, how and why we can't play with the forces and uncertainties of nature. However, I have decided to get into the planning mode and use this lockdown as an opportunity to spend quality family time. There are a few habits I would want my daughter to inculcate, but I don’t want to force her into them. So through fun activities, I am teaching her these habits.

First is healthy eating. It is essential to raise a generation of healthy eaters.

They needn't always eat what they like but they need to eat what is right. It pains me to see some kids get their way by throwing tantrums and ending every meal with unhealthy fatty foods.
Now that my child is spending more time at home, I make it a point to teach my child about healthy foods.
I involve her in the meal preparation as well as sketch the week's meal plan sitting with her. This way she knows what she is eating and there are no unpleasant surprises!

Even on KSP, we advocate the need to meal plan not just for the kids but for mums to be able to offer a healthy diet that's exciting to fussy eaters but gives peace of mind to parents.

Why I don't want my child to suffer a learning loss:

With schools being closed, children are happy to live a life without homework, assignments and tests. But does that mean the learning should stop? Certainly not.
With educational YouTube videos and learning apps, I ensure I sit down with my child every day so she learns new concepts and topics in a fun way that will lay down the foundation for her quest for knowledge.
Studies and learning will no longer be the villains if we get them intrigued and curious about the zest for new things!

They say children ape their parents the most. So why should learning pause at any age? This is an opportunity to show my child how even as adults we need to take the time out to learn.

The one trait I want to learn and inculcate as a habit:

They say 21 days are enough to inculcate a habit. I have never been someone that plans ahead or makes too many back-up plans. However, during these 21 days, I’m trying to change that. For example, what will be the few trips I want to go on with my family in the next 5 years? I am involving my kid too in this planning. We both have been researching online, collecting photos, voting on the place we want to visit, deciding on the dates and compiling everything in one place. This is keeping us as a family busy and also slowly helping me to inculcate the habit of planning ahead. Not just that, as we have some time for ourselves now, we have been thinking of planning our finances and re-evaluating the investments we have made as a family. As Andre Agassi once said in an interview to Kidsstoppress-‘The objective of parenting is to raise kids to not need you eventually!’ I firmly believe prioritizing financial planning for our kids is as important if not more, as is all the other planning we as parents are continuously doing. My husband and I took advantage of being at home for the last few days and did some groundwork on the best possible solutions to financially secure our child’s future- whether we are there to see her enjoy it or even in our absence. We wanted a plan that secures the investments we have already made towards her future.

Amidst the various investment options, we discovered the term plan from ICICI Prudential Life – ICICI Pru iProtect Smart that we found satisfying. Why?

This plan keeps me covered till 99 years of age without a change in premium.
With minimum amounts of investment, it gives me larger cover at affordable rates
The tax benefits on the premium are an advantage that will be very useful in our tax planning
It also covers me against 34 critical illnesses, which means in case of any emergency I can get upfront money on the diagnosis.
In case of any unfortunate event, my family gets the entire maturity amount to take care of their aspirations

We need to stay positive and be as prepared as we can during such uncertain times. Such a huge lesson for our children & their little minds to grasp. And quite frankly a huge reminder to us all not to take everything for granted. With the looming virus crisis, as a mother, frankly, I don't know what tomorrow holds for us in the country and the world- but I will know that I didn't just sit worrying about it and instead did my job right for my children. How about you?