“Youngsters weren’t terribly bothered by not having a lot of stuff! What bothered them was, when their parents became angry and irritable and withdrawn”

Rand Conger, University of California, Davis (Monitor on Psychology, January 2009, Vol.40, No.1)

Parents worried about the negative impact on their family due to the financial tsunami. However, children do not harbour similar worries. Instead, they show more concerns about their parents.

So… see if you can get anything out of the following parent-child interaction.

Child: You look sad, dad!

Father: Yeah…well… (looks worried)

Child: Mother said that you’re worried about losing your job

Father: Well…hmmmmm…

Child: If you really lost your job, you would be able to have a long vacation and you could look for jobs later.

Father: Hmmm…

Child: You could bring me to school if you did not have to go to work

Father: That’s true…(remains silent).

Child: I would feel so much better…you know, not many fathers bring their kids to school.

Father: Really!?…

Child: Just treat it as a short break, people need a break every once in a while.

Father: But…

Child: You then would have time to relax, right?

Father: That’s true.

Child: Remember all those gadgets that you bought long time ago and never squeeze the time to play with.

Father: I DO have a lot of stuff that I haven’t touched since I bought them.

Child: My mind is much clearer after spending some time playing. I bet you’d think better after playing.

Father: I hope so…but still…

Child: Still what?…let’s go and have some fun!