I recently had the pleasure of looking up to the sky and seeing not one, not two, not three but eight kites flying! I was immediately a child again, marvelling at all the beautiful kites flying in the clear blue sky. I have such fond memories from childhood of kite season, around April and May, when the neighbourhood children were busy designing and creating their kites. I remember the excitement I felt watching my brother and his friends fly their kites, comparing whose kite was bigger and prettier and whose kite could fly the highest. So, you can imagine my delight that day when I saw eight kites flying high in the sky. Of course, this delight was at the beauty of the kites but also, seeing the kites was in and of itself a great thing.

Not to sound like an oldie but goodie, but kite sightings have been rare in recent years. Think about it, when was the last time you saw kites flying? And how many did you see?

Those kites in the sky signalled to me that in this pandemic, our children were still playing. And that, they were also engaged in executive planning in the creation and design of these kites. I also would like to think that some of them got help from the adults in the family with sourcing materials, help to design and strategies on how to successfully mount their kites. They also probably needed permission to go to the ball field or go on the housetop to fly their kites. One thing for certain though, is that the flying kites represent something bigger: our children are connecting to positivity. If these kites are flying in Kingston, there are probably more kites flying all over the country.

Kite flying is a past time that is fun, interactive, involves learning and achieving a number of skills. This is also true for many games and play activities that children and parents are engaged in this crisis. During the recent curfews, I regularly heard the familiar sound of dice on a Ludi board and Dominoes being slammed on tables in my neighbourhood. Like the children flying kites, families were connecting to positivity during the restrictions with games at home, drawing on old but familiar ways of enjoying family time and the lockdown.

While we do not need an outbreak of COVID-19 to remind us that we need to invest in more positive interactions with our families and children, being together at home has given us extra time to increase those positive interactions. The outbreak has removed some of the trappings of modern life, like, time spent commuting to and being at work, doing school runs and using the weekends to catch up on chores, to allow us to connect and increase our positive interactions.

We know from research the importance of positive and responsive interaction to children’s development. We see it in our own lives that positive interactions in childhood have had a meaningful impact on us. Positive interactions like playtime, reading together, talking, cuddles, warmth and understanding are ingredients for optimum child development. Parents engaging in positive activities like playing games at home, talking and reading together will help our children during this time of crisis and also increase their resilience for whatever else the future might hold.

As we continue to celebrate our children during Child’s Month, let us think about all the different ways we can connect positivity in our daily lives!