Dear Editor,

Shefali Chowdhary’s essay “When to stop worrying”, published on 28^th September 2021, reminds me of my fatherhood. However, the tide of personal worry for my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter flows rather inversely – from being worrier to worried – as compared to the mental schema of Chowdhary.

Undoubtedly there is a difference between being a parent of a grown-up child and a kid slated to step in her school life for the first time.

As a parent the most worrisome moment is the birth of the child – How the baby would look like? Would be the baby fine? Would sh/e be okay after the birth? Multiple questions capable of making any father loaded with insurmountable worry creeps into the mind. It is a moment that not only would make a father worrier – even worriest – but also a warrior to battle out the anguish for the life of both child and wife.

However, as the new-born baby grows up, starts crawling, then walking, later speaking, parents become less worried, and so did I, observing more stability in baby’s life than her neo-natal stage. As a result, mind becomes worried than worrier. 

The burden of worry would always linger in parents’ life. It is a behavioural issue as Chowdhary has underlined. Sometimes our worry remains worry, sometimes we becomes worrier; however, we, parents, always remain front-line warriors to shield them from any burden our children face.

Gokul is a high-school teacher of Spanish. Carrying a diverse fabric of training from his alma mater, Visva-Bharati, Gokul’s hobbies range from playing Sitar to studying investigative journalism. He is one of the few twitter-enthusiasts who is not bothered about the trolls.