How parents deal with parting pain

MOTHER’S ADVICE: One way of keeping in touch with the children who have left homes is the Internet.

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New Delhi: One of the ways 57-year-old Rajni Sood stays in touch with her son who is working abroad is through the Internet.

It has been many years now for Rajni and her husband, leading a life away from their two sons.

Just like theirs, there comes a point in many families’ lives when children leave their home to study, to work, or to get married, with the parents’ being left behind to experience a mixture of emotions or the empty nest syndrome.

“I went through depression and I was hospitalised once because I was really lonely. However, when I started to work with the underprivileged children, it helped me tide over my loneliness and depression,” says Rajni.

While depression can be more common in mothers than fathers, but with more women working these days, the feeling of emptiness is fairly less.

This stage in a couple's life may also be similar to when they first met. However, it is about just the two of them deciding how they would like their life and their relationship to be.

“We see more nuclear families now. Joint families are breaking away. Actually speaking I think all couples go through something like this. The only thing is how one takes it,” says lifestyle management expert, Dr Rachna Singh.

“When the chicks of the birds grow older, the birds push them out of the nest so that they can learn how to fly. Unless the children leave home, they wouldn’t know what the world is all about,” says D K Sood.

So, with the wisdom of years and time in hand, one can explore new opportunities by taking up a new hobby or sport, keeping the body fit or visiting new places. It is a life change that every couple needs to cross.

While some love the newfound freedom and opportunities, others take time to adjust. But either ways, it is a time of new beginnings.