International Day of Families: Caring for Your Loved Ones

In this ever expanding world, most of you have confined yourself to your nuclear families. Your decision of moving out from your joint family might be because of your choice of university, your career, managing finances, needing your personal space, proximity to your office and to your children’s school. However, this surely must have created a void in your heart. Once inseparable, now, you and your siblings live apart, probably in different cities/countries/continents. And, your parents might be either juggling between these different residential locations or settled in your hometown. But, has this distance changed the way you feel about your family? No, while everything changes, the one thing that remains constant is the fact that you need your family. Whether it’s a nuclear or a joint family, you need people close to your heart to be with you in critical as well as happy times. You need them when you are feeling low and when you are on top of the world. Family, whether immediate or distant, is like the backbone for every action you take and for every decision you make. Jane Howard has rightly said that, “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” United Nations, observes May 15, every year as The International Day of Families. As they put it, this day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. This year, on The International Day of Families, let’s focus on how you can help your family in this time of distress, connect with them, even if it means over a video call. If you’re lucky to be with your family during the lockdown, you can do ample of things to enjoy this quarantine time with your family. But, don’t be disheartened if you are staying away from them. You can still connect with them via video calls, online gaming, live streaming movies and concerts. In fact, group calling is the new normal and many messenger services have increased the limit on number of people that can be added in a group call, owing to the coronavirus lockdown scenario. If yours is a nuclear family or if you’re stuck alone because of the lockdown, then you can take this opportunity to know your neighbors and be a part of the friendly lot. In India, we believe in the concept of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam”, which means that the world is one family. So, why not approach your nearest family; your neighbors, during this coronavirus outbreak? The pandemic has made social distancing compulsory, but, you can still socialize with your neighbors, right? A simple hello from your balcony can be an ice breaker. You might find yourself relaxed after chatting with your neighbors and knowing that they are also going through the same situation as you. Now a days, it is impossible to end a conversation without mentioning COVID-19. After all, it’s the main reason that we are all house arrested. So, you might either be discussing about the precautionary measures to be taken for preventing the spread of coronavirus or about the vaccine that might soon be available to cure coronavirus, with your family members. While you contribute to this discussion, we urge you to share a valuable piece of information like some established facts about COVID-19. You should be careful about sharing valid information and not a myth. Read more about the myths associated with coronavirus on our blog Demystify Insurance. One important thing that you should definitely talk about with your family members is the importance of adequate health insurance policy, especially the ones, which give coverage against the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re also not sure about how health insurance can help you protect against COVID-19, then keep calm and read further. We, at Bajaj Allianz have health insurance plans , which cover you for the treatment of coronavirus. These plans cover the cost of coronavirus test and also cover you and your dear ones from the hospitalization expenses due to COVID-19 along with pre & post hospitalization expenses and even death caused due to coronavirus. We hope that you and your family remain safe and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic and that you rekindle the joy of being there and caring for each other forever.