NEW DELHI, April 16 -- Will I stay the same age since I didn't have a birthday party?" It's hard to answer JD's question. The class II student from Gurugram, Haryana, who turned seven in September, during the covid-19 pandemic, is staring at the possibility of another birthday without friends. "This year shouldn't count," he says.
Over the past year, JD has been kept indoors by the pandemic. He spends his days playing Lego, attending virtual classes and doing FaceTime sessions with friends. His father, a senior executive with a food and beverage company, had to take a pay cut and his discussions with JD's homemaker mother are often about curtailing daily costs. Though his parents have never discussed the financial situation with him or cut...