When in doubt,
choose the kids. There will be plenty of time later to choose work.
That
is a nice words stated by Anna Quindlen, a renowned American author. If we
notice carefully, these sentences have a deep meaning that we might not realize
before. Nowadays many parents become working parents, both fathers and mothers.
This condition cannot be denied as a result of the bigger demand of today
needs. Therefore, relying on fathers as the only income source in a family
cannot go on anymore.
Parents
become dilemmatic; in one side they should work for their family needs, while
in other sides, if both father and mother working, their children will be lack
of their figure. In this case, Anna Quindlen suggests parents who are in panic
or dilemmatic mode, to choose children because they will keep growing up, while
works will not. If we choose work for an eternal chose, we should remember that
children will not stop grow. Then when we realize someday, children will have
not been children anymore, they have much grown up. However, in fact this
statement cannot be applied harshly as well. There should be many
considerations that parents should carefully take.
A
survey published by daily mail on
July 2013 shows that on average, parents and children have less than eight
hours together in total each week. Even if they do get together, seven in ten
parents say the time is silence in front of TV because they are busy reading,
playing computer games, or simply too tired to talk. Then in evenings or
weekends, they keep up with household chores. Other source also states that gadgets
also found as the togetherness disturber. Each family member becomes busy of
this.
The
thing we should know then is about the surprising effects if parents rarely
talk to their children. It actually affects the children’s verbal ability, for
the main source of verbal ability is from the family. Children who talks well
with family, have better verbal ability than those who do not. Other effects
are the psychological bond between parents and children become worse, children
become individualistic, children tend to be rebellions, and children also feel
“empty”.
The
emptiness felt by children may cause any bad result then. Children finally look
for other person or other thing to “substitute” their aloneness. They look for
other person who can fill them, which we do not know about their real
personality, and they also look for entertaining TV shows to escort them. The
neighborhood that is commonly so private today make children finally “make
friend” with television. Spiderman, Spongebob, Disney Junior, and other
cartoons are found much faithful to them. It actually will be alright if
children are already known their time limit of watching TV. However if they are
not, some bad things are ready to haunt them.
Some
bad effects children could get of watching TV too much are sleeping disorder,
obesity, more aggressive attitude, and the possibility of having Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Too
much watching TV lessen the melatonin hormone in human body, which makes a
person up longer, makes person’s-sleeping time messy, and makes them exhausted
easily. This obviously can affect children who actually still do need enough
sleep for their growth. The next one is obesity; it is caused of children who become
static in front of television. They do not activate their muscles much. Then
the aggressive attitude; Children actually become more aggressive after
watching TV shows or film that contains violence. The children who watch TV too
much, directly or not are risked to show aggressive attitude. This condition is
also worsen by their limited time to do socialization to others. It is still
fresh in our memory that there are many cases of children who are sadly gone
after practicing what the Spiderman and other imaginative heroes do. They
actually cannot differentiate between the real and imaginary things yet. The
last one is ADD; it is a kind of disruption of concentration and impulsive
attitude which is not appropriate to children age that can affect them become
hyperactive.
In
conclusion, some solutions I can conclude for working parents to stay close
with their children are: First, make a schedule for children TV time. Tell them
what to watch, and what not to. Remind them also that what happens in films
(film that associated with their age for sure) is not always true. Second,
please have “substitute parents” for them that you know really well while you
are away. It can be children’s grandparents, uncles, aunty, or other relative
you do trust, therefore children do not feel “empty” anymore. Third, leave away
your gadgets while you are with your children. They are much more valuable than
your gadget and its contain. Fourth, plan any family vacation to pay off your
missing time with your children anytime you can. It should not always go to the
far places; the main thing is you go out with your children in a place that
gather you with them. However, the thing you should remember is to never
promise children something you are still in doubt whether you can accomplish or
not. The last, always make a time to talk with your children by heart to heart;
ask them whatever you want to know, and answer whatever they want to ask. Also
make a time to always check their homework, to ask their tasks, and anything
therefore they know you do care about them.
Then,
you will not let your children be raised by Spiderman and friends, won’t you?
Sources:
Husnantiya, Muamaroh. Begini
Akibatnya Jika Orangtua Jarang Ngobrol dengan Anak. Online at http://health.detik.com/read/2014/04/29/193209/2569180/764/begini-akibatnya-jika-orang-tua-jarang-ngobrol-dengan-anak [accessed at 05/21/2014]
Mccann, Jaymi. No time
for the family? You are not alone: Parents and children spend less than an hour
with each other every day because of modern demands. Online at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2363193/No-time-family-You-Parents-children-spend-hour-day-modern-demands.html [accessed at 05/21/2014]
Mikail, Bramirus. 11 Penyakit Akibat
Kelamaan Nonton TV. Online at http://health.kompas.com/read/2011/07/11/15471979/11.Penyakit.Akibat.Kelamaan.Nonton.TV [accessed at 05/21/2014]
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