KUCHING, August 5: Parents should monitor closely their children’s online interactions to prevent negative elements from influencing them.
In giving this advice, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said instead of leaving their young children to be entertained by the Internet, parents should pay more attention to their children by spending quality time with them or be good listeners or be their ‘friends’.
“Parents of today are facing more challenges in educating their children because of advancement in technology. Our children today are not just exposed to influences by going out of their homes but also through their fingertips. With the Internet and social media era, many negative influences are spread.
“Therefore, parents have to be smart in handling these kinds of challenges by giving their utmost attention to their children, giving them lots of love and listening to them,” he said at the Kampung Malaysia Jaya Parents’ Day 2018 celebration in Jalan Astana here this afternoon.
Another effective way to educate young children was to inculcate spirituality through religious teachings so that when they grow up, they would at least be aware of what is right and wrong.
“‘Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya’ (bend the bamboo when it is still a young shoot). This is so that they will grow up with good values. And for the youngsters, please respect your parents or elders because they have sacrificed a lot to raise you up,” said Yii.
Meanwhile, National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) Sarawak director Dennis Chai said according to LPPKN’s 5th Population and Family Census 2014, teenagers’ disciplinary issues were among the top three challenges faced by today’s parents, after education and family financing.
In addition, the 2016 Family Welfare Index was at eight out of 10, where the lack of quality family time and imbalanced work-family time were the main culprits behind the non-satisfactory index score.
“Therefore, later this month during the National Family Advisory and Welfare Council meeting, I will chair it, and I will bring forward this issue,” said Chai. — DayakDaily
