Overall development of children from familes with both parents working

With both parents going out to work, the children are less looked after. This has an impact on the overall development of the child.

Do you agree with this statement?

India has seen revolutionary changes after its economy was unshackled two decades back. Even though unemployment remains high, the working population of the country has been consistently increasing.

The advent of Multinational Corporations in the country has augmented job opportunities for millions of people in the country. This has also brought along an increasing pressure to perform. With swiftly changing lifestyles and more focus on careers, parents are spending more time in office than at home. While parents leave homes early morning and come back late in the night due to deadline pressures and long working hours, their children end up spending a good amount of time with either maids or caretakers.

The consequences of such a lifestyle are alarming and are only now emerging to the fore in almost all the big cities of India such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon amongst others. Children are probably the biggest victims of such a lifestyle and while parents try and ensure financial security for their family, they forget some part of emotional comfort which children need at an early age.

Firstly, children are not able to imbibe cultural and social values which help in their development.
Since they are not looked after properly, it is easy for them to indulge in wrong habits at an early age including drugs, sex racketing etc. This can be disastrous and can lead to permanent damage to their thinking abilities.

Secondly, the lower participation of parents in children’s lives can also make a huge impact on their education as well as future. It is a proven fact that parents who assist their children at home with respect to their education tend to do perform better. Hence, if parents do pay attention, their child’s education can suffer impacting their future life.
Another possible impact on children because of neglect by parents is that their dietary requirements are not taken care of. Children can easily get hooked on to junk food and ignore healthy food. This can severely impact their health and would lead to improper development of their body.

Since children are dependent on parents especially in their initial years, it becomes even more critical when they do not get adequate attention. Fostering a child with love and care can ensure that children have a more balanced approach towards life. Children can also become irritable and have extreme mood swings in the absence of parents care.

Parents should not forget that lifestyles may bring along prosperity but that prosperity may not fulfill their dreams of ensuring holistic development of children.