Day care centers in workplace called for<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Child psychologist Fauziah Aswin Hadis believes
\nthat daily visits to playgroups can be too much of a good thing
\nfor young children.<\/p>\n
She says that up to three visits a week to a group are
\nacceptable, but more than that will leave children bored. Mothers
\nwith the luxury of enough time at home should try to spend it
\nwith their children, she adds. But she does advocate the setting
\nup of day care centers in workplaces.<\/p>\n
Fauziah, born in 1940, enrolled at the University of Indonesia
\nin 1958. She chose to major in psychology although she had passed
\nthe examinations to also study at the university's schools of
\neconomics and law.<\/p>\n
\"I chose psychology because at that time there were only a few
\npsychologists in practice,\" she said. \"It was a challenge for
\nme.\"<\/p>\n
In 1961, she became an assistant lecturer and a year later
\nachieved full lecturer status. Since then, she has taken various
\npositions at the School of Psychology, including the head of the
\nchild psychology department from the early 1980s to 1993.<\/p>\n
She currently chairs the school's extension program which
\noffers evening study courses. Fauziah also serves as a consultant
\nat the Al-Ihzar Pondok Labu education center in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Three years ago, she took part in the establishment of Al-
\nIzhar's day care and playgroup in Cinere, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In 1979, she surveyed several playgroups in Jakarta. She
\ndiscovered that most of them at the time did not have well-
\ndesigned curriculums.<\/p>\n
\"That was almost 20 years ago when playgroups were rare. Now,
\nthe conditions are totally different,\" said Fauziah, who obtained
\nher doctorate from the University of Indonesia in 1993 with a
\nthesis on views of parents on child development.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, The Jakarta Post interviewed Fauziah at her
\nhome at the police housing complex in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Question: How do you view the mushrooming of playgroups in
\nJakarta?<\/p>\n
Answer: It's good because people have more choices. But I
\nremind mothers not to rely solely on playgroups. Especially
\nmothers with more time (to spend) with their children. They'd
\nbetter play more with their children rather than sending them to
\nplaygroups.<\/p>\n
Q: But isn't it true that most of those sending their children to
\nplaygroups are working mothers?<\/p>\n
A: Yes, that's one of the reasons why mothers send their kids to
\nplaygroups. But still, they should not put their children in
\nplaygroups every working day. They may send their kids to
\nplaygroups once, twice or three times a week at the maximum.
\nOtherwise, children will easily get bored.<\/p>\n
Q: Does this mean you are encouraging mothers who have enough
\ntime to spend with their children not to send them to playgroups?<\/p>\n
A: No. It's still good to have children at playgroups. But don't
\nmake this too often and too long.<\/p>\n
Q: What about working mothers who cannot afford to send their
\nkids to playgroups?<\/p>\n
A: They can form their own playgroups by organizing working
\nmothers in their own neighborhood. They can use a house owned by
\none of them as a playground. Or if no house is available, they
\ncan use public facilities like mosques or other buildings.<\/p>\n
The history of playgroups or day care centers in the United
\nStates started from churches, where elderly people offered their
\nservices to mothers to take care of their kids. Mothers, of
\ncourse, were happy with this kind of service so that they could
\nbe free or some time and take a deep breath. It's good, isn't it?
\nRemember, most mothers in the States have no servants or baby
\nsitters.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you think leaving children with servants or baby sitters at
\nhome is good?<\/p>\n
A: Well, if they can afford baby sitters, they must be able to
\nafford day cares or playgroups, as not all day cares and
\nplaygroups are expensive. Some factories or institutions which
\nemploy many women already have day care centers for their
\nemployees. Like our Al-Ihzar Pondok Labu education center (in
\nSouth Jakarta), which runs a day care center for its own
\nemployees.<\/p>\n
But we have also opened a day care center and a playgroup for
\nthe public in Cinere (also in South Jakarta). We feel it
\nnecessary to provide such facilities. But, please, do keep in
\nmind that day care centers or playgroups should not be too far
\naway from homes. Otherwise, children would be easily exhausted in
\nthe way to and from them.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you think it is time day care centers were established in
\nworkplaces here?<\/p>\n
A: Sure. The problem is that we have no ruling on that. To solve
\nthe problem, the government needs to set up a ruling that
\nrequires all factories and workplaces which employ a minimum
\nnumber of women to have day care. It is as simple as that.<\/p>\n
Q: What about playgroups?<\/p>\n
A: It's quite different. But, again, it's all about regulations.
\nThe government should have a ruling requiring all real estate or
\napartment developers to allocate or rooms for playgrounds.
\nAnyway, that's one of the main problems living in big cities like
\nJakarta. There are no adequate open spaces for children to play.
\nWhen my children were still very young, we used to have a large
\nopen space here, including a soccer field. So, children and also
\nparents could play every day. It's children's rights to play. If
\nwe respect children's rights, we should provide them with enough
\nspaces to play.<\/p>\n
Q: What's the actual problem of inadequate space for children to
\nplay?<\/p>\n
A: Well, human beings are most active when they are three years
\nold. Thus, they definitely need space to play. But not only
\nchildren, youngsters also need space to play. Thus, the impact of
\nhaving inadequate space for playing will affect not only children
\nbut also youngsters whose families do not have open spaces at
\nhome. You can see from the recent election campaign in Jakarta.
\nPeople just loved joining street rallies. I saw them dancing,
\nsinging, shouting and enjoying their freedom. I think one of the
\nreasons is that they live in packed communities with no space to
\nplay around. So, you can see how important a playground is for
\nchildren and youngsters.<\/p>\n
Q: Do we really care about space for children to play or about
\nplaygroups for education?<\/p>\n
A: Well, all your previous questions indicate that mothers do
\ncare about children's education. But don't forget, this kind of
\nmother represents only a small portion of mothers in our society.
\nThe majority of our mothers still do not care about their
\nchildren's education. So, what's important for you, the media, is
\nto educate mothers about the importance of their children's
\neducation.<\/p>\n
I studied about parental ideas of child development, and found
\nthat parents' ideas determine the future of their children's
\neducation. If they have an idea about (the importance of)
\neducation, they would do whatever the could, like saving money,
\nto support their children in pursuing their studies. But if they
\ndon't have this, they would not care about their children's
\neducation. (rid\/kod)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/day-care-centers-in-workplace-called-for-1447893297",
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