Trust your children: Leading psychologist<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Encouraging children to be independent from an
\nearly age is a must in today's increasingly competitive world,
\naccording to a leading Indonesian psychologist, and one way of
\nfostering such independence is to have faith in children's
\ncapacity to develop themselves.<\/p>\n
Fawzia Aswin Hadis, speaking at her induction as a professor
\nat the University of Indonesia on Saturday, called this approach
\nthe \"constructivist\" view of childrearing.<\/p>\n
\"A constructivist parent or teacher will see the child as
\nsomeone who can develop himself and develop actively,\" said
\nFawzia, a specialist in developmental psychology.<\/p>\n
Such a parent believes that the child can handle a range of
\nsituations and is able to use feedback and take initiatives to
\ngain experience. \"Such a parent will be more sensitive and will
\nbehave more responsively toward the child,\" she added.<\/p>\n
This attitude will lead to a creative and independent child,
\nsaid Fawzia in her oration titled \"Parental Ideas in Reaching
\nOptimum Quality of Human Resources\".<\/p>\n
However, citing her own research in 1993 and another study on
\nmothers in urban and rural areas in Central and West Java, she
\nsaid many parents are not supportive of creative and independent
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
Most parents, she said, still stress children's obedience
\ntowards them.<\/p>\n
\"More parents prioritize obedience, honesty, diligence and
\nsincerity ... and discourage children from feeling free, self-
\nconfident, independent, and having adequate intelligence.\"<\/p>\n
These latter features, said Fawzia, are needed to develop
\nfuture Indonesians. A number of ideal characteristics are already
\nmentioned in the state guidelines, she noted, but a change in
\nparental views is needed to enable better nurturing of children.<\/p>\n
Among tips in encouraging children's creativeness, Fawzia said
\nchildren should practice writing.<\/p>\n
\"The stress is on the process, rather than the result, of
\nwriting,\" said Fawzia, who has four adult children.<\/p>\n
This way, writing is a creative, rather than a mechanical,
\nexpression, she added.<\/p>\n
Fawzia, the 43rd female of 244 professors at the university,
\nalso referred to characteristics of the \"modern Indonesian\" as
\nformulated by sociologist Harsya Bachtiar.<\/p>\n
Harsya's 13 features include faith in God, respect for the
\nlaw, a degree of independence, cooperation with others,
\nappreciation of time and interest in national and world news.<\/p>\n
Besides studying parents' views on raising children, Fawzia's
\nearlier work included monitoring the curricula of schools for the
\ndisabled and a study on nutrition improvement for children under
\nfive years of age.<\/p>\n
Fawzia currently heads the Islamic Al Izhar Foundation in
\nPondok Labu, South Jakarta. (anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/trust-your-children-leading-psychologist-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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