Let the children play and be happy
Let the children play and be happy
JAKARTA (JP): Some 40 kindergarten pupils stand neatly in line
in front of their classroom. After their teacher gives the order
instructing them to go inside, they march in together and proceed
straight to their desks.
The teacher then starts the lesson, asking simple questions
like "one plus one equals...?"
"Two...!" the pupils reply in unison.
Or the children participate in some "routine" activities, such
as drawing or folding colored paper as instructed by the teacher.
This is the general picture in local kindergartens.
At home, their busy parents push their children to study more
as they worry they will not pass the elementary school entrance
test if they do not master some writing and reading skills.
"This is not a children's world. The world of children is
unique and it is not the miniature of an adult world," child
psychiatrist, Kresno Mulyadi, said on Monday during the launching
of the first doll that sings in Bahasa Indonesia, Bouncy Baby
doll.
Kresno pointed out that 18-month-old babies only have the
sense of trust. At the age of three, children begin to develop
their sense of autonomy, by stimulating motor activities, and
children from three to six need to develop their imagination.
He called on parents and teachers to guide the children's
activities which best fit their growth and to enable them spend
quality time playing with any toy they choose, as it would
develop their creativity, language ability and their motor skills
by role playing.
Playing with dolls could be therapeutic for distressed
children. Children might treat the dolls as their younger sisters
or daughters or friends.
"Parents should not ban boys from playing with dolls and allow
girls to play with pistols. We know many male cooks or designers
or policewomen. It is not taboo as most creative people have a
balance of masculine and feminine activities.
"Just guide them to develop their own interests and in doing
activities which best fit their growth periods," he said.
Most of the times, parents are always worried when they see
their children playing and tell them to start studying to earn
good grades.
"Playing is a serious matter and is important for children as
it is the first phase of learning, and it is not a waste of
time," he said.
Playing helps children grow into an empathetic personality,
with high Emotional Quotient (E.Q.), said Mulyadi, criticizing
parents who just want to focus on the children's Intellectual
Quotient (I.Q.).
"Many children with good grades are constantly anxious and
many others have no motivation to study - they only do it to
obtain rewards," he said.
He shared the same idea with the late JB Mangunwijaya about
the inappropriate education system of Indonesian children.
"I agree with what Romo (Father) Mangun said for over 30
years, Indonesian children have been maltreated and were not
respected as children," he said.
Many teachers blame the children if they are bored and do not
pay attention to their instructions or stories and punish them.
This creates fear to study.
"Teachers and parents should no longer force children to obey
but should empower them and make them self reliant. They should
be given choices that fit parents' financial ability. It is more
educative than telling them what to chose or do," he said.
He added that teachers need to improve their teaching skills
treat their pupils as subjects in education instead of ordering
them around as objects, giving wrong impressions of educational
activities.
With such treatment, children associate education with
commands and instructions.
"In a good kindergarten, the children are happy, mostly
because the teachers succeed in presenting the activities in an
interesting way," he said.
He advised parents to be sensible if their children make up
reasons to evade school. "It is an indication that they are not
happy" Kresno said. (lup)