Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Encourages Families to Spend One Hour of Quality Time with Children

Jakarta — The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) has encouraged families to provide quality time with children through the #OneHourOfQuality activity initiative in response to the increasing use of gadgets and social media among children and adolescents.

Masmidah Abdul Mu’ti, wife of the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, stated in a written statement in Central Jakarta on Wednesday that parents and schools must strengthen collaboration in instilling character values through simple activities such as storytelling, dialogue and playing together.

She regarded this initiative as part of a joint effort to establish good habits in Indonesian children from an early age.

According to her, character development is not solely the responsibility of schools, but also requires active family involvement.

The ministry has outlined seven key habits encompassing waking up early, religious observance, exercise, love of learning, community involvement, healthy and nutritious eating, and timely sleep. These simple practices are believed to form an important foundation in developing a generation that is healthy, intelligent and of strong character.

The Kemendikdasmen is promoting the implementation of the #OneHourOfQualityWithFamily initiative, which calls upon parents to allocate daily time with their children.

“Simple time spent together with children will become a precious moment to strengthen the bond between parent and child,” Masmidah stated.

Through this campaign, the ministry hopes children will be encouraged to participate in storytelling activities with storytelling communities such as Kampung Dongeng Indonesia (Indonesian Storytelling Village). Storytelling is regarded as an effective method for building warm communication between parents and children.