Mothers play vital role in health of families

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A boy asks for the carton of milk that his mother has just bought for him. He finishes it in less than five minutes and returns the empty container to his mother, who thoughtlessly throws it out of the window.

That small incident actually happened during a recent minibus ride in Jakarta, but it could have happened any time, anywhere, whether on a bus, in a fancy car or in any public space in this country. It is a bad habit learned in infancy that can be seen all too often, everywhere.

"Children will copy the behavior of people close to them. Therefore, a mother, a child's closest companion, holds an important role in shaping one's behavior," social researcher Mayling Oey-Gardiner told a discussion held on Tuesday by the Coalition for a Healthy Indonesia, citing Facts of Life, a book on family health published by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

Data from the same book shows that a mother's education level affects, among other things, whether or not a child receives proper vaccinations. In 2003, for example, 82.8 percent of children whose mothers finished secondary education were vaccinated. At the same time, only 58.7 percent of children with mothers who had not finished primary education received their required vaccinations.

Problems of family health affect more than just vaccinations. "Nutrition, hygiene and sanitation are among the top priorities that a mother should pay attention to," said Dhanasari V. Trisna, a lecturer of the University of Indonesia's medical faculty.

Dhanasari added that common knowledge of basic family health, which also included family planning, prevention of infectious diseases and children's growth, should be introduced into the curriculums of primary school.

"Providing home-cooked meals can help ensure that the family gets proper daily nutrition while teaching the importance of hygiene," she said.

However, being a promoter of health, even on a scale as small as the family, was easier said than done. "A mother must adapt to every change in the family health cycle," Dhanasari said, mentioning that health problems of young children were different from those found during adolescence.

Child psychologist Najelaa Shihab, who is also the founder of the Cikal family clinic, added that health was not merely physical. "A mother should not push a child so hard to eat healthy that she disturbs the child's psychological health," she said.

Najelaa added that a mother had to set a realistic example rather than a perfect example, as this would prepare the child to see life realistically. "Children also need to know that healthy living is for their own good so that they will carry the same habits as an adult," she said.

However, the effort to promote healthy living should be multi- disciplinary, Mayling added. "It should involve the educational, health and economic sectors as they are all connected," she said. (003)