ASK 2: Today parents spend little free time with their children. Why is it the case?

Who are more affected: parents or children?

It is very important for parents and children to spend quality time together.
Unfortunately, these days, those taking up the role of parents seem to
be preoccupied with other interests and spend far less time with their kids than people
did in the past. This essay will explore why this is, and attempt to explain the effects of
this phenomenon.
To begin, modern day parents and children have access to many novel forms of
technology. It is very common to see families sitting in the same room but not mentally
or physically engaging with one another. This may be because of the amount of time
both adults and young people are spending on devices such as smartphones
and gaming consoles. Various manifestations of social media have shown to be
quite addictive and, although in some cases can bring people closer, also seem to be
driving them apart. Furthermore, people are having less children in general. This means
that, overall, less adults are interacting with less children. Family sizes decrease as
people become more focused on their career prospects rather than family prospects.
Next, it is important to consider if children are more affected than parents, or vice versa.
An argument could be made that both segments of the population are equally
affected, but over different time frames. It could be argued that in the short-term,
children will be more adversely affected as they require guidance and
supervision from infancy to around 18 years of age. Without proper mentoring, young
children and teenagers risk falling into a life of drug abuse and crime. Parents may also
experience hardships as a result of a lack of time spent with their offspring. Middle-aged
adults, men especially, tend to have mid-life crises once they realize that they have not
lived a life that is in accordance with their family and career circumstances.
In conclusion, it is clear that parents and children need each other. Children need
guidance, and parents have parental instincts to fulfill. Failing to achieve that would
result in negative consequences to both sides. Perhaps in the future, schools will offer
courses in which both parents and children can learn the value of having a
strong family bonding.
Các cụm từ hữu ích xuất hiện trong bài:
• spend quality time together : dành thời gian chất lượng cùng với nhau
• taking up the role of : đảm nhận vai trò của
• preoccupied (adj) : bận tâm, không thảnh thơi
• novel forms of technology : những hình thức công nghệ mới lạ
• mentally or physically engaging with : gắn kết tinh thần hoặc thể chất với
• gaming consoles : máy chơi game cầm tay
• manifestations of social media : sự xuất hiện của kênh truyền thông xã hội
• segments of the population : phân khúc dân số
• guidance and supervision : hướng dẫn và giám sát
• mid-life crises : những cuộc khủng hoảng ở tuổi trung niên
• parental instincts : bản năng của cha mẹ
• negative consequences : các hậu quả tiêu cực
• family bonding : mối gắn kết trong gia đình