We see them everywhere, in clinics and hospitals, in supermarkets and shopping malls: children being carried by nannies, while their parents walk a distance away. Some of the children even run to the nanny when they get hurt; they seem more comfortable communicating with a foreign caregiver than their own parents.
Modern parents face many distractions in their daily lives and are too often caught up with their work, friends, the internet and social media. As a result, mothers and fathers in many households no longer spend enough time with their children. The person who helps the children dress in the morning, serves them their meals during the day and gets them into bed is more often than not the nanny or maid.
In Dubai, for example, 94 per cent of Emirati parents and a substantial number of expatriate families hire nannies or maids to do home tasks and look after their children, according to the Dubai Statistics Centre. Caregivers such as maids and nannies play a major role in the upbringing of children, especially during the early years, which are crucial in the development of children's intellectual, emotional, physical and social needs.
This is not only an issue in Emirati households. A survey in the February edition of 999 Magazine found that expatriate parents are spending as little as 50 minutes a day with their children. Most of them blame long working hours and commuting times, or factors including TV, the internet and housework.
Parental Involvement in the Education of Their Children in Dubai, a study by Rabaa Al Sumaiti, a bilingual inspector at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, suggests that infants and young children in the UAE can spend between 30 and 70 hours per week in the care of domestic staff, which is longer than most institutional childcare hours in the United States or Europe. This could lead to serious consequences for children's maternal attachment, leading to emotional tensions when nannies finish their contracts and leave the home.
One critical aspect at stake here is language skills, because the multicultural nature of the UAE is perceived by Emirati and other Arabs as a threat to the Arabic language.
Most domestic staff are non-Arabic speaking, and many of them don’t speak fluent English, which means they can barely communicate with children. Studies have shown that this affects children’s language skills as well as their social and emotional skills when they grow up. Parents need to monitor the effect of foreign staff on their children’s acquisition of language and behavioural development.
The small amount of time parents dedicate to their children can also affect their academic performance. The Child Trends Data Bank suggests that pupils with parents who are involved with their school tend to have fewer behavioural problems and better academic performance than their peers. These students are also more likely to complete secondary school. One important factor leading to the high percentage of school dropouts among boys is the lack of parental involvement in the education process.
Research conducted about the Chicago Child-Parent Centers programme found that parental involvement in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten was associated with greater reading achievement and less grade retention through at least eighth grade.
Not spending enough time with children can also come at the cost of their mental and physical health. UAE health experts say that there is an increase in the number of children being presented with anxiety issues – and they say that parents can play a significant role in preventing that.
A lack of parental attention can also mean that children's diets tend to lack nutritional quality and their levels of physical activity are not adequate enough to help them maintain healthy bodies. A study by the cardiology department at the Saif Bin Ghubash Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah revealed that UAE schoolchildren are 1.8 times more likely to be obese than children in the US. In Abu Dhabi, 30 per cent of six to 18-year-olds are either obese or overweight and nearly 10 per cent of children under the age of five in the emirate are anaemic, according to the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad).
These numbers could indicate the lack of attention paid to what children eat on a daily basis. A survey compiled for Al Aan TV's Nabd Al Arab (Arabs' Pulse) programme and The National by YouGov showed that 40 per cent of UAE parents often let their children consume unhealthy calorie-laden foods, including burgers, pizza, chips and chocolate.
The number of children as young as eight with Type 2 diabetes in the UAE is alarming doctors, who stress the role of parents in creating a home environment that fosters healthy lifestyle behaviours by controlling food choices and meal times, and by being role models by adopting healthy eating practices themselves.
Many parents don’t seem to realise the huge responsibility that comes with having children, as a result the development of society as a whole will suffer. Better parental involvement could prevent many serious national issues.
On Twitter: @AyeshaAlmazroui
