Wise Investment 1 Nowadays most people have some concept
of investment. The commonality of all investments is the hope for a better
future. People take great care to invest their savings effectively since they
have made sacrifices to earn their living expenses. In some ways, raising
children is also an investment. Raising children is a long-term investment that
requires dedication and patience above all. When
we say that raising children is an investment, the first thing that comes to
mind is economic investment, or some kind of external investment. Even though
it is a burden on the household budget, parents want to buy books or toys that
are helpful for intellectual development, regardless of the price. Some people
invest in expensive lessons from a young age to raise their children to be
great musicians, or they willingly spend expensive private tutoring fees to
send them to prestigious universities. When you think about the subsequent
economic value that comes from getting children into those universities, it is
not such an investment that is difficult to calculate. However, what I am going
to talk about in this article is not such external investment. What
is important for a person to live a happy life is not material abundance. Of
course, it is not easy to feel happy in an economically poor environment, so we
want our children to have jobs that can maintain a certain level of economic
stability. And there is nothing wrong with that. However, more important factor
than economic stability that determines happiness in a person's life is the
person's internal health, and this requires internal investment. Internal health can be largely divided
into two areas: emotional health and mental health. No matter how highly
educated a person is, it is difficult for someone who is not emotionally stable
or mentally healthy to live a truly happy life. The problem of depression,
which has recently become one of the serious problems in many people's lives,
is also related to internal health. According to one study, about 44% of adults
who suffer from long-term depression said that it was caused by fear,
frustration, sadness, and anger that they experienced while they were growing
up. Through this, we can see that the emotional state during the growth period
continues to affect adults. The
most important factor that determines the emotional state of the growing period
is the relationship with the parents. Therefore, in order to have a desirable
relationship with their children, parents must invest time for their children.
Investing time does not mean simply spending a lot of time with the children.
First, when the children are very young, the length of time spent together
plays an important role. However, as the children grow, the quality of time
spent with the children is more important than the length of time spent
together. The key is to be interested in the children's healthy emotions. Children
can be likened to fruit trees. In order for fruit trees to bear good fruits,
they must be provided with sufficient quality fertilizer. When children are
young, having a sufficient and healthy relationship with their parents is like
providing a good fertilizer to fruit trees. Good fertilizer provides the inner
strength that allows the tree to grow and bear good fruits. The
first thing we need to provide for our children to grow up emotionally healthy
is eye contact with them. Children need parental care from birth. Changing
diapers and giving them food are the most basic forms of care. These tasks not
only fulfill their physical needs, but also play an important role emotionally.
When someone takes care of them, it means that they are considered important,
and although babies do not understand this intellectually, they gain emotional
stability through such care. When providing this care, the important thing is
to make eye contact with the child. A robot cannot make eye contact even though
it can do mechanical things like changing diapers and giving milk. When care is
provided with loving eye contact, children experience warmth through their caregivers,
and the warmth they experience at that time plays an important role in the
child’s life. Since young children under the age of one or two cannot speak,
parents may not realize the importance of this eye contact. However, when
parents make loving eye contact with their children, they are sending the
message to the child, “You are truly important,” and that message becomes the
most important inner nutrient for the child’s entire life. This
loving eye contact should continue as children grow up. When we communicate
with someone face-to-face, we look them in the eye and talk. If we don’t look
at the person when talking with him or her, he or she won’t feel respected. The
same goes for talking to your children. Likewise, if your child wants to tell
you something, listening to them while making eye contact is important. When
you do that, your child will feel that you value him or her and love him or
her. And that awareness will serve as important nourishment for the child
throughout his or her life. Therefore, a more important investment than financial
investment for expensive private tutoring to get your child into a good college
is spending time with your child while making loving eye contact with him or
her. A truly wise investment is an investment in your child’s inner health. (Jin Gyung
Park/Yang) |
