7 Types of Families in Indonesia without Work-Life Balance

For many people, their parents have always been the first and the best teachers, mentors, examples, and role models in their lives. They teach us to walk, talk, act, eat and basically every single thing that prepares us to that point where we cross that door to enter the real world and start calling ourselves adults. In some cases, their guidance extends even way after that.

During children’s early development stage, they generally learn by imitating the actions of their parents without understanding the reason behind such actions. Clearly, parents’ influence on children plays a huge role in the future decisions that they make. However, no one is perfect, and parents cannot always be the best role model for their children.

From this stage then the writer would like to point out a few types of families that exist in Indonesia.

1. The “No family dinner ” Family ( Si dia yang tidak pernah kangen makanan rumah )

The "No family dinner" Family
Image source: www.firstwefeast.com 

There was a successful business man whose child (a personal friend of the writer) decided to not be involved in business thanks to how “successful” his dad was. You might be questioning, “Why is that so?”.

As a matter of fact, this kid grew up rarely having any family dinner. He would always eat at his favourite nasi padang store, as his father was always busy with his highly-demanding business which also involved his mother helping to tend the store his family owns. The best part of having this kid as a friend is that you will probably get discount when you go to that nasi padang store with him and he says, “Biasa, Pak de!” (as usual sir!).

2. The “I forgot what my father looks like” Family ( Si dia yang bertanya : Ini siapa Ma?)

The "I forgot what my father looks like" Family
Image source: Pinterest

This is probably one of the most interesting experience for families. It is a story contributed by a lady whose husband is a salesman whose job requires him to be out of the town most of the time, travelling around Sumatera, Kalimantan, Jawa, etc. After months of working away from his hometown in Kepulauan Riau, this father of two was thrilled to be home, and he certainly was expecting a warm greeting from his wife and two young children. Surprisingly, after he entered the main door and approached his youngest child, the toddler started crying as if he was being approached by a total stranger. He then ran and hid behind his grandmother, a face that the toddler was much more familiar with. He had been away for so long that even his son could not recognize him.

3. The “Sorry kid, next time” Family ( Si dia yang selalu mendengar “Lain kali yah nak”)

This is the typical storyline that we always see in a drama or movie. The story starts in the kitchen with the mother asking “Sayang, ingat kan sabtu ini Fera lomba nari Jaipong?”(Honey, you do remember that Fera has a Jaipong dance performance this Saturday right?) and as always the dad answers that he does. Ten minutes later, one phone call from the boss, and we know what happens next. Truly typical, the golden sentence “Aduh, Pa ngga bisa hadir nih. Ada kerjaan mendadak. Sorry, Lain kali yah nak! Papa janji deh!” (Ouch, suddenly I have something to do, I cannot make it. I am so sorry, I promise I will make it next time”). This example might be adopted from movies, but the truth is it happens in real life too, maybe even a lot more than you might expect.

4. The “wrong shoe size, dad” Family (Si dia dengan kado salah ukuran)

The "wrong shoe size, dad" Family
Image source: www.kickstartyourtransition.com

Next up is something so literal that you might already know what it is about by simply reading the title. Yes, it is the story that probably occurs somewhere before Hari raya idul fitri or similar holiday, when a father comes home with a surprise, exclaiming, “Look what have I brought you!”. It will definitely be a surprise for both the parents and the kid when the size of whatever the wearable gift is actually not suited for the child. The father might promise, “Sorry yah dik, papa janji lain kali pasti ukurannya bene.r” (I am so sorry dik, I promise to get you the correct one next time), but by the time he leaves and comes back again, the child would have to wear some other size already.

5. The “They are always busy” Family (Si dia yang tidak perlu berbagi cerita)

This has probably happened at some point of your school life when everybody around you is talking about what their family had for their dinner during buka puasa (breaking fast), where their family went last holiday, what their family did when they balik kampung (visited their hometown), which new movie their family watched from cinema21 together, or even something as simple as what mum prepares for sahur (meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting). While everyone is talking, there will be that one or two kids who are just sitting quietly. After asking them a few times about what they did with their families, the others might even give up because of the predictable answer “They are always busy”  again.

6. The “How do you know all that?” Family (Si dia yang selalu di tanyai “kok tau sih?”)

The "How do you know all that?" Family

7. The “Oh, Mr Budi is late again” Family (Si dia yang selalu di tanyai “Pak Budi telat lagi?”)

Back in the school yard of SD (primary school), there is always this one little child who forms a strong bond with Pak Fahrul, the guard near the school gate, and the teachers will never be surprised despite seeing him running around school at 5 p.m. even when class ends at 3 p.m. Whenever they see him, they will have the same reaction.

“Oh, kayaknya Pak Budi telat lagi deh.” (Oh, looks like Mr Budi is late again today).

Do you see any similarities between these families and yours?

 

Opinions written under this article are fully personal and are based on a general view of the writer’s personal experience and exposure.

 

By: Reynold Andika

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