Do children understand

why their parents leave?

By: Susan K - @inquirerdotnet
10:35 PM March 02, 2013

Parents who work overseas assume that their kids understand fully why they have to
leave—that it is for the children’s good and their future.

Many parents leave when their kids are young. The children do not even know where in
the world their mothers or fathers are.
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Migration is actually not new. The late economist John Kenneth Galbraith wrote,
“Migration is the oldest action against poverty.”

Israel’s founding father Jacob brought his family to Egypt because there was famine in
Canaan. After Jacob died, his descendants remained in Egypt for about 200 more years.

Children of OFWs believe their parents are working abroad to give them better food,
better education and better home. The eldest child then assumes the role of a parent.

In a story in the February issue of Awake magazine, published by Watchtower Bible

and Tract Society in 98 languages, a woman left her three daughters to work in Europe.
Her husband followed after four years.

The youngest daughter said her eldest sister acted as their mother, listening to her
problems and fears and teaching her household chores.

The whole family has been reunited and is now living in Europe. The article quoted the
eldest child as saying, “We did not suffer when we were a poor family—we never went
hungry. But my sisters and I suffered when we were left behind. Our family has been
reunited for nearly five years now, but the years of separation have left their mark. We
know that our parents love us, but we wish they had made a different decision.”

The article issued a reminder that our greatest needs were for things that money could
not buy—love, emotional security and family unity. How sad when desire for money
takes precedence over love for family, particularly the children.

Many OFW parents think material things can compensate for their absence but, when
asked, the children would probably say, “Sana hindi na lang ninyo kami iniwan, sana
hindi na lang kayo nag-abroad. (We wish you never left us to work abroad).”

Our children will experience childhood only once. This is the time when they really
need the guidance of parents. We should not waste the opportunity.

Read more: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/66355/do-children-understand-why-their-

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Family structure, household resources, numbers of siblings competing for those resources, and
parents' own educational attainment are often important predictors of children's education outcomes.
Overseas migration of parents from the Philippines has resulted in increasing numbers of long-term
separations of parents from each other and from their children. Western-based analyses might
predict negative education outcomes for children as a result of parental absence. We find that
separations caused by overseas migration often are either neutral or can have positive effects on
schooling outcomes, at least among older children. Girls fare better in terms of educational
attainment than do boys overall. Boys are often more affected by back-ground variables, including
parents' international migration.
Imagine this: your husband has finally landed a high paying job that can pay the bills
and secure the children's future. The prospect of financial freedom finally seems to
be within reach. There is only one catch: this high-paying job would place him in a
different country.

Overseas employment has drastically changed the set-up of the Filipino family and
the entire society over the decades. The pros and the cons are in a constant see-saw
as to which outweighs the other. While a higher salary and better benefits are
enticing, there are security issues and uncertainties in working abroad. Take, for
example, the current situation where Filipinos from Egypt and other countries where
civil unrest is rampant had to seek safety by flying back home immediately.

Still, most families are left with no choice but to endure the absence of a parent and
the issues that come with it. In this article, five women discuss how it is to be the
wife of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), and the joys and challenges that their
families face.