Filipinos working abroad spawn spoiled children

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos working abroad—and the huge amounts of money they send home every month—have spawned a generation of “spoiled kids," a sociology professor said. “OFW migration might be creating a generation of instant gratification and spoiled children," Dr. Ma. Cynthia Rose Bautista, a sociology professor at the University of the Philippines, said during a Makati City forum. In her presentation at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) on Tuesday, Bautista said that parents usually splurge their kids with material luxuries—such as cellphones—to make up for their absence in the family. Parents also often gauge their children’s good academic performance as a positive effect of their migration, Bautista added. “If they look at the academics they would hardly see any negative effects," said Bautista, citing a recent study indicating that migrant children perform better in school. “But deep inside here is a person who is trying to look for a sense of self," she said. Bautista’s assertions are supported by Dr. Fabio Baggio of the Scalabrini Migration Center, a fellow participant at the forum entitled “Managing the Development Impact of International Migration." Although cellphones could bridge the distance between OFWs and their kids, it also introduces a culture of dependency as children become more materialistic and less helpful in the household. - GMANews.TV