Communication in the Family.
Good, open and honest communication in the Singaporean families are hard to come by nowadays, the reason for this problem is both the fault of the parents and the children. Here are some of the reasons in my opinion that have contributed to the communication breakdowns in various families.

#1: The fault of the parent

• parents choose work over children, evident when they spend long hours in the office, reach home when the children are sleeping, and parents bring unfinished work home to do.
• parents think that children are old enough to fend for themselves (children are still children afterall, and still need parental guidance!)
• exhausted from the workload of the week, parents have no energy left to spend time with children on weekends

#2: The fault of the child

• Children think they're grown up already, and do not need their parents' help
• teenagers choose friends over family not realisingthat friends can sometimes lead you astray (esp if you fall into bad company)
• children idle free time away on the television, computer, with friends...etc instead of spending quality time with parents

#3: The result

• the result of both sides being at fault is indeed detrimental
• children are deprived of parental love, and seek other forms of feeling acceptance and entertainment
• children end up taking the family for granted and see no need in good communication
• parents lose focus of their main priorities unknowingly
• thus there is a breakdown in communication within the family

As seen from the words in italics, both sides do not have family as their their top priorities, which in my opinion in truly saddening. As the saying goes "blood is thicker that water", many people fail to get the message and often treat their families as people whom they meet and live with everyday. We slowly lose the special bond that binds us together when we communicate less with our family members. I believe that communication is the key, and we must not allow our respective families to suffer from communication breakdowns. We should all try our upmost best to preserve a good relationship with the members of our families!

Chloe Goh did this :{] Heh heh.