Published: 2022-07-13
Forgetfulness often comes with age, however, I forget things all the time and I'm only 14. So, does forgetfulness really come with age? What is forgetfulness really caused by besides old age? I often find myself forgetting to do things I just agreed to do merely minutes before. Things such as turning off the lights, switching off the air conditioner, and perhaps doing the laundry. These things are simple yet easily forgotten, at least for me. My parents tell me to do something and the next minute I forget to do it, I would think this would be very frustrating to my parents as they would have to continuously remind me to do simple tasks. My mom actually told me that it is extremely frustrating for her as it is one more thing she has to worry about and multiple things she has to remember become easily forgotten. So, this is how one person's forgetfulness can affect another person.
Here is my dad's perspective on the issue of constant forgetfulness, 'For our family, we do not have a live-in domestic helper, hence, our chores are distributed and shared amongst members of the family. It is not possible for us to execute and handle all the chores as that would be too much to do. Hence, we need the help from our children to wash/dry clothes (with the assistance of our washing machine and dryer), wash dishes, take care of the dog (feed, shower, and walk the dog as well as clean her poo and pee) and keep their individual rooms tidy. But why do they forget to do these things? I think it's because that's not their top priority which I understand but we need help and have an agreement with everyone already. Everyone has agreed and committed to those agreements. So, instead of not doing or forgetting to do, we should reconvene on what (if any) needs to be changed, edited, or adjusted. The repeated "forgetfulness" will lead to an unending amount of frustration for all parties involved.'
And here's my mom's perspective, 'In my opinion, kids often forget due to too many distractions and not putting prioritization into daily practice. This skill requires time, patience, and practice to acquire. Which is what kids most likely don't think it's important to put into action. We, as adults, are often overwhelmed with our daily lives' to-do lists and tend to forget things, however, the difference is we put in extra effort to remember as well as remind kids( which can be frustrating if it keeps repeating ). As a result, it creates tension during the time of the event. This can easily be avoided if each of us plays our part.'
Both my parents think that prioritization is the issue and I absolutely agree now that I think of it. Distractions often divert my attention and then I go off track and it instantly becomes the cause of "forgetfulness". Therefore, reducing distractions and learning to prioritize more important things can help with the "forgetfulness" most of us children now face.