Real Talk

A Parent’s Job Is Beyond 18 Hours, It Doesn’t End

by Alexa Villano
February 14, 2022

A satire video entitled ‘Pagod LenLen’ went viral and got the ire of parents and workers

Over the weekend, social media was abuzz when a satire video called “Pagod LenLen” was posted. Unfortunately, the video did more damage than what was supposed to be satirical. Towards the end of the video, a black screen showed with the line that reads: “Anyone who claims to work 18 hours a day is either lying or stupid.” While some saw it as a jab, other netizens judged it and called it out.

The statement also led several netizens to voice their thoughts and hit back with their “Ako si LenLen” moments. As a parent, the job goes beyond 18 hours, it doesn’t end. Here are some reasons why the statement should be called out.

Parents multi-task

It’s true that you need to know time management but as a mom or dad, your work is non-stop. Moms breastfeed their babies, attend to household chores, help with kids’ schoolwork, and take care of their partner’s needs. Doing household chores and attending to kids already eats up a lot of your time and it may not yet be done.

Parents who work in professions that are on-call

A job of a parent is 24/7 and that includes the work they are in. Some of them are media workers, medical frontliners, and even those in the BPO industry. These professions goy beyond 18 hours, sometimes with no sleep.

Parents also attend to their kids who may get sick and have to rush them to the ER. The work doesn’t end.

And this doesn’t include children who may also act as parents to their young siblings. Some of them make sacrifices just to attend to their sibling’s needs. Being a parent or guardian for that matter goes beyond 18 hours.

Not everyone is privileged to not work

In a society where everyone reminds others to “check their privilege”, here’s the catch – not everyone is privileged at all not to work. Not everyone was born rich and can just sit and attend to their children. Many parents and guardians are forced to work and even get two or three jobs just to earn for their respective households. The pandemic closed down several businesses and left many jobless.

Not all households can afford a kasambahay or helper to watch and guard over their children while parents work. Not all parents can afford to go out with their children and even eat a meal with them because they are busy working and looking for jobs, leaving for abroad just to make ends meet. Sometimes some of them even come home tired and exhausted.

Be sensitive, be considerate

Satire or not, the Ako Si LenLen issue opened the reality of what parents who are workers go through. Maybe before mocking something like a worker’s plight, we should give ourselves a wake call to be grateful for what we have and be considerate that issues like this may be a thorn for many. Again, not everyone is privileged after all.