How can I get my kid to play less, and study more?
THIS MONTH, WE ASK
How can I get my kid to play less, and study more?
Perhaps it is good to ponder the question: “What is the purpose of study?” Is it to pass exams, or is there a more fundamental need to learn to manage the mass of information and the demands of a competitive globalised society? If we think it is the former, then we are living in the past, and our children will struggle to cope with the ever-more-complex world that confronts them.
If we see education as preparing children for what they will face in 20 years’ time, then we will be more interested in making sure that the learning strategies are in place, and the foundations for all these skills lie in play – not in rote learning and drill. It is a truism that “play is the real work of childhood”. If we understand that what many adults see as a “waste of time” is actually Nature’s way of building the cognitive capacity and intellectual frameworks upon which all later learning is built – then we would not even ask this question.
Brian Caswell, Mindchamps
EDUCATION
Brian Caswell is the dean of Research and Program Development at Mindchamps. He has 15 grandchildren.
Helen Marjan is the joint managing director and director of Studies at Lorna Whiston Schools. Her three children are in their teens.
June Rusdon is the chief executive offi cer of Busy Bees Asia. She has three kids in their 20s.
Leanne Sunarya is the executive director of Etonhouse International Education Group. Her two children are in their 20s.
PSYCHIATRY
Dr Cornelia Chee is a psychiatrist and director in the Women’s Emotional Health Service at the National University Hospital. Her daughters are aged 11 and 14.
CHILD PSYCHOLOGY
Dr Richard C. Woolfson is a child psychologist based in Britain. He has written 15 books on child and family development, and is Young Parents’ long-standing Age by Stage columnist. He’s also a grandfather of four.
PAEDIATRICS
Dr Chan Poh Chong is the head and
senior consultant with the Division of General Ambulatory Paediatrics
and Adolescent Medicine at the Khoo Teck Puat- National University
Children’s Medical Institute, National University Hospital.
Dr Natalie Epton
is a specialist paediatrician and neonatologist at the International
Paediatric Clinic. She has three children aged three to 10.
Dr Goh Shen Li is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in the S L Goh Women’s Clinic at Mount Alvernia Medical Centre. She has three children aged one to five.
LACTATION & PARENTCRAFT
Kang Phaik Gaik is a senior nurse manager and parentcraft/ lactation consultant at Mount Alvernia Hospital’s Parentcraft Centre. Her two children are in their 20s.
NUTRITION
Pauline Xie is a senior dietitian with the Clinical Services Division at the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics. Her three daughters are aged three to 10.
DENTAL
Dr Rashid Tahir is a paediatric dentist at The Kids Dentist. He’s also the president-elect of the Pediatric Dentistry Association of Asia. His two daughters are in their teens. FAMILY Alfred Tan is the chief executive officer of Singapore Children’s Society. His two children are in their 20s.
FAMILY
Alfred Tan is the chief executive officer of Singapore Children’s Society. His two children are in their 20s.
Any views expressed by the Members of the Editorial Advisory Board in this magazine are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of, or are sanctioned by, this magazine. Members of the Editorial Advisory Board do not, by virtue of their membership, endorse or support any product or service advertised or articles featured in this magazine. The articles in this magazine are for your information only. Do not substitute it for the advice of a qualified health-care practitioner or professional adviser
