Hi all, long-time lurker. Upfront: I’m the person who built this, so mods, please let me know if this belongs in another section, or if this post is not in line with your site. Why I made it: My kid wanted bedtime stories about places we actually go: kopitiam, Sentosa, HDB, MRT. Most apps feel very Western. We’re also getting ready for P1 Chinese, so I wanted some gentle Mandarin exposure that doesn’t feel like homework. What Storynest is: Local bedtime stories. Less than 10 minutes long. Intentionaly Singaporean. Audio only. Press play, turn the screen off, and put the phone across the room (already too much screen time for my kids, tbh). Stories set in Singapore, in English and in Mandarin. A light Chinese section for kids getting ready for P1. It’s listening practice through stories, not drilling or worksheets. Calm by design: slow pacing, no cliffhangers, and every story ends with the character falling asleep. Being transparent: The narration uses AI voices. I’ve listened through every story, but if any Mandarin pronunciation or tone sounds off, please tell me and I’ll fix it. Would love to narrate it myself but my Mandarin cannot make it. Login uses your phone number (OTP) only. Current test version also keeps the phone number sign-in off. I collect nothing about your child, and there are no ads and no data selling. This isn’t meant to replace reading to your kids. I still try to do that some nights. It’s for the nights when you’re tired. What I’m asking: Try it for 1–2 weeks and tell me what your kid liked, what they skipped, and what annoyed you. Harsh feedback is very welcome. Comment or PM me and I’ll send the link. Thank you!

My child used to attend play therapy sessions with this counsellor, during her internship. She has since moved on to setup her new place. I am just posting here to give her the boost she needs, she is really good with kids. As my child had real bad school going anxiety, and stranger anxiety, and every week in and out, she never gave up on him, he even got to the point of being excited to see her on a weekly basis! You can reach out to her or her team here: https://tenderseasons.my.canva.site/contact-us

P1 readiness is more than reading and worksheets. Can our children manage recess, ask for help, cope with mistakes and know what to do when we are not there? I made a short video on P1 psychological readiness. Hope it helps another parent ️ https://youtu.be/szqEzMII1Vw?feature=shared⁠�

NUS PSYCHOLINGUISTICS STUDY by NUS Psycholinguistics Lab Description: An NUS Psycholinguistics Study conducted on English-Chinese Teenage Speakers of Singapore Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes , In-person eye-tracking study Requirements: Singaporean bilingual speaker (Chinese is your Mother Tongue)  Aged between 13 to 17, Completed Primary School Education in Singapore Compensation: SGD$15.00 (via Paynow) Participate: https://nus.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eM0E5HqRg7KBloq Contact information: [email protected] Open till 30 Jun 2026 [IRB Approved][image: 1781859851552-recruitment-flyer_resized.png]

Hey everyone I’m researching screen time challenges for young kids and would love 5 minutes of your honest input. Would mean a lot if you could fill this in. It’s anonymous and takes about 3 minutes. https://sjlmethod2.netlify.app/

@LaserEye I like that you laid it out for her that way; it’s very clear. My husband is a teacher, so we get to hear his stories too. In fact recently something happened at one of his school camps, which was similar to what you recounted. Just musing on this: Sometimes, it can be very surprising/hurtful/jarring when we’re on the receiving end of negative behaviours. And we might feel that if we had caused any pain, even accidentally, we would have displayed much more care. In most instances, how we handle these situations says a lot about our personality and values, and our ability to manage our own emotions. At the same time, some parents could be facing multiple stressors, e.g. financial/caregiving pressures or marital breakdowns/personal issues, which might lead to the avoidance patterns that you described…

@rinsider said: Besides tuition, how do parents nowadays try to incorporate Chinese into their kids’ lives actively? Especially if you were weak in the language yourself? My son (now Sec 3) has a millennial tutor, but he’s more of a friend/mentor, so these sessions are enjoyable. In the past, we had asked our tutor to take my son and his friends on outings, like to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. Apart from that, I had hired my friend’s daughter (early 20s) for a small fee, to have conversations and play games with my son. But ultimately I think if we don’t speak the language in our daily life, it’s quite hard to improve!

@rinsider said: @sharonkhoo my daughter is 20. Nearly a legal adult! 🤭 My kids have closed their doors for years, but in recent months, she has been locking her door. She’s had a phone since 16. So I can’t understand this recent behaviour. She said she wants to “isolate” herself. Have been feeling bad and At 20, you can’t really dictate her behaviour without a strong reason. On the other hand, if this is a recent change, I think you should try to find out more. Try to find out why she’s changed? Why the need to isolate? Has something happened in school/uni/whatever she’s doing at the moment outside the home? You probably need to find a good time to ask gently. It could be something to do with friends/boy friend, or studies/work etc. A reason you could give for not wanting internal doors locked for long periods is for safety reasons. Privacy can be assured if everyone knocks and waits when the door is closed; in emergencies, a locked door makes response time longer. This is a perfectly reasonable request as you are ultimately responsible for safety of all the residents. You could start with this and see if it opens up more info about why she wants to lock her door.

@genghis25 I used to subscribe to Geniebook. You can consider subscribing to it.

Do let us know more about the situations that you’re facing Sometimes explosions will just happen, despite our best intentions… We’re only human too! Haha I will close the windows so that the neighbours can’t hear as much. For me, I like to recover quickly — I have usually approached my kids after about 30mins to an hour, to hug and make up. Not everything has a clear “solution,” but hopefully everyone can feel loved.