What the children are saying about......

[jedamum]

not to the extend of stressing them out, but i prefer my kids to be busy with CCAs and school work than have too much time to loiter around in the mall…

[csc]

Me too. I believe in keeping our kids occupied during weekdays or a portion of the holidays so that they would have less time or energy for other meaningless activities - like loitering around shopping malls or arcades.


Surprisingly, those schools in my neighbourhood seem to let the kids off pretty early from schools and I notice many of their students hanging around the malls.

The ironical thing is the so called good schools keeping their students till five or 6 pm each day with CCAs and other activities.

[corneyAmber]

But free time is reading time for book-worm kids too… They are so deprived of time to read at times I feel…

[Blobbi]

Quoted from the article:


\"I'm packed with all these activities, and it makes me frustrated at times,\" said Jack.

\"But the stress is good for me. It keeps me focused and I think I do better this way,\" the Secondary 3 student added.

\"In the long run, it's good for me. I don't want to just study, but to learn other things as well. That's why I picked up the guitar and hockey.\"

Now how do we grow kids like that?

I don't want to fight reality. Competition really is tough out there. At the height of my career (now quit liao), I worked through weekends. There was one time, I was snugly cocooned in my hotel room in Rome over the weekend, trying finish my report to beat a deadline (working on Asian deadline). I was exhilerated and happy!!!

I don't know pushing kids through multiple CCAs or through making near-perfect grades is the way to help them develop the spirit. Frankly, it's quite meaningless to do so, more so with CCA. The stories so many of you have shared about how you manage your current success without being star material in school speaks volumes.

Maybe we worry too much about creating the perfect conditions to elicit fighting spirit and hunger. Real life definitely has a better way of dishing it out than we or even the schools can. If this happens too early in life, the danger is burnout, which is the opposite of what we want.

I'm tempted to start my spiel about a nurturing encironment, blah blah. This is all true, but the practical application is really what Sleepy said - know when to stop. I'll inculcate in my son that where work is concerned, there is no success without effort. But he has to realize that the path mapped out by the mainstream is not the only path.

[corneyAmber]

It's good to have alternatives but I suppose for the majority, they feel there is no alternative, only one way to arrive in Rome, funny when you mention Rome in your post..... :lol:

[corneyAmber]

lovekidsverymuch:

ks2me:

But free time is reading time for book-worm kids too... They are so deprived of time to read at times I feel....

But then r u sure when they r not doing school work are they reading etc i guess my kids will be just watching tv

That is why I put \"book-worm\" kids....such kids you can be sure they will be chewing away on books whenever they get a chance.

[Funz]

ks2me:

lovekidsverymuch:

[quote=\"ks2me\"]But free time is reading time for book-worm kids too... They are so deprived of time to read at times I feel....

But then r u sure when they r not doing school work are they reading etc i guess my kids will be just watching tv

That is why I put \"book-worm\" kids....such kids you can be sure they will be chewing away on books whenever they get a chance.[/quote]True bookworms will find time to read no matter what. Go toilet do business read. At the bus stop read, on the bus read, waiting for food, read. Speaking from experience lah.

But if not for compulsory CCAs or projects from school, these children may spend all their spare time reading instead of exploring other stuff. Again speaking from experience.

To a certain extent, I do agree with some parents here that I would rather my kids be occupied by school driven activities rather then left to their own devices. But as parents, we need to teach our children to prioritise and manage their time and know their limits.

[corneyAmber]

Funz:

But if not for compulsory CCAs or projects from school, these children may spend all their spare time reading instead of exploring other stuff. Again speaking from experience.

Firstly, the fact is there is really no such luxury of time...activities are quite packed for most children.

Secondly, book-worm kids typically are curious kids, they won't stop at books alone...but will explore other things if given the time like games etc......unstructured things.

[Blobbi]

ks2me:

It's good to have alternatives but I suppose for the majority, they feel there is no alternative, only one way to arrive in Rome, funny when you mention Rome in your post..... :lol:

:lol: :lol:

[Cheval]

The problem here is stress is observed even on the most brilliant students and they are so occupied that often they just follow mechanically and they have almost no time to think and take initiative and decide on their own. I think of 3 examples.


One is Pan Zixiang, the best scorer in last year's 'A'-level. You may go thru his blog: 12thman.spaces.live.com
It is a good read for parents from various angles. I recommend it.

Another example is my friend's daughter. She was in RI Girls and got 7 A's and 1 B last year. She worked everyday late into night and was occupied the weekends as well. Note that my friend passed away 9 years ago and she basically relied on her own all the way from a neighborhood primary school. Her mother did not have to pay a single penny on tuition.

Still another example, a boy who turned down a PSC scholarship. He explained very well why.
http://www.darkmirage.com/2009/11/17/why-i-did-not-accept-my-psc-scholarship-offer/