How long does it take to read 935 messages?

Kids-only messaging groups seem a bane to children and their parents, but they can be useful for pupils who want to stay on top of their homework   Published: 3 June 2018 Venessa Lee   Primary 5 pupil Xaviar Ang sometimes receives 200 WhatsApp messages a day. Earlier this year, when the 10-year-old went on […]

When should parents give their child a phone?

Experts say there are no hard and fast rules on when a child should be given a smartphone and that it depends on the child’s maturity   Published: 11 March 2018 Venessa Lee   Many children have their own mobile phones these days. But how young is too young for a child to join the […]

Helping children cope with stress

    Parents play an important role in reducing kids’ stress levels   PUBLISHED: FEB 4, 2018, 5:00 AM SGT Venessa Lee   An international study reported last year suggests that Singapore students experience higher levels of anxiety than those from many other countries. The study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) […]

Caregiving help at hand for parents busy at night

    PUBLISHED NOV 26, 2016, 5:00 AM SGT Priscilla Goy   A student care service provided after office hours is being piloted to help parents from low-income families get respite from caregiving at night. These include parents taking night classes to improve their employability, those doing shift work and those who need to attend […]

Drawn to the energy of kids. Wanted: Volunteers all year round

    The number of people willing to give their time usually spikes during the festive season and charities in Singapore have learnt to re-channel the goodwill into other avenues   PUBLISHED: DEC 10, 2017, 5:00 AM SGT Venessa Lee   The Christmas season typically coincides with the jingle of more cash donations to charities […]

Parents go on dates with their kids to foster bonding

    Parents who spend time with each of their children say it helps foster bonding   PUBLISHED:  OCT 29, 2017, 5:00 AM SGT Venessa Lee   As Ms Annabelle Chew’s family grew bigger over the years, her ideas about spending quality time together evolved. Ms Chew, 46, a vice-principal of a pre-school, and her […]

Children attend etiquette enrichment classes

    Some parents send their kids for etiquette training, but experts caution that outsourcing the job of teaching manners and social skills could affect the parent-child bond   PUBLISHED: OCT 8, 2017, 5:00 AM SGT Venessa Lee   Eight-year-old Ashley Ngeow knows how to have soup at a formal Western meal, directing the spoon […]

Joy of an older dad: He’s a father at 51

  With more Singaporeans marrying later, the number of new fathers aged over 50 is likely to rise. The Sunday Times looks at the highs and lows of late fatherhood PUBLISHED: SEP 24, 2017, 5:00 AM SGT Venessa Lee   By the time he was 50, Mr Vasu Menon had given up on marriage and […]

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