Written by : Pario Children, Parenting Education Centre Childhood and family have a profound impact on a person. How do parents influence their children’s growth? How to cultivate good behavior and character in children? Is it correct and effective to use rewards and encouragement? Do not turn love for your child into a reward It is often heard that parents say, “If you behave, daddy will shower you with love.” Parents think this is providing positive reinforcement, encouraging positive behavior in children, but shouldn’t the companionship of mom and the affection of dad be unconditional? Love and affection should not be contingent on being well-behaved! A child’s self-worth should not be equated with their behavior or achievements. Do not turn existing habits into rewards Some parents might say: “If you behave, we will go to the park on Sunday!” When the child behaves in a “naughty” manner, parents cancel the child’s original plan to play in the park, letting the child learn to bear the consequences. Although this is one of the parenting methods, if the child originally has the habit of going to the park every day, and the parents use “going to the park” as a reward, is this really a reward? This is just continuing the daily routine! Of course, if the child does not usually have the opportunity to go to the park, this reward would be very attractive to a child who naturally loves to play! Clearly explain rewards and good behavior Rewards are necessary!

Written by : Registered Educational Psychologist, Pang Chi Wah Many parents lament that in the past, interactions with neighbors were more frequent. Perhaps there were fewer places to live, but there were larger communal spaces, allowing for daily interactions with neighbors. Parents used to entrust their children to neighbors, and could borrow necessities from them when in need, resulting in very happy relationships! However, in the modern living environment, there may be many people living in the same building, but the likelihood of interacting with each other is much less than before. People no longer share food or take care of each other’s children. Perhaps everyone is busy with work, spending all their energy during the day, and they have no time to develop deep relationships with neighbors after work or on holidays. Nowadays, many couples without children can live this way, but once small families have children, parents need to deliberately increase the frequency and form of interactions with neighbors. In fact, more and more families are finding that their children are becoming self-centered and disrespectful to others. It turns out that only children can become subjective and fragile because they rarely experience social pressures or conflicts during their growth, and they tend to avoid social interactions. Over time, their social desires and skills may not reach the standard expected for their age. Some parents may want their child to have a sibling and consider having another child, but they must also consider the financial and emotional impact on

Written by: Mr. Victor Ching, Registered Psychologist, Child Psychological Development Association I have been working in early childhood education for some time and has observed that many institutions and parents have distorted values, which ultimately harms the next generation. However, I also understand the pressure parents face, possibly due to excessive competition. My educational philosophy is to inspire children’s interest in learning. The child has attended various interest classes and participated in public competitions voluntarily. I never forced learning but instead exposed the child to different things from a “play” perspective to spark interest. Not everything introduced will capture the child’s interest, but that’s okay because there are many fun things in the world! For example, the child once tried playing the piano at a nearby piano store and fell in love with it, insisting on learning. However, I did not immediately enroll the child in lessons but allowed for more exposure to confirm the interest. Even after studying for over a year, the child has not taken any exams because I believe the interest should not be overshadowed by the pressure of exams and does not want the child to lose interest in music. Regarding a Mandarin recitation competition, when the child was in K1, the teacher selected students for the competition, but the child was not chosen. The mother told the child to express the desire to participate directly to the teacher. The same situation occurred in K2, and the family’s response was consistent. By K3, when the

Written by: Octopus Parent, Mr. Leung Wing Lok The registration for Primary One discretionary places has closed, and parents who have “bought and left” can only resign themselves to fate. During the period from now until the release of the allocation results, the only thing that can be done under the government’s school allocation system is to “wait idly.” There are still a small number of Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) and private schools accepting applications. Parents who are unwilling to participate in the lottery for the central allocation can try their luck with DSS and private schools. Moreover, there are many websites that list the application deadlines for self-financed and private schools. For parents of students who have already applied to DSS and private schools, especially those who are preparing intensively for interviews, I must remind parents to prioritize their children’s mental health. Intensive interviews harm children’s psychology Humans always tend to repeat mistakes. Every year, after the peak period of interviews in September and October has passed, there are many well-intentioned people and organizations concerned with children’s mental health reminding us not to let intensive interviews harm children’s psychology. From what I remember, the most shocking newspaper headline was “Unable to withstand the intensive interviews for Primary One, a 5-year-old girl becomes depressed and wants to jump off a building.” These young children, only 5 or 6 years old, still do not understand what primary school life is about, nor do they know the difference between good and bad

Written by: Registered Public Health Nutritionist (UK) and Nutritionist, Ng Pui Yu Many parents have encountered the issue of their children having difficulty with bowel movements. When this problem arises, parents usually increase the fiber content in their children’s diet, but the effectiveness varies from person to person. What should be noted in this process? What is an appropriate amount of fiber? Many people know that eating foods high in fiber such as whole grains, nuts, beans, fruits (like prunes, figs, kiwis, bananas, apples, pears, etc.) and vegetables (like eggplants, bell peppers, daylilies, amaranth, broccoli, cabbage, mustard greens, spinach, Chinese broccoli, snow fungus, mushrooms, etc.) can stimulate intestinal peristalsis. It turns out that when fiber absorbs water, it becomes soft and expands like a sponge, stimulating the urge to defecate. Sufficient fiber also helps promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, which can improve constipation. It is important to note that when increasing dietary fiber, it should be done gradually, increasing slowly every few days, otherwise, if the body cannot adapt, it may make the stool even harder. The daily dietary fiber requirement for children is their age plus 5 grams. For example, a 4-year-old child should have a daily dietary fiber intake of about 4+5=9 grams. To consume enough fiber, children aged 2 to 5 years old need at least 1.5 servings of vegetables (1 serving = 1/2 bowl of cooked vegetables) and at least 1 serving of fruit (1 serving = 1 medium-sized fruit, such as