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Academic stress is top concern faced by parents: NTU survey

SINGAPORE — The number one concern faced by parents is academic stress, according to a survey conducted by students from Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU’s) Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

Primary One students at St Hilda's Primary School. Photo by OOI BOON KEONG.

Primary One students at St Hilda's Primary School. Photo by OOI BOON KEONG.

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SINGAPORE — The number one concern faced by parents is academic stress, according to a survey conducted by students from Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU’s) Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

In response, three students, who have dubbed themselves the “Happiness Revolution Team”, are spearheading a social campaign to encourage parents to think about how to improve their child’s mental well-being.

They hope to get parents to write down how they plan to enhance their child’s mental well-being, with the aim of getting them to focus on their child’s social skills instead of just academics.

Yap Jiamin, a student from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, said: “There are other facets of life in their children that are very important, such as social intelligence, emotional intelligence, as well as the ability to solve problems.”

Communication problems with their children were the second biggest concern parents raised in the survey.

The survey, which polled some 250 parents, also found that the majority of parents felt guilty for not spending enough quality time with their children, and would compensate for this by buying them gifts or planning an activity to make up for it.

And more than 56 per cent of parents admitted to overlooking social growth in their child’s development.

Ms Geraldine Tan, principal psychologist at The Therapy Room, said parents spending quality time with their children is not just about being physically present with them.

She explained: “Notice, when you have time with the child, what do you do? You are on your iPhone, you are on your iPad, you are doing something. You could have quality conversations in the car, five minutes maybe, just to chat about the day and just to find out about the other person.”

The survey followed an earlier one conducted by NTU students in February, which found that the number one regret of parents is spending too much time at work during their child’s early years. CHANNEL NEWSASIA

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