If you’ve only got a minute: Beyond Grades: Raising children is about more than just good grades. We need to look at their whole development. Feelings Matter: Help children understand and manage their feelings. Talk about emotions, teach...
Research and Resources
Category: Championing Childhood
Why should children be at the heart of policy?
If you’ve only got a minute: The Economic Reason: We can’t afford to waste anyone’s potential. People are our “only natural resource,” and fewer children are being born than ever before. The Scientific Reason: Our children only get one...
Respectful Parenting in Singapore: Accepting Our Children and Their Unique Needs
If you’ve only got a minute: Respectful Parenting means treating children with kindness and respect while setting clear rules. It’s Not About Giving In! Kids still need boundaries, just with understanding. Better Than Strict or Permissive...
Nurturing Secure Attachment in Singapore’s Children and Teens
If you’ve only got a minute: Why Secure Attachment Matters: It helps children feel safe, confident, and resilient. Supports school success and strong relationships. How to Build It: Babies (0-2): Cuddle, respond, talk, and play. Kids...
Positive Discipline – Why and How?
Article based on the work of Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen, Ed.D, Lynn Lott, LMFT, et.al. If you’ve only got a minute: ‘Discipline’ comes from the word for ‘Teaching’, Not ‘Punishment’ - Should help children learn, not just obey....
Healthy Screen Use for Children: A Guide for Parents in Singapore
If you’ve only got a minute: Quick Guide: Balance, not just limits – Quality is important Benefits – Screens can help learning, creativity, and social connection Risks – Too much screen time can harm development, health, and mental...
Nature-Deficit on an Island Nation: Rewilding Wonder for Singapore’s Children
If you’ve only got a minute: Nature play is not a luxury. Nature-deficit disorder “contributes to a diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, conditions of obesity, and higher rates of emotional and physical illnesses,” and...
Be an Upstander: Take Action Against Child Abuse
If you’ve only got a minute: Child abuse and neglect can happen anywhere, and to any child. The signs are not always obvious, and it is not always easy to know what to do if you suspect something is wrong. But one thing is clear: silence...
Raising Fertility Rates – Bring Back the Joy of Parenting
Earlier this year, Singapore’s resident total fertility rate (TFR) made the news, having fallen below 1 child per woman for the first time in 2023, to 0.97. There is general recognition that the government’s measures to slow this decline,...
Neuroscience and Child Development
If you’ve only got a minute: Whole-Child Development: Brain research shows that emotional security, creativity, and feeling safe are just as important as academic success for a child’s overall growth. Early Brain Growth: The brain grows...