最新消息

耐心是一切聰明才智的基礎。閱讀，打開智慧之門… … This article appeared on Tuesday 4 November in the South China Morning Post print edition as “Patience works best for kids who are slow to start reading”. When parents lament that their children are not yet reading and consider hiring tutors and pricey evaluations to find out what’s wrong with their six-year-olds, I tell them to be patient and keep reading to their young ones. In most cases, when a child’s ability catches up with his or her interest in the narrative, the lifelong reader is launched. Reframing the situation not as a problem, but as a sign that their child might just have high standards for what makes a good story, helps to alleviate some of the underlying anxiety. As a mother of three children – two adolescent avid readers and one developing reader – I have some insight, butressed by a growing body of research in the area of brain development and functional readiness to read. Dr Martha Denckla, director of the Developmental Cognitive Neurology Clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and neuroscience researcher at Johns Hopkins

Most families in Hong Kong live in apartments and have very limited access to outdoor space.   Add to that crowds and an air pollution index (API) that is currently at the maximum measurable level, and taking children outside to connect with nature and to move has its own challenges and dangers.  In urban areas like Hong Kong, the appeal of technology is partially situational.  How does a parent weigh potential dangers and determine what is truly harmful for their children? 閱讀完整文章，請按這裡

    My daughter and her kindergarten buddies are adjusting well to Grade One and life in a “big kids’ school”. They are learning new skills to develop their independence and self-reliance. The most conspicuous changes from kindergarten are that these children no longer have teachers to remind them to wash their hands before lunch, or to make sure they bring the right exercise books home for homework. This transition to a new school is daunting for my daughter. I imagine that she misses her kindergarten teachers’ warm embrace and sitting on their laps to share stories of recent adventures. Yet, with new teachers to get to know, new friendships to establish and new routines to master, it’s unlikely that she reflects much on the past. My daughter is fortunate enough to attend a local school where the daily schedule includes three recess breaks, and sustained silent reading. Also known as free voluntary reading, sustained silent reading at this primary school involves all students reading silently for 20 minutes every day. The only restriction is that students must read English-l

This article appeared on Tuesday 9 September 2014 in the South China Morning Post print edition as “Screen time for youngsters: how much is too much?”. 3歲的女兒在餐廳裏哭，給她玩手機教育軟件來安撫她的情緒可以嗎？ I am noticing more and more children as young as two years of age with their own iPhones or iPads. It is common to see parents engaged in social gatherings give their children electronic devices as babysitters, and this trend is disturbing. I remember taking my daughter to gatherings at friends’ homes, and I normally packed a bag with things to keep her busy, such as paper, pencils, crayons, toys and books. I am so glad electronic devices were not as popular when she was a toddler because we could share stories together. I believe electronic products rob children of opportunities to be creative. It all comes down to how parents make use of hi-tech gadgets. If we use them as a dummy that pacifies the children but doesn’t address what they want, the gadget becomes a tool of an instant gratification style of parenting that might cause children to have shorter attention spans and make them angry more easily. A famo

This article appeared on Wednesday 10 September 2014 in the South China Morning Post print edition as “Taking care of busyness”. For me, the period between the start of the school year and the end of the calendar year is traditionally even more hectic than usual. Earlier this year, I made a resolution to simplify my life. To help me understand how I became so “time-starved”, and what I could do about it, I read (and highlighted 40 per cent of the statements contained in) Brigid Schulte’s Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time. Schulte is an award-winning journalist whose book has given a comprehensive picture of being busy by interviewing sociologists, scientists, CEOs and at-home mothers. She cites studies on leisure time, gender bias, the impact of technology, and the modern workplace. First, Schulte explores today’s expectation of busyness, this maniacal need to be productive and give meaning to our lives. Having children means we devote countless more hours to making their lives productive. Schulte moves on to “the cult of intensive mothering”.