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I am a regular presence at many Mind Stretcher, 学汇乐 （Xue Hui Le） and MS Junior Campus parent seminars. After the seminars end, many parents (those who recognised me) had invariably come forward and asked me this question: “How did you train your son to become a President’s Scholar?”
I find this question more difficult to answer than any PSLE question! That said, I will attempt to share my perspectives on this issue.
Bringing up a happy child
Thinking back, after your child was born, did you, at that point or any point during his or her pre-school years, pen down what you want him or her to be in future and then systematically work towards trying to achieve that goal during his or her growing up years? I do not think so.
What was predominantly on my mind then was how to bring up a happy child. That, to me, was good enough! Having this simple, yet sincere and genuine love- filled mindset provides a good starting point to raise a child who is ready to face the 21st century.
There is therefore no set methodology on how to train one to become a President’s Scholar. In fact, one cannot even apply for a President’s Scholarship; he or she has to be nominated by the organisation which has awarded him or her the underlying scholarship
Laying a strong foundation
Nevertheless, I believe strongly that there are fundamental building blocks that we, as parents, must pave for our child during his or her pre-school years. If a strong foundation is laid, the child can then learn more complex concepts and gradually become independent learners.
As they grow, they are exposed to a variety of things through observing, reading and interacting with people and the environment. These, amongst others, start to shape his or her interests, inclinations and passions. From here, the child would be able to start working towards enhancing the latter’s strengths, which would then shape who they will be or influence what profession they would pursue in adulthood.
Though I am unable to list down the dos and don’ts of becoming a President’s Scholar, I am more than happy to share some of my experiences in bringing up my children. I do not profess to be the perfect parent, but in hindsight, I believe there are things I have done right and others I could have done better, all of which I will highlight here, so that young parents can try to get as many ‘rights’ as possible.
The growing up years
Every child is born to learn. Leaving the nature-nurture debate out of the equation, all children start on a clean slate. They come into the world, all ready to absorb whatever is thrust upon them. Without going into detail on the well-researched area of brain cell development through complex neuron connections and how that can affect or enhance learning, the birth to the pre-school years is fundamentally the most important period in a child’s growing up phase.
Parents must not just let it pass without cementing a strong foundation. Getting these fundamentals right would mean a smoother transition to Primary 1, fewer worries over primary school exams and definitely a much less stressful PSLE. This will also facilitate a hands off parenting approach when the child goes on to secondary school and beyond.
At Mind Stretcher Junior Campus, we aim to nurture all our students to be wholesome pre-schoolers through our enriching curriculum. For more details of our programmes, please click here.
This article is the first of a six-part series on ‘Raising A Wholesome Pre-schooler.’
It was also published in 'The New Age Parents'.
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