Understanding Common Infectious Diseases in Schoolchildren Written by : Dr. Chiu Cheung ShingThe weather in Hong Kong can be unpredictable, and combined with children's weaker immune systems, they are prone to various illnesses. Moreover, children learn and play together at school, making it easy for infectious diseases to spread. Therefore, parents must have a certain understanding of common infectious diseases among schoolchildren to take necessary preventive measures and avoid infections.In Hong Kong, schoolchildren's infectious diseases can be categorized based on their mode of transmission:1. Droplet TransmissionChildren...

５Golden Rules of Parenting As parents, we all want our children to excel. Parents bear a tremendous responsibility to raise children in the best possible way. But what constitutes good parenting? Good parenting emerges when parents provide a stable, nurturing home environment, serve as positive role models, and actively engage in their children's lives. Good parenting is about fostering a child's holistic development, imparting moral education, and guiding children through open communication and mutual respect. Responsible parents tailor their approach, instill good values, use rewards and...

Writing Skills Mini Training Article by Mr. Cheng Wai-keung, Psychological Counselor at the Infant and Toddler Psychological Development Association.During the writing training session, Mr. Cheng Wai-keung, a psychological counselor from the Infant and Toddler Psychological Development Association, mentioned the common struggles children face when learning to write in K2."He can never write within the lines, everything ends up 'flying'!""His letters always go beyond the boxes; usually, one letter 'bullies' two boxes!""He often skips lines or boxes while writing.""It seems like he lacks strength when writing, the...

Essay on values Education (Empathy) by Dr. Cheuk Wong Wing Sze Recently, with the unstable weather and frequent rain, I encountered a group of high school students waiting in line for the bus. To my surprise, one female student was without an umbrella, looking very disheveled. Quickly, I shared my umbrella with her. They were all in the same school uniform, possibly not well-acquainted with each other, yet seeing a fellow student in such a state, I wondered why no one else was willing to share their...

How to enhance the confidence of shy children? Source: Family Marriage Therapist/Art Therapist, Ko Wing Oi In reality, many parents feel that their children are shy and want to enhance their self-confidence so that they can have more confidence in talking to others. This actually depends on the child's personality because sometimes children may be slower to warm up or feel more fearful about speaking to strangers. A child's shyness may be related to their upbringing and experiences during their growth process. In today's busy world, many parents...

Storytelling education,what can parents do? Written by: Senior Early Childhood Education Consultant, Miss Mok Loi YanMany parents have asked me about storytelling topics that are challenging to explain to young children, such as stories involving death, like "The Little Match Girl," or stories with violence, like "Little Red Riding Hood." Due to the detailed depiction of events in the storybooks and lifelike illustrations, children may experience significant fear of death after listening to or reading such stories. They might be unable to express their inner discomfort,...

Learning with movement and immobility Registered Educational Psychologist, Pang Chi WahIn situations where social resources are scarce, children have little that is fun or interesting to engage with; however, when the objects in front of them show no minor changes and there are no detailed verbal or written instructions, children can still observe the differences and similarities between what they see now and what they have seen before, or make associations with other things they have encountered. They even try to describe their observations in their...

To love children, first to love themselves, 3 moves to teach you to maintain the best mental state Written by : Family Dynamics Child Play Therapist　Marriage and Family Therapist, Ms. Lee Wai ZiIn today's society, it is indeed not easy for parents to maintain a good state of mind and body. I have met with many parents and found that the difficulty most parents face is not that they do not understand their children's feelings and needs, or that they do not know how their behavior...

Healthy Back Care Exercises - Suitable for Both Adults and Children Written by: Fong Wai Kwan, Dr. Kong's Professional Team of Registered PhysiotherapistParents should avoid letting their children develop the following bad postures, which can affect the development of the spine:When children are doing their homework, they should avoid sitting sideways to one side, as this posture can easily lead to uneven use of force on the left and right sides of the spine, causing problems such as scoliosis. At the same time, they should maintain...

Blank Days During the Summer Vacation Written by: Lam Ho Pui Yee, Founder & Volunteer Director of Good Love PassionMany parents make great efforts to fill their children's summer vacations with activities, as in the parents' eyes, if the summer time is not spent on learning, it will be wasted. Attending tutorial classes, hobby classes, and summer camps, or even going abroad for study tours, have become the norm. But what would a summer without any extra classes or talent training be like? Can parents give...

Don't Let Children Become the "Third Party" in a Marriage Written by: Aunty Anne Parents StationWhen a man and a woman meet, get to know each other, and fall in love, they then get married and start their own family. Husband and wife promise to love and respect each other regardless of the circumstances, and their marital relationship naturally becomes the foundation of the family.The arrival of children completes the family structure, but also makes the situation more complex: from the original couple relationship, it evolves...

Is My Child a Little Bully? Written by: Miss Jody Lee, Senior Registered Social WorkerWhether it's fighting over toys, losing games, or rushing to be first in line, it is common to see children using pushing, shoving, and hitting to deal with situations that don't go their way - which is also a constant headache for parents. Why does a child exhibit bullying behavior?Are emotions and behaviors conflated?"You cannot get angry and hit people!" The child may experience an emotion - "anger", which leads to a...

Intelligent learning through exercise Written by: Fung Ji Hei, Game TherapistI just participated in a professional development exchange activity for teachers in Taiwan, and witnessed how Taiwan's education system emphasizes using exercise to cultivate children's growth. This has given me new inspiration, and I hope to share it with all parents. One of the schools we visited for the exchange could be called a "mini sports university" - "Tiger Forest Elementary School". As soon as I stepped into the school, the students greeted us with the...

The Parent-Child Relationship of "One Chases, One Walks" Written by: Ms. Ng Yee Kam, Founder and CEO of Family Dynamics                     Marriage and Family Therapist                     Child Play TherapistMany parents complain that as their children grow older, they become less willing to talk to their parents, and the relationship becomes more distant and indifferent. Parents begin to not know what is on their children's minds, what their school life is like, and what their friends are like. As far as the eye can see, it's all gaming, watching TV, surfing...

The Wonderful Use of Storybooks (For Young Children with High-Functioning Autism) Written by: The Educational Psychologist Team of the Heep Hong SocietyFor young children with autism who have intellectual and language abilities at the 5-6 year old level, what kind of books should they read? What techniques should parents use when reading with their children?Young children with high-functioning autism should be able to understand simple moral stories. Parents can refer to the "social story" format to help children with autism effectively understand the content. When the...

Tokens of love relieve separation anxiety Written by: Fung Ji Hei, Game TherapistLittle Ying, at the start of the new school year, would sit on the sofa outside the school hall every day, crying and saying her stomach hurt, while tightly gripping her mother's hand. Psychological experts believe this is a characteristic of children suffering from separation anxiety. If parents want to reduce their children's anxiety, one method is to help the children through "tokens". Why can these "tokens" be effective? The author attempts to explain...

Encountering a 'mismatched' child is an opportunity for parents to grow Written by: Lai Shun Mei, Family Dynamics Counselor and Global Career DeveloperWhen a child is born, people like to discuss his appearance, using his resemblance to his parents as a topic of conversation, and talk about which attractive features he has inherited from them. As he grows older and his temperament begins to show, they also like to explore whose personality he resembles.It is generally easier to get along with someone who has a similar...

Obsession: Separation Anxiety Written by: Hong Kong Registered Psychologist, Ching Wai KeungAround nine months of age, babies become unusually clingy. Even if the mother goes to the bathroom, the baby may appear extremely anxious, clinging tightly to the mother and even crying loudly.Separation anxiety can lead to two different types of reactions. In some cases, when separated from the caregiver, the baby will exhibit attachment-seeking behaviors, such as clinging to the mother, trying every possible way to find the mother, or crawling wherever the mother goes...

We should be grateful to others for being willing to 'offer help' Written by: Dr. Cheung KitIn this era, parents' protection of their children surpasses that of any previous generation. This may be due to the decrease in the number of children and the improvement in living standards, leading to parents spending more time and providing more comprehensive care for their children. Under such (possibly excessive) protection, children often become very self-centered and disregard the importance of others. From the parents' perspective, they are inevitably biased...

Whose trash is it? The cultivation of children's character must be achieved through home-school cooperation to be successfulWritten by: Mr. Cheung Wai Ching, PrincipalThere are two scenes in front of us:Scene One:On a bustling street, a little boy walking with his parents notices a discarded soda can at his feet. He picks up the can, intending to throw it into a nearby trash bin. However, his mother sees this and demands that he throw the can away, but the boy refuses. Then, his father comes over...

The most important thing in teaching children is valuesWritten by: Senior Early Childhood Education Consultant, Miss Mok Loi YanIn recent years, news of parent-child tragedies has become increasingly common. The root cause lies in severe deviations in parent-child relationships, familial bonds, and individual roles in family responsibilities. This results in resentment, blame-shifting, and an inability to combat negative thoughts, sometimes leading to the desire to harm others as a form of self-relief.Guiding Children on the Right Path Through Parental ValuesAlthough parents may feel heartbroken, they cannot...

Chronic cough? Bronchitis? Or Asthma? Written by：Cheng Sui ManThe children can't stop coughing, often continuing for an entire month, especially severe in the middle of the night, waking up from coughing, leading to insomnia, and then falling asleep from extreme fatigue. This is torturous for both children and adults! What exactly causes this persistent coughing? Is it sensitivity or inflammation of the trachea? Upon consulting a doctor, it turns out this is also a form of asthma!Children are naturally more prone to having narrower airways due...

Why are children always distracted while eating?  Written by: Heep Hong Society Educational Psychologist Team Many children aged 4 to 5 tend to look around and fidget during meals because they are not yet adept at using utensils. Additionally, their short attention spans, still-developing sense of time, curiosity about their surroundings, or even a desire to avoid eating may contribute to their lack of focus. Short Attention SpansChildren aged 4 to 5 generally need longer meal times than adults. This is partly because they are not yet familiar...

How to deal with a bad temper?Firstly, we must understand that it is extremely important for children to be able to express the emotion of anger for their development of autonomy. During early childhood (around two to three years old), the developmental crisis is precisely 'development of autonomy' versus 'shame and doubt' (Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt). What we should address is the behavior resulting from the child's emotions, not to prohibit or even negate the child's emotions.Additionally, anger is a common emotion, experienced by both...

Whats should I do if a child is overly attached to objects? Written by: Heep Hong Society Educational Psychologist TeamA friend's five-year-old daughter has been exhibiting "object attachment" since she was two years old. No matter what she does, she must hold her old, worn-out teddy bear, almost never letting it out of her hands. The old teddy bear is her most important possession, and she must hold it tightly wherever she goes. If she finds it missing, she becomes irritable and cries incessantly. Recently, her mother...

Hot-tempered parentsWritten by : Marriage and Family Therapist Rachel NgChildren easily become timid, reticent, and lack confidence when dealing with hot-tempered parents. However, some children may learn to solve problems in an aggressive manner, mimicking their parents. Obviously, both patterns are detrimental to a child's personality development! Can parents improve their hot-tempered nature?Personality tendencies and life stressIt's undeniable that a part of one's temperament is innate, which we cannot overlook. Just like children have different traits, some parents are naturally more sensitive, react quickly, and have...

Parental education, willing to learn and dare to doWritten by: Dr. Chi-Yuen TIK, Chief Executive, The Hong Kong Institute of Family EducationIn the journey of parental education, I love to listen to parents share their experiences and reflections on disciplining their children. Exchanging and encouraging each other is the most comprehensive content of parenting education. There is no place in the world that requires parents to pass an exam before they can have children. Everyone is learning as they go, realizing things later on, and gradually...

How to raise children with a sense of security?Written by: American Association for Play Therapy, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, Registered Social Worker Chan Tsz WaiAccording to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a sense of security is the second basic human need, just after physiological needs. Children who lack a sense of security may exhibit many behavioral problems. Without sufficient support to confidently explore the world, and without enough confidence that someone can provide safe protection, they may send misleading signals through problematic behaviors to express their emotional needs....

Playing and toysShirley Loo：Playing and toysChild, in my memory, you rarely asked me to buy toys during your childhood. I wonder if this has anything to do with that time when I took you away from home to "Fun World."Do you still remember standing in front of that plush toy? I made up many stories, saying that Ning Ning wanted to take them home, and they cried, saying "they didn't want to leave their own home." As a result, you believed it to be true and...

Written by: Registered Public Health Nutritionist (UK) and Nutritionist, Ng Pui YuMany 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...

Written by: Mr. Chiu Wing Tak, a senior education expert and honorary advisor to the Association of Careers Masters and Guidance Masters If you ask me, in the decades of teaching experience, what are the most unforgettable moments, I would unhesitatingly answer the stories that enlighten people. Why am I so attracted to enlightening moments? Because enlightenment is a form of "higher-level education," and as someone who deeply loves education, these moments are particularly memorable. Below is a story of how I enlightened a "monster parent."...

Written by: Ms. Carmen Leung, Director of Curriculum Development, Steps EducationMany parents ask what holistic education is. From the perspective of the wisdom of the Chinese people that has been passed down for thousands of years, it is the cultivation of a child's "morality, intelligence, physical fitness, social skills, and aesthetics"; from the perspective of psychologists, it is the cultivation of a child's multiple intelligences; from the perspective of education, it is not only the pursuit of knowledge, but also the cultivation of a child's values,...

Written by: Mr. Victor Ching, Registered Psychologist, Child Psychological Development AssociationI 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...

Can children be naughty？Written by: Fung Ji Hei, Game TherapistWhen Ji Fung, a first-grader, didn't return from the restroom after a while, the teacher sent the male class leader to check on him. After a while, the class leader came back panting, saying, "The entire restroom is soaked!" So, the teacher went to investigate personally. Upon arriving at the restroom, the teacher saw a flood, with water and bubbles everywhere, and Ji Fung was "washing his hands" in one of the sinks. The teacher asked, "What...

For a cowardly childWritten by: Mr. Leung Wing Lok, the Octopus ParentEarlier during the summer vacation, I let my child participate in various extracurricular activities. My eldest son, Hei Gor, and his kindergarten classmates took part in an outdoor activity venue located in Tai Po called "Tree House," which has grasslands, farmlands, fish ponds, and more, allowing them to get close to nature. The highlight of the activity was climbing up to the 5-meter-high treehouse. Hei Gor, known for his timidity, would get weak in the...

Parent-child creative art creationWritten by: Director of Pario Arts, Lee Sou Jing Everyone has creativity and artistic potential. If properly nurtured, it can enhance one's moral sentiments and make life more perfect. In the artistic atmosphere, diverse activities inspire individuals' creativity, aesthetic sense, and diverse abilities, promoting holistic development. 'Love' is the driving force of creation. In a free, democratic, safe, and harmonious environment and atmosphere, it is the expression of 'love,' emphasizing mutual tolerance, acceptance of different opinions, and respect for and acceptance of others. So,...

Smart learning depends on exerciseWritten by: Ms. Fung Chi Hei, Game Therapist, Lok Sin Tong Leung Kau Kui Primary SchoolI previously participated in a professional exchange activity for teachers in Taiwan and was impressed by the emphasis on using exercise to cultivate children's growth in the Taiwanese education system. This experience provided new inspiration, which I hope to share with parents. One of the schools visited during the exchange can be described as the elementary school version of a sports academy. Upon entering the school, the...

Written by: Nutritionist and Fitness Coach, Ms Hilda Yang Of course, children love to cool off with frozen beverages, but do you worry about the excessive hidden sugar in these drinks affecting their health? Pay attention to the nutrition labels on packaged beverages. When choosing pre-packaged drinks, be sure to check the nutrition label. Firstly, for paper-packaged drinks like fruit-flavored beverages and fruit teas, the calories mainly come from their sugar content. To meet the low-sugar standards, as an example, for every 100 milliliters of the beverage, less than...

Apart from good grades and getting into a good school, what else does a child need? Written by: Ms  Carmen Leung (Teacher Car Car)Many parents often ask, "What is holistic education?" If we look at the profound wisdom of the Chinese people spanning thousands of years, it is about cultivating a child's "virtue, intelligence, physical fitness, social skills, and aesthetics." From the perspective of psychologists, it involves developing a child's multiple intelligences. From an educational standpoint, it goes beyond the pursuit of knowledge; we also need...

Reject the Busyness: Build Parent-Child Relationships Every Day Parents should first handle their own emotions to help their children express their inner feelings.   Whether parents are working or full-time homemakers, they are busy every day with work, household chores, and taking care of their children. After school, children are also busy with homework, tutoring, and reviewing for exams. Leisure time is limited, and bedtime comes early. Dr. Wong Chung Hin, a specialist in psychiatry, points out, "Parents and students in Hong Kong are very busy, but we...

Methods of Disciplining Children  Written by: Ms. Chan-Chen Shu-an, Early Childhood Education Specialist Parents often wonder if there is an effective method for disciplining children. Drawing from personal experience, the author has gathered practical discipline methods to share with parents, hoping to assist them in disciplining children with different personalities. Diversion Method Young children are easily influenced by external factors. When a child cries incessantly or insists on holding onto something, instead of engaging in a struggle, try using the diversion method. For example, if a child is crying non-stop,...