4 reasons parents should stop forcing endless tuition on their kids
PUBLISHED ONJune 20, 2016 1:52 AMByDenise Bay
This article was originally on GET.com at: 4 Reasons Why Parents Should Stop Forcing Endless Tuition On Their Kids
Tuition classes in Singapore are great, but are you forcing your child to attend too many for their own good? I'm not the most kid-friendly person ever but I do genuinely feel bad for Singaporean kids in today's day and age because of the tremendous academic stress that our society, their teachers, and even their parents place on their little shoulders.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy learning even after I've left school because I am curious by nature; in fact, a bit too inquisitive with a million whys in strict accordance to my mom's words.
Reading this piece of news got me sort of worked up because which parent in their right mind would willingly subject their precious ones to such immense stress, pushing their limits and perhaps indirectly causing things to backfire? I honestly think it crosses the line when mega kiasu parents send the little ones to private tuition classes years in advance of their level in school. Here at GET.com we list down 4 reasons why parents should just loosen up and stop forcing their kids to attend endless tuition classes halfheartedly, or even miserably.
1. Childhood Is Called Childhood For A Reason
I don't know exactly how fun tuition classes can be but I am of the opinion that kids learn best when they're having fun. Fun, in this case, depends on the things that your kids find fun, of course.
Remember, they're the ones who are learning, absorbing an overwhelming amount of information and facing incredibly stiff competition from their peers, not you. Burning out at such a tender age doesn't sound anything like fun nor does it sound fair.
Kids are supposed to let their natural wonder and inquisitiveness guide them in their path towards learning. It's your job as parents to make learning fun for the little ones so that this incessant curiosity for learning can be sustained and etched in their hearts for a long, long time.
2. Different Kids Learn Better In Different Ways
Some are better at books while others are great at all things hands-on through applied learning, some are more visual while others lean more to the auditory side. So, before you chart out an after-school timetable for your child that is packed to the brim with tuition classes one after another, do your child and your wallet a favour by first determining if tuition classes would present the best learning outlet for your kid.
If need be, why not consider sending your little ones to fun enrichment classes instead of conventional tuition classes that drill them non-stop with assessment books, topical tests and past year exam papers from top schools? You'll never know when your kid will open up and start embracing learning as a 'fun' thing they actually look forward to!
3. Some Kids Do Well Even Without Tuition Classes
Well, some kids can outperform their peers who attend a slew of tuition classes based on their own effort and sheer hard work. Tuition classes do not necessarily guarantee miracles for every child and not every kid needs to have their parents spend hundreds or thousands of dollars monthly for these classes.
For the record, my mom refused to send me to A Math tuition classes when I found myself struggling with an academic subject for the first time in my life back then. Her will to not budge coupled with her faith in me somehow drove me to work round the crappy situation and put in a whole lot more effort to grasp the subject ultimately. My efforts weren't futile of course.
In case you're curious, I attended my first H2 math tuition class in 2009 after scaring my mom with my atrocious mid-year exam results in junior college. The classes were helpful and I moved on to better places.
4. Not Every Child Is Gifted
This might be hard for parents to stomach but not every child is as intellectually gifted or as talented as their parents would have preferred. How often do we come across real child prodigies? Seriously, not everybody is like Albert Einstein.
Focus on their strengths instead of zooming in only in areas which they've underperformed according to the standards you've subconsciously, or consciously set for them.
Everybody has things that he or she is great at and not so great at; it's perfectly normal because we're only human beings, not robots or machines assembled in factories or laboratories.
How To Save Money On Tuition
Being a parent comes with a whole new set of financial responsibilities and costs, as you may well know. So, how can you save money on classes? One of the easiest ways for families to save money is to use a credit card whenever possible to pay for the classes.
Shoot for a rewards credit card or a cashback credit card that lets you earn rewards or rebates on your spending. If you use the right card to pay you can end up saving a lot of money in the long run!
Here's our pick of the best 2 credit cards for families with kids in Singapore.
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