Tag: parenting

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Setting Goals as a Family: A Fresh Start for 2025

In our last post, we explored the importance of self-reflection.  We also discussed the key areas children and teens should evaluate as the year ends.  This week, we’re extending that discussion to goal setting.  Goal setting is a meaningful activity for parents and kids alike.  It’s a perfect activity as we close out 2024 and prepare for the opportunities and challenges of 2025.

Setting goals for the new year is not just about creating a to-do list.  It’s a symbolic fresh start.  Writing these goals on paper provides clarity and direction, acting as a motivational push for both children and parents.  Some families choose to write down their goals and display them prominently at home.  Others opt for a creative approach, like making a vision board. 

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Creating Goals Together

When setting goals with your child, structure the process to make it comprehensive and enjoyable.  Divide goals into meaningful categories to ensure balance and variety in your family’s aspirations.  Here are some areas you might focus on:

Academic Goals:  What does your child want to achieve at school?  This could be improving in a subject, participating in a competition, or developing better study habits.

Financial Goals:  Introduce basic budgeting or saving for something meaningful, such as a gadget, a year-end trip, etc.

Health and Wellness Goals:  Discuss staying active, eating better, or maintaining a healthy routine.

Social Goals:  Encourage building friendships, improving communication skills, or being more supportive to peers.

Unique Experiences:  Plan adventures or activities your family hasn’t done before, like trying a new hobby,

Skill Development:  Encourage learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument, coding, baking, or driving.

Care for Self and Others:  Incorporate values like kindness, gratitude, or mindfulness into daily life.

As you guide your child in setting their goals, remember to set your own goals too.  Let this be a shared activity that fosters connection, collaboration, and mutual growth.

happy mother using laptop with daughter
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The Importance of Togetherness

Goal setting can be more than just a task—it can become a cherished family tradition.  Use this time to bond with your child, share dreams, and learn more about each other’s aspirations.  The goals you set now will serve as a guide for the coming year.  Moreover, they will provide a foundation for reflection at the end of 2025.

As you embark on this journey together, may the process bring your family closer, inspire growth, and set the tone for a fulfilling year ahead.  Let’s welcome 2025 with clarity, purpose, and shared determination.

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The Importance of Self-Reflection

As the year draws to a close, it’s a good time to pause and reflect.  Just like adults, students have faced many experiences this year.  Some may have achieved significant milestones, while others may have encountered challenges or setbacks.  Regardless, reflecting on how we lived through 2024 is essential.  It allows us to celebrate our successes and learn from our mistakes.  As parents, we play a crucial role in guiding our children through this process of self-reflection.

Here are some key areas to consider during this reflection:

Health

Was I physically active and maintaining good fitness levels?  Did I develop or stick to healthy routines, such as regular exercise or balanced meals?  Were my sleep patterns sufficient to keep me energized throughout the day?  How well did I handle emotional challenges—did I find healthy ways to cope with stress or seek support when needed? 

Reflecting on physical and emotional health is crucial for understanding areas where improvement might be needed.

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Finances

Did I manage my money wisely this year?  Was I able to save consistently for things I wanted or needed?  Did I overspend on unnecessary items or fall into impulsive buying habits?  On the other hand, did I reward myself responsibly for my hard work?  

Financial habits developed at a young age can set the tone for how money is managed later in life.

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Social Life

Did I make efforts to build new friendships or strengthen existing ones?  How often did I reconnect with people who matter to me?  Was I kind, helpful, or supportive to others in my community?  Did I participate in charitable activities or take the time to assist those in need?  

Reflecting on social relationships helps students assess their empathy, kindness, and communication skills.

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Academics

Did I develop better study techniques that improved my learning?  Did I manage my time well when it came to schoolwork and assignments?  Am I closer to achieving my main academic goals, such as excelling in a subject or improving my grades?  Did I take the initiative to learn a new skill or pursue a personal interest outside of school?

Academic reflection encourages students to recognize their progress and identify areas for growth.

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Self-reflection is a vital skill because it helps us become more self-aware and intentional about our choices. Many students lack the ability to reflect deeply on their own, so it’s important for parents to support and guide them through this process. As you help your child reflect, consider taking the opportunity to do your own self-reflection as well. Together, you can end the year with a clearer sense of growth and purpose.

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Making the Most of Your Children’s School Holiday

With the year-end school holidays upon us, it’s time for children to enjoy a well-deserved break after a year of hard work. If you’re a parent of a MILCHELian enjoying this holiday season, read on for tips to make the most of this precious time together.

First of all, children are naturally drawn to gadgets and could easily spend all day on screens if allowed. But you can guide them towards more meaningful activities by planning, suggesting, or even joining in! Every family has different levels of flexibility and availability, so remember, it’s all about balancing your responsibilities at home and work.

The single best tip is to focus on quality of activities over quantity. Quality means asking a few key questions: Will you spend time with your child in person? Will this activity expose them to new learning experiences? Will they have the chance to try or see something new? If so, it’s a great choice.

An overseas trip is a wonderful way to spend quality time together. First, traveling brings the family together in a new setting and encourages bonding. Secondly, it offers new cultural and culinary experiences that expand your child’s view of the world. Finally, whether it’s a first-time visit or a favourite destination, there’s always something exciting and fresh to see.

woman man and girl sitting on snow
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But if a trip abroad isn’t possible, there are many ways to create meaningful memories close to home. For one, you can take your child to a theatre play and introduce them to the world of performing arts. Attend a concert featuring a band they admire and show that you value their interests. Furthermore, you can try a new restaurant together, sharing a new culinary experience, or cook something special at home. Let your kids join in on grocery shopping, meal prep, and even cleanup. Finally, for a cozy option, start a movie marathon or a new series together on your favourite streaming platform.

woman in black shirt sitting beside woman in yellow shirt
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The options are endless, and there’s no shortage of ways to spend meaningful time with your children this holiday season. We hope these ideas inspire you to create joyful and memorable experiences with your family this year-end!

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Teaching Perseverance: A Key to Lifelong Success for Children

Perseverance is the ability to keep trying and not give up, even when things are difficult or take a long time to achieve.  It is one of Milchel’s 5 Key traits that we endeavour to teach Milchelians.  Perseverance can be trained in kids, and parents play a crucial role in doing this.  This trait is useful to kids as they study, and later on in their adult life as productive members of the society.

Firstly, parents should model perseverance.  Children learn a lot from what they see from their parents.  You can show perseverance by setting goals and working toward them consistently.  You can also share your experiences to your children and highlight those instances when you overcame a difficulty by being perseverant.   

Secondly, guide your child to set challenging but attainable goals.  This need not be only school-related.  This can be in the chores they do at home, or in their other sports or hobbies.  Help them to break their major tasks into smaller steps so that when they experience satisfaction, they will be more motivated to continue towards their goal. 

Finally, you can teach a child perseverance by providing them with opportunities to face challenges. As parents, it is our automatic response to shelter our kids and protect them from difficulties.  However, allowing them to face some difficulties could be helpful.  When they realise that they can overcome challenges by themselves, they learn to be persistent and their confidence grows.

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It’s important to realise, too, that perseverance is not only applicable to studies.  There are many other areas where a child can learn and practise perseverance.  When kids learn perseverance through these non-academic areas, it will naturally transfer to their academic attitude.

Sports, music, and arts are areas that require consistent practice and effort. Skills develop gradually too, instead of instantly.  The perseverance learned through activities in these areas can easily translate to perseverance in academics.

Household chores are also a good training for kids to learn perseverance.  Tasks involved in the household teach kids the importance of finishing a task, no matter how tedious it may be.  It helps them develop a work ethic that is very similar to what they can apply in their academic work. 

When parents consistently encourage perseverance in multiple aspects of their child’s life, they equip the young with the resilience they need to handle academic challenges. They’ll learn that the process of sticking with something, even when it’s hard, is what ultimately leads to success.

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Character Development and Academic Success

Aside from physical health, there are two other utmost concerns of parents when it comes to their children.  These are their character development and academic success. We all want our children to grow up as good people who possess qualities like kindness, responsibility, and integrity.  At the same time, we hope for their academic success so they can have a bright future ahead of them. This article will explore how character development and academic success are intertwined, with the former influencing the latter.

To delve into this concept, we will examine three character traits that a child must possess and how they contribute to academic success: self-discipline, resilience, and empathy.

First, self-discipline leads to better time management and study habits. Self-disciplined children are more likely to complete their schoolwork on time and balance their academic responsibilities with other aspects of their lives. Overall, consistent effort driven by self-discipline results in improved academic performance.

kids gorming a line in scholl
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Second, resilience helps students persist through difficulties and setbacks they encounter in their studies. When they receive poor grades or fail an exam, resilient children bounce back instead of giving up. A child with a strong sense of resilience views challenges as opportunities for growth, leading to long-term success.

a typewriter with the word resilience building on it
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Finally, empathy enables students to collaborate effectively with their peers. This ability to work well in groups is a crucial skill in today’s academic environment. For instance, group projects and peer learning benefit greatly when students practice understanding and respect. Over time, strong collaborative skills, developed through empathy, contribute to success not only academically but also in future professional settings.

the word empathy spelled out in scrabble letters
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In conclusion, these are just three examples of how character traits contribute to academic success. Indeed, character development is as important as the grades we see in our children’s report books. Therefore, fostering character development from an early age should be a priority for both parents and educators, as it directly impacts children’s academic success.

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Strengthening English Foundations Through Parental Support

The importance of a strong command of English in a student’s tool kit cannot be overstated.  This is especially so for foreign students studying in Singapore, like Milchelians.  Many parents want to send their children to study overseas to learn English, but the child will face difficulties if they are unready to live in an English speaking society. 

Whether or not the child is already in Singapore, parents can effectively support their children in building a strong English foundation.  Here are some practical tips that parents can try out. 

Create an English-Rich Environment.  Like what we do in Milchel’s English Reading Programme (ERP), we immerse Milchelians in as much English language as possible.  Constant exposure through texts, videos, and music helps students become familiar with the language’s sounds, vocabulary and sentence structure.  Consequently, thus will make learning English more natural and less forced. 

books in shelf inside room
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Encourage Reading.  With as little as 20 minutes a day, students who read gain a competitive advantage over students who do not read at all.  Reading consistently for shorter periods of time (e.g. 20-30 minutes a day) has been found to be better than a once-a-week reading session of 2 hours each.  Space out your child’s reading schedule throughout the week.  It is also very important that you discuss the books with your child.  This practice will help improve their vocabulary and comprehension.  Moreover, this stimulates their imagination and critical thinking.  Remember:  Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to reading. 

parents and their little son reading a book in bed
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Practice Writing.  Encourage your child to write regularly.  Though it’s no longer popular among children and teens nowadays, keeping a journal is a good practice for students who want to improve their command of the English language.  Slowly, they will become comfortable and gain confidence in their daily journal writing.  Later on, this comfort and confidence will translate in writing more complex texts like essays and reports. 

focused students doing homework at home
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It is important to start small when building an environment for your child aimed at building strong English foundation.  “Small and steady, slow and incremental” is the formula you could follow.  It would be unrealistic to expect immense improvement in your child’s English standard in a short amount of time.  Like in any other goals, consistent effort and patience will pay off in helping your child achieve their goals to achieve a good command of the English language.