Source: Speech therapist, Miss Carley When children learn a language, pronunciation is also an important aspect. There are many pronunciations in English that are not found in Cantonese and are difficult for both children and adults to master. How can parents teach children to pronounce English correctly? What are some tips to use? The English tongue’s sounds can be difficult for children and even adults to master. We can try to use different cueing techniques to teach children to pronounce the sounds correctly. For example, parents can use visual cues, such as looking in the mirror with the child and showing him the tip of his tongue, placed between the two rows of teeth. In addition,

Source: Specialist in psychiatry, Dr. Leung Yuen Shan   Every time the child is sent to school, they cry non-stop and have a difficult time separating from their mother. This may be a sign of a lack of security. Many studies have shown that a secure attachment is a foundation for a child’s success in life. How can parents establish a secure attachment with their children?   In fact, a secure attachment requires deliberate effort and a lot of hard work from the mother. A child’s trust in the world and their own confidence are closely related to their secure attachment to their mother.   When a child doesn’t feel safe, they usually have trouble being

Source: Spinal Neurologist, Dr. Wan Man Ho Many children nowadays have spinal problems, including hunchbacks and scoliosis. If not treated in time, they may develop problems such as back pain, neck pain, and sciatica when they grow up. In Hong Kong, 3 out of every 10 children suffer from scoliosis. This problem also worsens during the development period. The causes of scoliosis include congenital scoliosis, acquired scoliosis, muscle imbalances, and even poor posture. During examinations, some children may discover that they have differences in leg length, pelvic displacement, or even lateral deviation of the spine or ribs. Chiropractors will use physical therapy and even chiropractic care to help these children improve the curvature of their spines.

Source: Parenting Education Specialist, Ken Sir From time to time, conflicts may arise between children and adults. In handling these conflicts, communication skills with children are very important, and there is a big difference between starting with “you” and starting with “I.” Once, I was at the elevator entrance and saw a child trying to press the elevator button, but another child pressed it first. The child’s emotions immediately became volatile, and although the mother tried to bend down and deal with the situation, she found it difficult to calm the child’s emotions. What was involved in the situation? This involves the mother using a few phrases, including “don’t cry”, “what do you want?” or “do

Source: Registered Clinical Psychologist, Yiu Fong Lee   Parents often encounter various behavioral problems with their children, which can be very troubling. For example, they ask their child to do homework, but the child doesn’t do it; they ask the child to eat, but the child sits there playing instead. When children display many uncooperative behaviors, parents become very angry and may use blaming or punishing methods to deal with them. In times of great distress, children become even more uncooperative because they feel their parents are annoying and only have negative evaluations, causing their behavior to become increasingly uncooperative and disobedient. In the practice of mindfulness, parents can learn to carefully observe what is happening

Source: Speech therapist, Miss Carley   Often, we want children to learn English vocabulary, which may be difficult and boring for them. In fact, parents can try to create some simple games for children to learn these English words through the process of playing.   The first game is called “Covering the Card.” It is similar to the card game we usually play. Parents can write some words that children need to learn on white paper and draw more sheets with laughing faces. How do I play it? To begin, we must mix the cards and distribute them evenly to each player; for example, each parent and child will receive four cards. Then, take turns playing

Source: Family Dynamic, Marriage and Family Therapist, and Hypnotherapist, Wong Shi Ming Phones emit light and sound, which always attracts children to play endlessly. Some children cannot let go of their phones no matter what they are doing, whether it is eating, riding in a car, or going to school. How can parents solve this problem? First of all, everyone should understand that the children’s reaction is inevitable. Phones can provide a lot of sensory stimulation, and there is no game over. It can be restarted, which gives a sense of accomplishment and can also distance children from the pressure and frustration of parents and school, making them feel invincible. Physiologically speaking, playing electronic games will

Source: Unleashing Mind, Psychotherapist, Dr. Lee Wai Tong   Next semester, K3 children will start to prepare for elementary school. Apart from getting to know the new school, preparing stationery, and learning to wear school uniforms, what else can parents do to help their children transition smoothly and make a good transition to elementary school? It is often the case that children will feel anxious when they encounter many unknown things. To deal with the anxiety of children, it is best to prepare for the situation in advance.   What’s for preparation? Open the schedule before school and remind the children, “Look, there will be a recess after these two classes, and then another recess after

Source: Senior Parenting Education Expert, Bally After school every day, asking children to sit down and do homework is like sending them to war. Usually, there are several reasons why children do not like or do not want to do their homework. How can parents help their children? First, they really do not know how to do it. How can we tell if they really don’t know how to do it? I have found that many children go home and find that 80% of the homework requires parent guidance, so they can’t handle it on their own and naturally wait for their parents to come home. From the parents’ perspective, they will feel that their children

Source: Speech Therapist, Mok Yee Tuen Typically, babies start making sounds as soon as they are born, such as different crying sounds to express their demands. From 4 to 8 months, they start babbling, which is part of the language preparation period. Children actually go through a ladder of language development, starting with just learning single words and ending with being able to tell stories with their words. Babies from 9 months to 1 year generally start producing their first meaningful word, such as “ba,”  “ma,” or “ball ball.” From 1 to 2 years old, their understanding and vocabulary expression increase greatly, with the accumulation of single words forming two-word phrases, such as “mommy drink” and

Source: Parenting Specialist, Ken Sir, Some mothers often ask me, “How should I show my love for my children?” Will it be spoiled by expressing too much? I think that Chinese people are more introverted and are often afraid to express their love. Especially when you want to express your concern for him but end up with a different attitude. I once saw a mother and her little child lost in Shatin and then reunited. How did the mother behave after the reunion? She grabbed him by the hand and hit him while saying, “I just couldn’t see you; do you know how scared I was?” I am very worried about you. What can I do

Written by : Founder of Family Dynamics                Marriage and Family Therapist                Children Play Therapist           Ng Yee Kam In recent play therapy cases, several of the children’s emotional problems were related to their young siblings’ relationship. Most of these problems were not caused by major arguments, but rather by subtle interactions in which each child was seeking the mother’s attention, comparing how much positive feedback they received from each other, and comparing who the mother “loved” more! Children often fight with each other because they are jealous of their siblings and take the opportunity to vent their frustrations. It is true that everyone is “biased” and so are parents. Both inborn and nurtured

Source: Aristle International Kindergarten, School Supervisor, Vivian Wu Parents may ask what tips are available to help children build confidence easily from a young age. I think young children need love. He may be more self-centered and place a lot of emphasis on his relationship with his caregivers, so I think relationships with parents and caregivers are very important. If he has enough trust in the people around him, it will be easier for him to build relationships with the people around him in the future. The second point is that many parents now go to play groups more often, and often parents take their children to parent-child classes and can finish them without interacting with

Why don’t the children want me to be with them again?           As a child grows up and interacts with the environment and people around him or her, he or she will gradually develop some feelings. Children will use these feelings to choose what they like or dislike, which is normal development for children. Mom says that her son is beginning to have an opinion, which means that he is expressing these feelings and that he has his own choices. Mom found out that his choice was not to choose herself but to choose Dad to play and read books with him. There is a possibility that the son likes books and

Three steps to teach children to eat on their own Written by: Senior Parenting Specialist,Bally When children go to school, they have to eat on their own. It is not an easy challenge to teach children to eat well, as they have to eat attentively and refrain from playing with food. In fact, parents only need three steps to teach their children to eat on their own. First, parents need to teach their children to eat on their own. Parents are frequently anxious for their children to finish their meals quickly, fearing that they will not eat and will have to be fed by their parents. In fact, starting at 6 months of age, children should get used

3 big tricks to let young children know the emotions & improve their social skills  Written by: Speech Therapist Mother, Miss Carley Since children are only about two or three years old, their knowledge of the world will become deeper and deeper, teaching them to understand emotions can help them express their feelings and encourage them to put themselves in the position of understanding the feelings of others, thereby enhancing their social skills. Tip 1: Parents and children watch cartoons together Parents can watch more cartoons with their children. Often, the expressions of the characters in these cartoons are exaggerated so that children can identify the emotions and feelings of the characters and ask them about

Keep sneezing. How to improve allergic rhinitis? Written by : Dr Chiu Cheung Shing As soon as the season changes, both children and adults are susceptible to allergic rhinitis problems. For example, children may have difficulty in breathing due to allergic rhinitis, feel stuffy nose that affects their sleep quality, and have to wipe their noses all day long, and if the situation is serious, they may even suffer from sleep apnoea.  Allergic rhinitis can be caused by both congenital and acquired factors.  Although it is difficult to cure allergic rhinitis due to congenital origin, if the acquired factors can be properly controlled, then the chance of children having the disease will be greatly reduced. How to

Three characteristics to let you know whether you are a “monster parent”?             Written by: Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Family Education 　　　       Dr. Tik Chi-yuen Although parenting is a natural duty, it is not “inborn to take duty”. Previously, I discussed with senior government officials the current difficulties of parents and how to effectively promote parent education.During the discussion, we all felt that parent education should be strengthened because parents are becoming more and more “monsterized”, resulting in high pressure on parents and heavy burden on children. If parents want to determine whether they are “monster parents”, they can assess in three aspects. First，are you always worried about your

Nurturing children’s interest in reading             Written by : New Horizons Development Centre                        Registered Educational Psychologist Pang Chi Wah   A hundred years ago, illiteracy was a normal thing. But since education became widespread decades ago, it is now necessary to go to school to receive an education. Learning is not only through the direct transmission of knowledge by teachers through language, students also need to read textbooks by themselves. When doing homework or taking exams, students are tested on their concentration and speed when reading. More than 30 years ago, the basic qualification for firefighters was graduation from the sixth grade, but today, even college graduates may not

            Written by : Child Behavioral Emotional Therapist　　　        Ip Wai Lun   Many times, parents get angry because their children don’t follow the rules or challenge some bottom line. For example, if a parent doesn’t want a child to touch something, the parent will just say, “Hey! Don’t touch it!” and “No!” and “Stop”, the child will hear many of these “No! and “No! In fact, this will often make children feel that they have done something wrong, which in turn will undermine their confidence and make them avoid doing things in the future.   As a parent, what can you do to make your child follow the rules without undermining

            Written by: Family Dynamics Counseling Psychologist 　　           Shelly Mok   Fai is a boy who is very good at drawing. He likes to draw his own comic characters, but all his characters do not have eyes, ears, mouth and nose. All of his characters, male or female, with long or short hair, have thick hair covering their ears and foreheads. These characters are like a mirror, reflecting his inner world. He does not want to communicate with others in depth, but just wants to do what he likes quietly.   When I first invited him to introduce his comic book protagonists, he said that his characters do not have mouths

            Written by : Registered Dietitian (Australia) Chung Yong Man   Children should walk more and do more exercise. My good friend May has always wanted to challenge the marathon 10km race. We agreed to train together once a week. Since she seldom exercises, I suggested her to start with a brisk walk first and try running only after she got used to it. After the exercise, we went to the convenience store to buy drinks and May chose sports drinks without saying a word.   ” I see that runners bring their own sports drinks and they claim to be good for energy, so I drink them in my spare

新冠肺炎爆發第五波，政府再次宣布暫停面授課堂，小朋友重返校園遙遙無期。家長除了要處理子女的在線學習外，更要留意網課為小朋友帶來的情緒影響。而部分家長亦同時在家工作，一家人困在家中，磨擦驟生，親子情緒健康都大受影響。

撰文：聖文德天主教小學張偉菁校長 小朋友在家上學，媽媽也要在家工作，同時兼顧家務和照顧小孩，難免會覺得十分疲累。 媽媽走到客廳，看見小朋友灑滿一地的玩具，頓時感到憤怒，忍不住便責罵孩子。