May 09 2012
Hi folks…a link to a short interview I did for the upcoming Dads for Life Conference on 12 May 2012. I’ll be one of the panel speakers that morning. Check it out!
http://dadsforlife.sg/dads-stories/steven-chia-make-the-most-of-time-and-media-for-our-kids
Apr 03 2012
Jan 17 2012
This year I take my first step into the “education system” so to speak. My daughter turns 7 next year which means she enters primary school, so come July this year, I’ll be like many other parents in the country as I vy for a spot in a school for my daughter.
In the last few years I’ve had to quickly understand how the education system works in Singapore, it has changed quite a bit since I was a kid.
Before I became a parent, I never would have thought it would be this “hard” to get your child into the school of your choice. I had my first taste of this when we were picking a kindergarten for our daughter. We had planned to put her in pre nursery when she turned 3 so here at 1.5 years old, we were too late and were already on the waiting list. I thought to myself….really?
Then I started to read up on how to register for primary school and quickly learnt about who gets to go first. It was somewhat daunting and scary. It was also at that time that I registered for all the alumni groups that I could! I figured better safe than sorry. Would you believe some of these memberships can go up to S$1000?! An investment in my child’s future, I told myself.
Just the other day on the show (AM Live!) we talked about some options that exist in other parts of the world with regards to the education system. There are no perfect systems and each have pros and cons. Some have very rigid structures while others have a very free approach to it all. I think they both work as long as one key component comes into play - parents! An education system can only do so much for your child, it should only do so much. The rest is up to us as parents. We have to get involved, learn with them and help them along. We cannot outsource the whole thing because going to school is only part of the process.
In my opinion, we learn so much more from our environment and from the people around us. Our parents played a very large role in shaping our outlook on life. Many young people who did not go to “great” schools still turned out to be great leaders. They were inspired and motivated to learn.
I hope to be able to inspire and motive my children. I hope to do so by showing them the relevance of what they learn, by showing them that they can enjoy learning. I hope that the rigours and peer pressure that comes from others and the local education system do not diminish that joy for learning within them. Once that is gone, everything is so much harder to learn.
Well, I have since got my head around how things work here in Singapore and I think we’ll be okay. But come July this year, I’m sure I’ll be showing some cracked nerves as well just like many other parents in the country!
Oct 31 2011
Not too long ago I was given the opportunity to be a race car driver for a day. The good folks at Audi invited me to join them on the Sepang Circuit in Kulau Lumpur, Malaysia for a spin with the Audi R8. Dirving a supercar is fun, driving it on an actual racing circuit is waaayyyy more fun!
On a regular day to day basis, we never get to push our cars to the limit and we wouldn’t want to under normal road conditions. But when you’re out there on the race track, it is just awesome. You literally put the pedal to the metal and the car will take you to speeds you never dared attempt on a regular road.
Driving a supercar also makes all the difference especially for me since the transition is a huge one. I go from my 1971 Mercedes Benz 200, with a manual gear shift and no power steering, in fact, no power anything…to a state of the art fast car and I’m like sooo blown away.
All in all, it was a great ride and for those who like to drive, if you ever get the chance, taking the car out on a actual circuit really is an experience. The best part of it all? It’s not your car!
Oct 19 2011
It’s funny to write her a letter for her wedding day when she’s only 5…but I think it’ll be interesting to look back on it when the day actually comes.
