bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Shirley Zhao

Much-loved actor and singer Andy Lau Tak-wah has topped a list of the people local children most want to model their lives on, says a survey released yesterday.
He's followed by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, "my father", late Apple CEO Steve Jobs and "my mother".
No local politicians made the top 15 list of role models.
The survey also found that one in three children had been enrolled in classes such as music or languages even before they started kindergarten. And more than 90 per cent had attended at least three after-school activities every week - although most said they didn't enjoy them.
Some 722 pupils aged from six to 18 were interviewed for the study, which was conducted by the non-profit Hong Kong Institute of Family Education (HKIFE) and the Sino Group-owned Tuen Mun Town Plaza. The children were asked to fill out questionnaires in the shopping mall near their schools last month.
No margin of error was given.
Almost 30 per cent of them said they wanted to work hard to become like Lau, who is widely respected in the city as a hard-working star. Sporting heroes such as basketball player Jeremy Lin, Olympics cycling medallist Sarah Lee Wai-sze and soccer player David Beckham ranked sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively. Lady Gaga was No 10.
HKIFE director Christopher Yu Wing-fai said all of the role models worked hard in fields they loved, suggesting the pupils wanted to pursue areas they were interested in. "Many parents enrol their children in all sorts of after-school activities without considering their interests," Yu said. "It's like a competition; they fear losing out to others."
Only 15 per cent of respondents said they liked their after-school classes, while over 60 per cent wanted to spend less time doing such activities. But their parents have other ideas. Boey Kwong Kwai-ming said she spent up to HK$5,000 a month on extra classes for her daughter, who has Sundays off "to play".
 


Andy Lau's latest role: inspiring Hong Kong's young kids

Andy Lau. Photo: AFP

News

Hong Kong