Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3108229/helicopter-parents-stressful-schools-and-pandemic-no-wonder-hong
Comment/ Letters

Helicopter parents, stressful schools and a pandemic: no wonder Hong Kong children are unhappy

Hong Kong students tend to face a great deal of academic pressure and have complained about being assigned too much homework. Photo: Shutterstock

I am writing to express my opinion on the declining resilience of Hong Kong students. According to a recent survey conducted by a non-profit group, HK. WeCARE, children and teenagers are Hong Kong’s unhappiest people this year. Some people think this young generation lives a far more comfortable life than previous generations, leaving them less prepared to handle adversity and prone to feeling depressed easily.

Overly doting and protective parents may be to blame for the low resilience among students. Such parents tend to do everything for their children, motivated by the desire to take the best care of them. As a secondary school student, I sometimes see parents waiting outside campus for their teenager to finish school. Such actions, however well-intentioned, could make children less resilient.

Deprived of the opportunity to learn to be independent and to solve problems on their own, they are likely to grow up taking everything for granted and breaking down at the slightest hurdle: what some people call the “snowflake” generation. When they encounter challenges or setbacks, they seek help from others immediately and are easily discouraged.

However, when it comes to academic studies, I do not think that students should be blamed for low resilience. Even if young people have poor resilience and are used to having help, there is no denying that the heavy workload from school exerts great mental pressure. Students are burdened with excessive homework and quizzes every day. And this has been exacerbated by the unstable learning environment caused by the coronavirus, with e-learning blurring the boundary between school and home, where distractions are harder to resist.

Low-income Hong Kong students struggle as coronavirus forces classes online

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Low-income Hong Kong students struggle as coronavirus forces classes online

In sum, parents should let children take risks, offer support but resist the urge to be overprotective, so that children grow up more resilient to life’s hard knocks. At the same time, the government should pay more attention to improving the stressful education system.

Becky Ho, Sha Tin

Covid-19 norms might be here to stay

The Covid-19 pandemic has been around for almost a year. This might have become the most “hi-tech” year for us in Hong Kong, as we have tried many previously unimaginable things under unprecedented circumstances.

To start with, schooling was transformed this year. Most students and educators switched to online teaching and learning, and we all needed to adapt. Every one of us has needed to become tech-savvy and sit in front of a computer every day, whether for lessons or work meetings.

There are also new norms in society now. The most significant change is that we only feel safe when everyone is wearing a mask. There are almost no uncovered faces to be seen on the streets, including those of children.

Whether it’s herd mentality or social responsibility, this new norm has benefited society and public health, helping to keep Hong Kong’s coronavirus numbers under control despite the pandemic raging elsewhere in the world. Hygiene methods, such as frequent handwashing and using sanitiser, have become second nature, with disinfectant tissues at the ready.

One creative mask a day: Hong Kong theatre costume designer documents life during the pandemic

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One creative mask a day: Hong Kong theatre costume designer documents life during the pandemic

I also believe we are likely to see limits on time spent in public enclosed spaces become a new norm as a way to tackle any further clusters, especially as the health secretary has warned of tighter social distancing rules after partying over the Halloween weekend raised fears of a Covid-19 resurgence.

Preventive measures and collective responsibility have worked to spare Hong Kong the draconian lockdown measures seen in many leading economies. We should prevent a sudden upsurge from affecting our lives again.

Liana Pau, Hang Hau