The Next Generation

Seah Chiang Nee has an interesting article in the Review of 19/11/2005, titled, "What S'porean next generation holds".

i think he gave a fairly accurate description of the majority of middle and upper class Singaporean youths. i particularly liked his comment about the Singaporean teenager being helpless without his/her maid and being naive about internet predators, corruption or real poverty.

i feel that most of his criticisms of the average Singaporean youth springs from the Singaporean parents being too demanding and strict in some areas and being too indulgent in others.

too demanding and strict:

1. academic results, forcing students to sacrifice real education for being able to do well in exams.
2. earning big bucks, ingraining into students a strong desire to make a living, sacrificing the desire to actually live, hence resulting in Singaporean children 'knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing' (i love that line...)

too indulgent:

1. not disciplining the child in etiquette, respect (oneself and others), leading to children running amok in public places (Sumiko Tan has a great article in Sunday Life of 20/11/05). for examle, i saw this kid once on a bus, complete brat. had real volume control problems, didn't really speak as much as demanded. she looked like the sort who expects to get every darn thing she wanted. this ah-so accidentally stepped on her foot (bus was crowded), the girl stomped on the ah-so's foot and started scolding the ah-so, even before the ah-so could even apologise. the mother stood by and did nothing.
2. maid does everything. increasingly, children don't do chores anymore. i didn't. but thankfully, i had OCS to force it into me. and then 4 years overseas to practice. i'm still a slob. but i do not extend my slob-ness to inconvenience other people.
3. more often than not, buying unnecessary things for the children just to bribe them to study/behave, breeding an unhealthy consumerist behaviour.
4. not allowing the child to fall down, hurt himself and get back up by himself. this includes making the wrong decisions and failing.

(lists are not exhaustive. please add on. )

i think if i ever have kids, i want my kids to be the sorts who do not really care about how much money they earn, but are more concerned with whether they love their jobs and whether they are leading meaningful lives.