Parents, Remember: Children Are Only 5 or 6 Years Old
With the registration deadline for Primary One school placement through the central system already passed, parents who have “secured their spots” can only wait and see. During this waiting period, the only thing they can do under the government’s allocation system is “to wait patiently.” Some private and semi-private schools still accept applications, and parents eager to avoid the lottery-style admission process often try their luck with direct applications to these schools. Numerous websites also list deadlines for such applications. For parents whose children are already enrolled in private or semi-private schools, the intensive interview process is in full swing. While parents scramble to prepare their children, I must remind everyone that the child’s mental health should always come first.
Intensive Interviews Are Damaging Children’s Mental Well-being
Humans tend to repeat mistakes. After the peak interview season in September and October, many concerned individuals and organizations dedicated to children’s mental health have issued warnings against the psychological harm caused by such intense interview schedules. From my memory, one of the most shocking headlines was: *”Unable to Resist the Stress of Intensive Primary 1 Entrance Interviews — 5-Year-Old Girl Suffers Depression and Thinks of Jumping.”
Children as young as five or six often have little understanding of what primary school life entails or whether the school is prestigious or not. Their perceptions are shaped by parents’ comments like, “This is a famous school, but if you go to another one, it’s disastrous,” which only adds to their confusion and pressure. Some mental health professionals and organizations have found that many children exhibit symptoms of depression and anxiety, with some even having suicidal thoughts, requiring immediate treatment.
The Silence of Inner Feelings
I recall during my days as a journalist, I interviewed senior principals and psychiatrists. Some children are naturally introverted and take longer to warm up. During busy interview schedules, they might meet several schools in a single day, playing games and answering questions politely with unfamiliar principals and teachers. Afterwards, parents often repeatedly ask about the content of these interactions, sometimes criticizing or instructing their children on how to answer. This can become overwhelming for the young children.
As a parent myself now, I am even more mindful of what the psychiatrist advised: parents should pay attention not only to changes in their children’s habits—such as suddenly losing interest in hobbies, watching TV, reading, or playing with toys—but also to their own behavior. Are parents becoming irritable or angry, like a “Hulk,” due to stress from preparing resumes and anxious interviews? Have they stopped engaging in storytelling, playing, or outdoor family activities? Ask yourself: if parents turn into “little monsters” during this stressful period, how can children remain unscathed?
Parents, Remember: Children Are Only 5 or 6 Years Old. At this age, children lack the ability to express their inner frustrations and pressures, nor do they want to burden their parents with their feelings. Instead, they bottle up their emotions, which can lead to emotional issues or damage the parent-child relationship—an irreplaceable bond akin to a delicate piece of paper that, once crumpled, can never be perfectly restored.
This article may seem candid or even harsh, but I wonder whether worrying about children’s psychological well-being during the school admission process is part of a strategy or simply good parenting. All parents naturally care about their children’s future, but remember the original wish you had when your child was born: “To grow up healthy and happy, and to become a useful person is enough.” When the time comes to consider the future of your child entering primary school, have you forgotten your initial hope?
