About 200 families joined “100 Parents 2019 Family Day”, held at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) on 1 December 2019 to learn how to help their children face challenges through positive parent-child interaction.
Sharing their views with the audience were Ms. Mok Yee Tuen Zandra, Project Manager and Speech Therapist of the Integrated Centre for Wellbeing (I-WELL) at EdUHK, Mr. Chu Tsz Wing, Chief Headmaster of VNSAA St. Hilary’s School and St. Hilary’s Primary School, and celebrity Ms. Josephine Ng.
Ms. Ng said, “Parents may be busy be with work and family duties. Yet we should not lose sight of the need of quality time with our children. Maintaining a good relationship with your child will provide your child with a true taste of happiness, which can further develop into a long-term mutually beneficial experience in the family.”
Mr. Chu Tsz Wing encouraged parents to invest in their children essential core values during their childhood and adolescence, rather than spending time to micro-manage their academic work.
Ms. Mok introduced some effective family communication skills, including listen well, listen fast, and respond with sharing your own life stories with the children. Speaking of her own childcare experience, Ms. Mok emphasised that love and empathy are the most important contributors to the development of the parent-child relationship.
The event also included a child development workshop and play sessions, in which the children enjoyed lively sharing of picture books and learned creative problem-solving skills and stretching exercises through a series of experiential lessons, such as STEM and handicraft.
“100 Parents 2019 Family Day” was co-organised by the “Sporty Fun” Working Group of Tai Po North District Local Committee on Services for Young People of the Social Welfare Department, I-WELL, and the Associations of Heads of Secondary Schools in the Tai Po and North districts. It is the second programme in the “100 Parent” series. The key objective of their work this year is to enhance public awareness of the importance of family harmony and mental health, under the themes of sports, family, understanding and networking. I-WELL will also be invited to provide in-depth parent workshops as an extension of the event to help parents to learn more about positive parenting in January 2020.
