The first few years of a child’s life will be crucial to their future development. Hence, a lot more emphasis needs to be placed on ensuring that kids get the chance to mold who they end up becoming in the future during their years of primary schooling. International schools that have been set up all across Hong Kong can be important institutions that will be a big help during this process, but you shouldn’t forget that your child will have a limited capacity in a lot of ways so you should do everything that is within your power to help them to excel.
One thing that we would like to draw attention to is the fact that some parents place a bit too much pressure on children. This comes from the misplaced notion that pressuring children will somehow make them more likely to succeed, but in truth all this does is that it causes children anxiety and makes them prone to other forms of mental illness as well. Hence, the first thing that you should do in order to help your child succeed in school is to make sure that they are not overburdening themselves.
It is imperative that you discuss the importance of a work-life balance with your children. Try to be involved with the Harrow International School in Hong Kong or whatever school you decide to send your kid to in order to make sure that things are going according to plan. That way if your child’s grades are slipping for whatever reason, you can step in to remedy this before things start to get out of hand. Remember that once your child stops working as hard as they need to, this will turn into a bit of a slippery slope that they would really struggle to get out of.
Helping your child choose the right subjects can be a big help to them since they might be overwhelmed at the options that are currently at their disposal and would therefore not really know about what the right decisions might be in this regard. Also, try to teach your child that it’s okay to not choose the right subjects from the get-go. Life is all about trying things out and seeing if they work for you, and your child should know that if something isn’t working out there is no harm in ending their efforts and trying out for something else instead since that has the potential to be a somewhat better fit in various respects.
Another thing that you should try to encourage your child to do is to take part in extracurricular activities. As long as you have chosen a good enough school for them to go to, chances are that there will be quite a few such extracurricular options on offer. These might help them in several different ways which you should really take into consideration.
For one thing, an extracurricular will give your kid something to think about other than just boring schoolwork or homework. They will get the chance to hone skills that are not entirely academic but would regardless help them learn more about the things that matter to them. On top of all of that, these types of activities can be perfect for kids that struggle with socializing and the like. If they are taking part in activities that they enjoy and are getting better at, this can give them the confidence to make new friends who can turn into a real support system for them that might help them get through school.
Not only would this help them feel better from a mental health perspective but it can be a real boost for them in terms of academics as well. After all, these friends that they are making will all go to the same school as them, so if there is ever an exam coming up they can all study together and collectively increase their chances of doing better in said assessment. Since you’re sending your child to a high-end international school, you wouldn’t really need to worry all that much about them falling in with the wrong crowd. Instead, you can rest assured that any friends they do end up making will be wholesome and supportive to a degree.
Figuring out what extracurricular activity your child should take part in might be tricky though. You don’t want to force them to do something that they wouldn’t enjoy, so ideally you should discuss this with your child beforehand. That way you can get them involved in something that they have a passion for, and if this passion is further developed then it could turn into a full-blown career at some point as well.
Music and theater will be perfect for the artistically inclined, but there are various other extracurricular options that are less frivolous too. If your child has an aptitude for public speaking then they might do well in the debate circuit, and there is also the school paper if you feel like your kid might have a future in journalism. Try not to focus too much on priming them for a future career, though. Let them find something that they truly enjoy, and bear in mind that creative pursuits are a big part of a global culture so there is no reason why you shouldn’t let your child take part in them.
All of these things will come together to provide any kid with the support they need to get through the undoubtedly trying period of their life that their school years would be. They need all the help they can get from both their parents as well as their teachers.
