Resources for Parents
Resources for Parents
Parents are an important segment that Singapore Children’s Society serves, be it through our work with families, children, youth or even advocacy. Our resources serve to guide parents in their own parenting journey to become better caregivers, role models and mentors to their children.
All resources are produced by Singapore Children’s Society. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Information presented is accurate as of the date of presentation.
Choo Choo Train is a series of stories and activities aimed to inculcate good values in five- and six-year-old children. Children will learn about eight values through 16 stories and activities. Stories will feature Eli the elephant and his friends as they learn about each value.
If you are a parent or an educator, there are guided questions at the end of the story that you may ask the children to build their empathy and perspective-taking skills. Recommended activities are also included for a wholesome experience in learning these values!
Compassion | |
 |  |
Consideration | |
 |  |
Courtesy | |
 |  |
Gratitude | |
 |  |
Honesty | |
 |  |
Kindness | |
 |  |
Respect | |
 |  |
Responsibility | |
 |  |
Storm Riders is an anger management programme that helps children, 9-12 years old, to understand their emotions and respond to anger in a healthy manner, without harming themselves, others or the environment. The programme focuses on enhancing children’s emotion management skills, problem-solving skills and pro-social skills.
Click here to find out more.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
We produce parenting guides for different stages of a child’s growth and development.
We conducted a longitudinal study together with the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital on infant research. The study examines contemporary care-giving practices in Singapore, and how these might impact mother-child attachment and children’s socio-emotional development. Three cohorts of first-time mothers have taken part in this research study. A brief summary of findings has been published in this newsletter. More information and updates on the study can be found here.
Parenting Guide on Babies (English and Malay editions available)
Parenting Guide on Babies is the first in a series of parenting guides put together by Singapore Children’s Society. This guide aims to provide you with useful tips on care for your baby, from birth to a year old. Topics in the guide include ‘My baby won’t stop crying’, ‘My baby chews on everything’ and ‘My baby dislikes baths.
Please click the links below for the respective guides:
Parenting Guide on Toddlers
The second in our parenting guide series, Parenting Guide on Toddlers aims to provide you with useful tips on care for your toddler, aged one to three. This guide gives parents suggestions on how to cope when their child misbehaves. Topics in the guide include ‘My child won’t sit still’, ‘My child won’t listen to me’ and ‘My child is rough’.
Please click here to download the guide.
Parenting Guide on Pre-schoolers (English, Chinese and Malay editions available)
For pre-schoolers, through a series of light-hearted illustrations, our parenting guide on pre-schoolers provides tips on how parents can handle difficult situations with their pre-schooler, aged four to six, and explains why he may be behaving in a certain way. Topics in the guide include ‘My child wants my attention all the time’, ‘My child can’t concentrate’ and ‘My child lies’.
Please click the links below for the respective guides:
Caregiver’s Guide
This Guide is designed specially for spouses of individuals in prison who are often caregivers of young children. It aims to give insights on the difficulties and hardships the spouse might face and provide useful ideas on how to handle difficult situations during this trying time.
Please click here to download the guide.
ParenTIPS Podcast
We also launched our ParenTIPS Podcast in 2021 to help parents stay on top of the latest research and trends on the go. It builds on the infographic format first created in 2019 and features experts providing practical tips and strategies on various topics and themes related to bringing up children. Topics have included positive parenting, long-term impact of corporal punishment and alternative approaches to discipline that parents can draw from.
Tune in to https://anchor.fm/sgchildrensoc for current and future episodes of ParenTIPS.
Speaking of Children: The Singapore Children’s Society Collected Lectures
Singapore Children’s Society started its annual Lecture series in 2007. Since then, we have invited distinguished individuals from various fields to share their views on issues concerning children and families in Singapore.
To mark the nation’s Jubilee celebrations, Children’s Society put together the first eight Lectures and published them into a book in October 2015. This book sheds light on the transformation of childhood in Singapore, over our many milestones. It encompasses a mix of historical material and personal anecdotes from the speakers themselves.
Besides what was said at the Lecture, this book also includes brief biographies of each of the speakers and reflections they have had since their Lectures. Photographs and illustrative cartoons, some specially commissioned, provide readers with added insight into the various Lecture themes.
The second edition of this book will be launched in 2022 as part of our 70th Anniversary celebrations.
Singapore Childhood: Our Stories Then and Now《我们这样长大：新加坡的童年生活》
In August 2012, Singapore Children’s Society published an English and a Chinese book on childhood in Singapore. Singapore Childhood: Our Stories Then and Now and《我们这样长大：新加坡的童年生活》 trace the political, economic and social changes that have taken place over the past six decades and how they have transformed the childhood of children in Singapore.
These changes are vividly brought to life through anecdotes and memories drawn from interviewees hailing from different races and age groups. Accompanied by archived materials and photographs from different sources, the stories in the books revisit various aspects of childhood such as birth, home, play, school, health and welfare. These books provide a unique insight into the past to young readers, and serve as a nostalgic read for adults.
Children Body Safety
KidzLive: I Can Protect Myself is an hour long programme conducted in pre-school centres that teaches young children how to protect themselves from sexual abuse. This programme incorporates interactive elements to teach children to respect their bodies, differentiate between good and bad touches and to tell a trusted adult if they are touched inappropriately.
An information booklet is given to each child after the KidzLive programme. This booklet informs parents and other caregivers about child sexual abuse and contains tips on how caregivers can help reinforce body safety skills with the children. The booklet is also suitable for practitioners, as well as members of the public, who are interested in learning more about the messages relayed through the KidzLive programme and how they, too, can play a part in protecting children from sexual abuse. Please click to download the booklet.
In May 2019, Singapore Children’s Society launched a children’s picture book on body safety to help caregivers and educators broach the topic of child sexual abuse.
Authored by Mr Goh Eck Kheng and illustrated by Ms Lim An-ling, ‘Jun and the Octopus’ follows the story of Jun, a boy who confronts his fears and finds the courage to tell his parents about a sexual abuse incident.
Sexual abuse is usually a topic that most adults find challenging to discuss with children. It is not uncommon to hear educators or caregivers struggle with where and how to start. Creating an environment where children are able to learn about sexuality and sexual abuse in an open and honest manner is the first step towards protecting them from harm, and stories are a powerful medium for children to learn about topics that are not easy to talk about.
‘Jun and the Octopus’ has a distinct Asian folklore flavour, which sets it apart from more Western-oriented books that deal with the subject matter. The book will help kick start meaningful conversations about body safety skills.
The book is available for sale at selected book stores, such as Books Kinokuniya, Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop, and Woods in the Books for $18 (before GST). You can also purchase it at Singapore Children’s Society’s Bishan Office located at 9 Bishan Place #05-02 Junction 8 Office Tower Singapore 579837.
Our Mental Health
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by emotions like stress, fear or sadness that it affected your daily life? That moment is an example of mental health at play.
Our mental health is our overall state of well-being and internal balance. It’s shaped by our environment and experiences and plays a crucial role in how we feel, socialise, and make decisions every day.
Every life transition brings its own set of challenges and opportunities. Throughout our lives, we all experience different levels of mental wellbeing and this is especially true for children and young people who are developing their identity and going through social changes.
Without the right skills and support systems to navigate these transitions, they are more likely to encounter mental health challenges.
Inside our Children’s Mind 💭
Our research team at Singapore Children’s Society conducted a study on *Tinkle Friend’s online chats about mental health and identified three main sources of stress for children.
*Tinkle Friend is the only national helpline and chatline providing support and advice to distressed primary schoolers
📖 Expectations of achievement
Children experience pressure caused by expectations that they place on themselves, and/or that their parents place on them to do well academically or attain certain ideals.
😖 Family-related stressors
Family-related triggers of stress include family conflict, harsh discipline, fear of family violence, divorce, being compared to siblings, and parents displacing work-stress on children.
💥 Peer issues
Peer issues causing distress in children stem from feeling socially excluded, having friendship issues, being bullied and gossiped about by peers.
Looking for support or know of any child or youth who needs help? Take the first step by scheduling a 30-min mental health check-in session.
“Children often feel dismissed by adults because what stresses them is different from what their parents experienced in childhood. Additionally, adults often appear busy so children choose not to “trouble” them and suffer in silence instead.
It is therefore important for parents to give dedicated attention to children and take their concerns seriously. Never underestimate the power of day-to-day interactions as they form the foundation for trusting and supportive relationships”
Ms Vivyan Chee, Deputy Director
and Head of Flourishing Minds
How can you support your child to flourish?
Deepen your knowledge about children mental health with our resources. From spotting signs of poor mental health to validating their feelings, find out how you can create a supportive environment to encourage open conversations and help-seeking behaviour.
Research Bites
How can we better support children and youth’s mental health? Gain insights directly from the voices of youth as well as expert insights. Discover key recommendations from our studies, including emotional validation, modelling help-seeking behaviours, meeting children's psychological needs, and enhancing their sense of safety.
Buzz Magazine
Explore what mental health is, why it’s important, and how to maintain it. Learn about the signs of poor mental health and how to support children using the GRAB approach. Designed in a child-friendly manner, this is perfect for parents to read and discuss with their children.
The Straits Times Commentary
Why are children afraid to share their struggles with parents? How can parents recognise subtle signs of distress and offer help? This commentary offers valuable insights for caregivers to better support children facing mental health issues.
Flourishing Minds
Flourishing Minds was launched in 2022 by Singapore Children’s Society as a mental health service for children and youth. The Society is also one of the four appointed social service agencies under the Supporting Youth in Community programme, a pilot project by the President’s Challenge and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) to boost community-based support for youth with mental health conditions.
Our Services
Oasis for Minds Services (Mental Health Casework and Counselling)
Our aim is to provide accessible early interventions and recovery-focused services for children and youth to develop positively and live in a safe and inclusive community.
To achieve this, we adopt a trauma-informed, recovery-oriented and family-focused approach in supporting them. Interventions are implemented in phases, which include:
Our Mighty Minds (Mental Health Literacy Programme)
Our Mental Health Literacy programme stems from the belief that mental health is a state of health, and it deserves to be promoted and protected.
This programme is designed for children, youth and caregivers to develop their knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in relation to various facets of mental health.
Participants will learn ways to promote their own mental wellbeing, cope with their distress, and support others who are in need.
Mental Health Check-In (30mins)
The mental health check-in service is set up to help identify early signs of mental health concerns in children and youth and facilitate timely and appropriate professional help.
If you are looking for support or know of any child or youth who needs help, a 30-minute mental health check-in is available here.