I received a call from my son's tuition teacher today. The reason - my son seems tired and can't seem to concentrate during class. His retention of information taught to him seems quite low, giving her a blank look most of the time. I told her could be due to the long holiday break that he just had. Today is only the 2nd day since school started. Anyway, we try not to force him to study all the time and he is a very happy boy because he is allowed to watch TV (within a reasonable limit), play, play and play and more play.
However, after the phone call, I started to doubt myself. Am I doing the right thing as to not push him (like most parents do) and allow him to be a happy and carefree child ? Don't get me wrong, he is not spoilt at all. He is a very obedient boy and will listen to us. We do not need to use the cane at all on him (don't even have a cane at home). Because of this the only time he is spoilt is when we buy loads of stuff and toys for him.
Must I follow the norm and push him to the limit so that he scores a string of A's at the age of 8 and scolds him and punish him if he does not achieve MY TARGET ? To me, he is doing quite well in school, getting marks ranging from 70s to 80s and the occasional 90s. I know it is a struggle for him as none of my family members know Chinese except for my mother but it is quite different back then as compared to now. I know of parents when asked how did their children did in school - answer : veeeery bad. Do you know their average marks ? 95, 90, 92. ????? This is bad ??? Am I setting too low an expectation ?
I really do not know........ His exams will be coming soon. I will try to do a little bit more revision with him. Am I being kiasu ?
