Tuition vs free time

I've been having trouble sleeping again.  As much as I tell myself not to worry, that things will work out one way or another, I am plagued by worries of Tai Pi not qualifying for the Express Stream again.  There's nothing wrong with taking the Normal Stream route I've told the girls, but they want to avoid it knowing that it entails sitting for two major exams - the "N" levels and the "O" levels.  It doesn't help that all three of them want a place at SOTA which takes in only Express Stream students.

Seeing that Science was Tai Pi's worst subject last year, I have been thinking of getting her a Science tutor.  But her schedule this year is really packed, as is the case for all P6 kids.  How other children find time to have tuition on top of all the supplementary classes is beyond me.

I place a lot of value on unstructured free time for my children so the thought of tuition encroaching on what little is left of their free time is unsettling for me.  I worry about increasing their stress levels with more academic work and I worry about what they stand to lose when they have less unstructured free time.  At the same time I worry that they will fall behind in class if we don't keep up with the rat race.

The following article, which is a synopsis of a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, tells of the importance of free unstructured play for children; I don't think many parents in Singapore will be heeding their advice any time soon though...

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Free Unstructured Play Is Essential For Children

In order to develop socially, emotionally and cognitively, children need plenty of free, unstructured play - in other words, lots of old-fashioned free playtime, says a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, called "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds."

The American Academy of Pediatrics believes pediatricians should check children's levels of stress, to make sure they are not being overloaded with activities and tasks that are designed to do them good, but could end up having the opposite effect.

Too many children in the USA have to give up free play time because their parents, in a bid to help them do well, send them to classes and encourage them to take part in "development activities". Several pediatricians, says the report, are finding that some children are becoming stressed - they are not getting enough 'downtime'.

The report says that not only does unstructured play give children time to adjust to a new school setting, but it also allows them to use their creativity, find out what they really like, acquire and practise their social skills, and solve problems. Children who can take part in unstructured free play tend to become more resilient.

The report urges parents to be guided by what their child is like, rather than how well other kids down the road are doing.

The report lists many factors which could contribute towards childhood stress:
-- changes in family structure
-- competitive college admissions process
-- federal education policies
-- fear a child may fall behind academically
-- less physical activity
-- a hurried lifestyle

If a child has to live a hurried lifestyle, while at the same time he/she has less free time, he/she can become more stressed and anxious. The report states that some children could even become depressed. Although excelling academically has its benefits, the reports stresses that parental love, role modeling and guidance are what really matter for success in life.