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Singapore Parenting Congress 2007, proudly organized by MediaCorp Radio and in partnership with the National Family Council and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), was held on 22 and 23 September at the Suntec Convention Centre. The annual congress, which included seven half-day seminars conducted in English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, was graced by Guest-of-Honour Mr Sin Boon Ann (Chairman, Government Parliamentary Committee for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC).
2007's Singapore Parenting Congress was targeted at parents with children of all ages and provided participants with a good platform to learn as well as exchange parenting experiences. The two-day family event saw English guest speakers Mr John Cowan and Mr Frederick Toke kicking things off with topics such as "Growing Great Kids in Tough Times" and "Boys and Girls: Different Strengths, Different Challenges". A famous key presenter of Parents Inc (New Zealand) seminars, John Cowan gave an insightful session on the best effective ways of communicating with children and structuring parenting strategies that work. Dr Frederick Toke, a regular guest feature on 938LIVE and Channel NewsAsia, shared with the audience important life skills on "Raising EMO-tionally Resilient Teenagers".
The author of more than 20 parenting books in Chinese, well-known international speaker Ms Wu Juan Yu anchored two interactive sessions peppered with lively discussions while she dispensed important parenting pointers. Her sold-out sessions on equipping parents with knowledge on "How to talk to your child about sex – 7 easy ways to start" and "Strengthening your child's adaptability and communication skills" met with overwhelming response.
Malay speakers Altahir Syed Omar and Siti Hamidah Abdullah Bahashwan were invited to speak on the various challenges faced by parents of today’s society, and educating children on making smart decisions and being emotionally intelligent. Tamil speaker Sheena Jebal, MediaCorp Radio’s 2006 Lifelong Learner Award recipient and CEO/Founder of NuLife Care & Counselling Services Limited, also addressed to a sold-out audience the key factors to building a successful parent-child relationship.
Ms Zakiah Halim, Vice President of Malay, Indian and Community Programming at MediaCorp Radio, says "MediaCorp Radio has always played a primary role in encouraging family and parental education through on-air programmes focusing on family life and parenting. We are pleased to work with the National Family Council and MCYS once again on family seminars like Singapore Parenting Congress which provide parents a platform to be empowered with effective parenting skills to raise and nurture their children. Parents at the Congress have learnt from a host of award-winning speakers and established family life educators on how to mentor their children on important issues such as teenage sexuality, and cyberspace dangers. Being a parent is anything but easy. Through this Congress, we truly hope that today's parents are well-equipped with informative tools and skills in raising responsible children who can make smart choices and avoid pitfalls as they go through life."
Added Mr Sin Boon Ann, Guest-of-Honour of this year's Singapore Parenting Congress, "The responsibility for raising and teaching our children lies with parents primarily. We cannot abdicate the responsibilities to the schools of child minders such as maids, no matter how busy we are."
Into its 4th year, Singapore Parenting Congress 2007 saw a healthy attendance of more than 2000 participants, mostly enthusiastic parents eager to learn more from experienced parenting speakers sharing tips from "how to tailor your parenting style" to "being virtuous parents in a virtual world".
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