ParentEd

Pregnancy and preparation often go hand-in-hand for first-time parents. From conception to birth, what does the journey of becoming mum entail? How does a wife prepare herself to become mum? What are the thoughts and emotions that one thinks and feels in anticipation of becoming a parent? What would parenthood take? Joining our host, Joanna Koh-Hoe, is married couple Aaron and Joy-Anne Ng who are...

Married life really brings a dose of reality that can be different from what we expect. How do couples bridge this gap without feeling disillusioned? Joining our host, Aaron Ng, is Ivan and Kerin Lau, a young couple who got married in 2020 and now have a 8 month old baby. Exploring how couples can communicate and negotiate expectations with the realities of married life, Ivan and Kerin share their...

As if the pandemic hasn't already brought on a gamut of stressors, but married couples have had to care for their families, and... learn to be each other's colleagues too. How has this unexpected and unique dynamic impacted families? Joining our host, Delia Ng, is married couple Daniel and Alicia Chai who have four children aged between 6 and 12. Delving into the topic of being spouses and colleag...

"Worthy now. Not if. Not when. We are worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is." - The Gifts of Imperfection" Father-Daughter relationships are intricate, in that fathers play a key role in their daughter's psychological development. How can fathers be role-models for their daughters in order for them to grow up as confident and secure young ladies? Joining our host, Joanna Koh-H...

“My child was shown sexually explicit images by friends in school.” “I caught my child viewing porn.” Have you or someone you know been in such situations? Join this week's host, June Yong, as she hears from Violet about her challenging experience of discovering her 9 year old son viewing porn. Pushing through her initial shock and fears, Violet started having age-appropriate conversations on sex...

When a marriage grows cold and home feels dreadful, is there anything more than to call it quits? Lily and David share candidly with host Joanna Koh-Hoe about their divorce, individual journeys of growth apart, and eventually remarriage. What keeps them going now are these two words "Press On", now engraved on their wedding rings. They believe that "There will always be light at the end of the tun...

Unity in marriage might seem easier with the union of two similar people. Alas, that’s rarely the case. Like teammates playing different positions in a sports team, how can couples play for the Big Goal of Marriage? Join this week’s host, Aaron Ng, as he finds out what Reuben and Ronice Ng have discovered early in their marriage. From a 41-day wedding preparation, to relocation to UK three weeks l...

Entering Primary School for the first time often bring both a sense of excitement and nervousness for both parent and child. How can parents prepare their children for successful transition to Primary School? Joining our host, Susan Koh, is mother of two, Adelene Chan. In preparing a child for entering Primary School, Susan and Adelene discuss parenting approaches, life skills a parent hopes to in...

People often say that sex takes a backseat after a couple gets married and have children. But as we know, sex is an integral part of our marriage and like all things worth working on, healthy and open communication creates that improvement. Sexual issues are also cited as the primary cause of broken marriages. How can we reclaim and enjoy the beautiful gift of sexual intimacy with our spouse? In t...

The tween years are often transitional as both parents and tweens adapt to changes — environmentally, physically and emotionally. How can parents and tweens be safe spaces, to share openly without hurting one another through the process? Joining our host, Susan Koh, are mother and son, Judith and Micah. Over candid and honest stories, they chat about changes that both parents and tweens go through...

No human being is perfect and it is only natural to expect that we will make mistakes in our relationships, especially the ones closest in proximity. How can parents create a safe space for our children to be real and unafraid to express both their joys and struggles with us? Joining our host, June Yong, are husband and wife, Mark and Sue Lim. Over candid stories, they share about how they built a...

"The battle is lost once someone stops trying." Marriage is often said to be for a lifetime, yet one might wonder if resolving conflicts again and again is worth the effort. If we desire to stay committed to our partner, how do we prevent conflicts from slowly tearing our marriage apart? In this episode, our host Delia Ng chats with Nelson and Gina Lee on how to differentiate healthy and destructi...

In recent years, one stark issue that has surfaced is our children’s state of mental health — events like the heartbreaking incident at River Valley High and rising suicides among those aged 10-19 confront us. A recent poll conducted among 600 youth also revealed that more than half rarely or almost never share their personal problems with family. With such worry...

"For better or for worse, till death do us part."   We are all familiar with these words. When we get married, we expect to grow old together and maybe even get to raise our grandchildren together or enjoy our golden years picking up new hobbies together after a long life of hard work. But what happens when death parts us earlier than expected? In this...

STRESS - We all feel it, we all succumb to its effects sometimes and it’s a part of life that some may say is more obvious in fast-paced Singapore. Amidst the pandemic, we have also been hearing more about the mental load of going through this pandemic. Whether it’s work stress, parenting stress or a personal crisis, how do we make sure we don’t let it kill our marriages and relationships at home?...

Life in Singapore is really busy. Parents struggle to just find time for themselves, and it is a challenge sometimes to spend dedicated, committed and intentional time with our children, especially as they get older. As new parents, it is easy and natural to be caught up in the cuteness of our babies, even though we may be sleep deprived or exhausted. But as our child gets older, sometimes the sen...

National Service (NS) in Singapore has indeed become very different over the years – some may say for better or for worse, but it remains an important rite of passage for males in Singapore. In fact, it is a major milestone not just for the enlistees, but perhaps more so for the parents who have to “release” their sons to what they might be seen as “hardship”&nbs...

Exams can be stressful, both for children and parents. And when you have high stake exams like Singapore's PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) or GCE N, O and A levels, the stress levels just shoot through the roof. How can parents help their child to navigate exams stress, build resilience and maintain a positive parent child relationship when tensions may run high?  In this episo...

Marriage is one of the most significant relationships two people can share. It can be the source of our greatest joy, but can also bring about its fair share of hurts. There has been much media attention given to marriages and divorce in Singapore in recent times, such as: the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on current and future marriages, fewer marriages and d...

Do our growing teens consider us a safe place to share about their personal pain? Why is it so difficult for parents and children to talk about the challenges we face regarding mental health? In this 2-part episode of the ParentEd podcast, mother-and-son pair, Charis and Sean Patrick share about their personal battle and victory over mental health challenges with host, Joanna Koh-Hoe , CEO of Focu...

Do our growing teens consider us a safe place to share about their personal pain? Why is it so difficult for parents and children to talk about the challenges we face regarding mental health? In this 2-part episode of the ParentEd podcast, mother-and-son pair, Charis and Sean Patrick share about their personal battle and victory over mental health challenges with host, Joanna Koh-Hoe , CEO of Focu...

Report Card. For most, these two words bring a sense of dread and anxiety! But without an evaluation now and then, how do you know if you are doing well or what you need to work on? Just like how academic report cards are milestone checks on how we are doing in our studies, does your Dad similarly help guide you in life? On the other hand, how migh...

Parenting can often feel like a lonely journey. With all the roles we juggle in life and the limited number of hours every day brings, many parents can feel like we are scrapping the bottom of the barrel. But parenting is not meant to be a one-man or one-woman show, it’s meant to be done in tandem.  In this episode, our host Aaron Ng catches up with husband and wife, Kevin and Edna Thio as th...

Mothers are feeling increasingly lonely these days. In a 2018 study in UK, 90% of more than 2,000 mothers surveyed shared that they felt lonely after having children, and 54% felt "friendless" after giving birth. This was even before the need for social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. How can we resolve this epidemic of loneliness? Where can mothers find support and encouragement when we...

"I feel being a woman now is so much more empowering. It's so empowering because you don't have to give up your aspirations just to be a stay home mum... It's really about your own personal conviction and why you are doing it (being a stay home mum)." To kick off our focus on Mums and motherhood this May, we will be talking about whether the role of Mums have changed over the generations.&nbs...