Prioritise children's emotional well-being: NGO
An NGO on Monday urged parents to pay more attention to their children's emotional needs, rather than focusing solely on their academic results.  The call came from the Hong Kong Institute of Family Education after it carried out a survey of more than 1,000 parents of schoolchildren.  One in six said they had a bad relationship with their child. More than 60 percent said the pandemic had had a negative impact on their children's mental health.  The institute's vice-chairman, Christopher Yu, said that despite the lifting of anti-Covid restrictions, family relations have not improved significantly.  Families are spending more time together at home than in the past, as more workplaces adopt a hybrid face-to-face and online work model, increasing the likelihood of conflict at home, he said. As the new school year approaches, Yu emphasised the importance of parents prioritising their children's emotional needs, instead of solely fixating on academic outcomes. "The most important thing is good parenting, good communication with the child," he said. "Knowing their emotional problems and how to deal with them. Maybe get some professional support, go to the parents, go to the teachers, and the social workers can be a good support." This can help pupils adapt better and reduce their anxiety about potential changes in a new learning environment, he said.  The institute's chief executive, lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen, proposed the establishment of a student mental health task force as well as mental health screening.