Re: [Rooted](Resilient & Ready - a book for Returning Singaporean families) I wrote this book for Singapore families planning to go overseas, already overseas, or planning to return to Singapore. Children who have lived away from their “passport countries”, also known as Third Culture Kids, face unique challenges - making and keeping social connections in more than 1 country, issues of identity and belonging, returning to Singapore schools, NS, etc. To celebrate National Day this year, I’m offering one copy free with every purchase of a book (print books only). S$20 Buy 1 Get 1 Free, with free postal delivery within Singapore. Buy one for yourself and another for a friend! Click the link to order: https://forms.gle/UGbSTp347gwQqsWX8 Offer ends on 31 Aug 2026. To find out more about my book, see this earlier post: https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/109682/rooted-resilient-ready-a-book-for-returning-singaporean-families?_=1783061324398&sort=newest_to_oldest Follow my Instagram account (@singaporetck) for more!

@thebottomsupblog I’m constrained by wanting to get home for dinner (and I’m the cook!). We don’t really like eating dinner out unless it’s an event. Having a pool nearby is great, if only I can persuade myself not to be too lazy to use it! Will try to go once this week, and establish a weekly rhythm. Having a swimming buddy would be nice! My husband doesn’t swim as his skin doesn’t react well to pool water, and he prefers to run anyway.

To our KiasuParents community: if you’re following the World Cup, and want to head out to enjoy a match with friends and fam, we’ve got a list of community centres where you can watch the next few matches for free! https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/activities/fifa-world-cup-2026-pa-screenings Use our schedule to find a screening near you. Filter by venue, date, or match!

NUS PSYCHOLINGUISTICS STUDY by NUS Psycholinguistics Lab Description: An NUS Psycholinguistics Study conducted on English-Chinese Teenage Speakers of Singapore Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes , In-person eye-tracking study Requirements: Singaporean bilingual speaker (Chinese is your Mother Tongue)  Aged between 13 to 17, Completed Primary School Education in Singapore Compensation: SGD$15.00 (via Paynow) Participate: https://nus.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eM0E5HqRg7KBloq Contact information: sy.yeo@u.nus.edu Open till 30 Jun 2026 [IRB Approved][image: 1781859782704-recruitment-flyer_resized.png]

@rinsider said: So what kind of mixed signal is he sending to his son? “Daddy is outraged as the teacher could have expressed it better, therefore daddy had to redeem himself against this remark… I’m not just a Grab driver…” Under any circumstances, for someone to make a remark like “they’re just an XYZ,” it doesn’t reflect well on them. And if we’re on the receiving end of that statement, I guess defensiveness is one of the natural responses. Eg stay-home/wfh/freelancer moms may be triggered if someone says they’re “just staying home,” or implies that they’re not productive, or even just “bumming around.” (Tbh, even friends/very decent people have made those kinds of statements to me before, and I could be just as guilty of saying something that reveals my own bias.) The response might then be to try and qualify one’s value. So… in that sense, I don’t really blame the dad for sending those mixed signals. One could also say, “Yes, this is what I do, and I like it/am proud of my work.” But I suspect we’re all a little more complicated than that!

@rinsider said: What compelled you to get married and have babies? Rose-tinted glasses or a genuine feeling to have and grow a family? Although I hardly dated before university, I think I always assumed that I would get married one day, though I was uncertain about having kids (I’ve never been interested in babies!). It just seemed preferable to have someone to share life with. It turned out that I met my husband in our first year in university, started dating, and married a year after graduation. It was 3 yrs later that I finally made up my mind that I wanted kids (my husband said either with/without kids was OK by him), and then it took 4 yrs of infertility treatment plus a couple of years after giving up before I got pregnant. I can’t really explain why I wanted kids - A desire to create something uniquely ours? Having the opportunity to nurture and care for new humans? Biological urge? We have made it clear to our girls that we don’t assume that they will marry, or have kids, and we are fine either way. We don’t believe that either is necessary for happiness, and we only want them to marry and have kids if they actually want them. Having kids “for the sake of society” is too big an idea to cope with! One daughter is now married, and I’m fairly sure she will want to have kids eventually (she’s 26). I think she enjoyed growing up in a family with a sibling, and she is willing to reduce or stop work for a time if need be. I think that the lack of interest in having kids is partly due to the pressure to do well in career, earn more, etc, coupled with the materialism that equates happiness with having more and indulging self. Nurturing and caring for kids, especially in the early years, is costly in time, effort, emotions, opportunity cost, and of course, money. Our govt is trying to fix the problem with money, but really, no amount of money is going to tip the scales from “no kids” to “yes kids”; it may change “1 kid” to “2 kids”. It’s only if our young people consider the sacrifice worth it that they are likely to have kids. How to “fix” that is a tougher issue and has to be dealt with in families, and not by social policy. How many of us raise our kids to do housework and chores, and to put others before self? If kids are used to putting themselves first, then it’s less likely they will willingly have kids that will take precedence in their homes. Just my thoughts.

@sharonkhoo said: As far as I know, only the surviving parent becomes the guardian automatically. Oh! I was not aware, thank you for highlighting this! I’ll update when I have some proper processes in place, and in the meantime, we can share useful info here!

@rinsider I think if we are able to speak basic Mandarin, we don’t really notice it, but increasingly, at cafes and some restaurants, I have noticed that it’s easier to get what we need by speaking Mandarin. But that Grab notice was unacceptable, for sure! Our family is biracial and I don’t think my son is comfortable using Mandarin at shops, or to buy food. My daughter, probably more so, but I’ve hardly heard her say anything in Mandarin. My dad doesn’t really speak Mandarin, so that’s just how I grew up as well. I think my Mandarin is quite adequate for local practical usage, but not to have deep conversations!