The Teapot Phenomenon in Child-rearing
Dear parents,
We all share the same exhausting and despairing days when our children were in their Trouble Twos. Literally, Trouble Two is a developmental stage when children start to demand for self-autonomy and independence as soon as they become two years old. However, reality shows us that Trouble Two does not only exist at the age of two, but also three, four, five years old and so on. The word 'trouble' sounds like 'cha bo' in Chinese, which means 'a teapot'. The fact that a heated teapot filled with high internal pressure will explode is actually analogical to child-rearing. The overly-heated teapot is a trouble. If the trouble is not de-escalated promptly, a chain of dire consequences may ripple. So, allow me to name this analogy as the Teapot Phenomenon in Child-rearing.
As parents, it is always our first priority to guarantee our children to grow safe and sound. We long for their prospering future, hoping them to become ambitious young men — be responsible to self, be responsible to the community. Yet, it is a long way to shape our children according to our expectations mentioned above. The trouble 'cha bo' becomes even hotter when our children enter adolescence, the time when they will become more rebellious and argumentative. Further, it is also the period when children are particularly susceptible to psychological pressure. Multiple research has already proved that secondary school students are more prone to be overwhelmed by stress. When stress boils like a teapot, it is necessary to find appropriate ways to cool them down. Academic pressure is a double-edged sword that can drive people to progress or leave them disheartened. In our school, while we value students' academic performance and character, we also prioritize their psychological well-being. Through nurturing their faith, organizing various school activities, empowering them through class teacher sessions, we hope to establish positive Christian values and strengthen students' resilience so that they can flourish in adversity.
May God bless us on the road of actualising the spirits preached in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 — 'But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.'
In God's love,
Principal Mui