Talking Point: Do Parents Know Best?

The most exciting thing that happened to us this week is that our entire family was featured on the National Televised program, “Talking Point”.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked if I would be interested to be part of a parents’ forum on “Talking Point”, a  half-hour magazine show that discusses hot topics of the day – from the bread-and-butter to social, policy, and community issues to current trends.

Parents Know Best. Do We?

The title for our episode was “Do Parents Know Best?” discussing whether parents know what is best for their primary school kids. The concept of this session was totally the kids’ viewpoints against their parents to give the audience both sides of the story.

I was initially hesitant about being on the show but changed my mind as I thought it would be a good experience in public speaking for my daughter, the only child left at the primary school level. Besides, I had promised her that I will look for an opportunity for her to be on TV since her brother’s TV debut, also on Talking Point for the first Anniversary Commemoration of LKY in March last year.

After a good chat with the producer of the show, she invited my son to join the show as well, even though he was no longer in primary school.

On the Set.

The episode was shot in the Mediacorp studio two days before it was aired on television. This gives the producers time to edit. My husband came along to give us moral support but ended up being invited to be on set too.

This particular set was square in nature with the kids seated separately from the parents. Some of the kids were filmed in an earlier interview with Steven Chia, the host of the show. We found out then that Steven’s daughter Lucy (middle) and her schoolmate Tammy were also featured in the show. They are my daughter’s classmates. So she was very happy to be among friends that day.

Here is a snapshot of how the kids were seated during the show. (Photo credit: Tania Gin)

Before the show, in a bid to help my daughter not be nervous, I briefed her to speak truthfully, clearly and stay with her point she was making. Little did I know that she will take my words literally… Haha… you have to watch the episode to know why.

Still, I was very proud that she was not shy with the microphone, was able to articulate her thoughts clearly and succinctly — a challenge even for the adults.

I was very gratified to see myself featured in their trailer Facebook. In full disclosure, I was a nervous wreck for two days after the filming because I was nervous how we will be presented on the show. In the end, my worry was uncalled for as the editors’ did a splendid job in putting the show together. My kids also received many encouraging words from their friends and teachers. Check out this clip of the video HERE.

I am so grateful this was a great experience for our family and the outcome was so positive. I will encourage parents to not shy away from such opportunities for their kids as it helps them overcome the fear of public speaking. However, you do have to look out for certain factors to ensure that the outcome is a positive one for your child. Not every child is a natural public speaker. The good news is public speaking is a skill that CAN be coached.

I penned my thoughts on the episode in this post. Here is the full episode as shown on TV if you are keen to hear what kids thought of their parents. Click on this link: Talking Point 2017 – EP21 | Thu 21 Sep 2017 – Parenting Forum

Thanks Edlyn from Mummy Ed (3rd lady from the left) for connecting me to this episode of Talking Point. Here we are with Lina Ng, one of the stars of the local TV series Lion Mums (Mon – Thurs, chn 5, 10pm) and Jiahui (mumseword).

And we were fortunate enough to be on the same episode as some of our friends too.

Do you agree/disagree that parents KNOW best for their kids? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. Please connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for giveaways, new posts or sharing.