Malaysian parents aspire for a smart child

KOTA KINABALU: Eighty-seven per cent of Malaysian parents want children who are both academic performers and possess good morals and values, according to a poll conducted by Dutch Lady Malaysia.

Dutch Lady said in a press release yesterday that more than 400 Malaysian mums and dads took the online poll recently, with 370 parents picking the option of wanting to raise children who are academically smart and have good morals and values.

Ashlee Ng, Marketing Director, Specialised Nutrition at Dutch Lady Malaysia, shared that the constant interaction we have with parents had found similar insights into Malaysian parents' aspirations.

“It is quite natural for parents who took the poll to want their children to possess these qualities. Our conversations with Malaysian mums revealed that they want to have smart children. However, the smartness they desire their children to develop goes beyond academic abilities,” Ng said.

“They also want to raise their children to have morals, such as being kind, willing to help others, and to grow up to be adults who can contribute to society. These are at the top of the list of qualities which they aspire their children to have as they grow.”

Educationist, Cheryl Ann Fernando, who is also Country Director of Global School Malaysia, highlighted that a child who does well at school and a child who understands the teaching of good values are both smart children.

“What is common between a child that performs academically and one who possesses moral values such as kindness and helpfulness is smartness,” Fernando shared. “It takes a smart child to learn in a classroom and perform well academically but it also takes smartness to apply what they've learnt to real-life situations.

“For example, a child who reads a book or hears a story about how a cat loves fish. An academic performer will be able to answer a question on what food cats love the most. But if the child progresses to feeding her cat with leftover fish from dinner, that is applied learning.

“Both children are smart and they express their capabilities in different ways,” she concluded.

Interestingly, there are about 8% of parents in the poll who chose to raise their children with moral values only. What does this mean? Does it mean they do not care about the ability of their children to perform in school?

Dr Yong Junina, consultant paediatrician and paediatric cardiologist who has a special interest in childhood development and assessments said, “Having good values is not about talking or speaking about goodness. It is about the act of doing good to another human being, an animal, or simply doing good (in the world) in general.”

She added that parents who want virtuous kids will place more emphasis on inculcating good values and teaching by example, such as showing and telling their kids how to treat others with kindness, honesty, politeness, and respect. “Ultimately, a smart child is easier to teach and nurture, because she is able to understand values and also practice them in her daily life,” Dr Yong finished.