sci prayers

A Scientific Prayer 

- based on some 2018 PSLE Science Syllabus

By a Blue 💙 Scientist (not Ariel)

Our Heavenly Father, creator of Heaven and Earth 🌈 , we lift our boys (and girls) unto You.

May Your presence be felt as they sit for the Science Paper. Father, remind them that You were the one that said : "Let there be light☀ !" & so photosynthesis can take place & henceforth, food producers 🌱are able to get the food chain / food web started through which growth and reproduction can take place to ensure continuity of life🕊. 

We pray that our boys (and girls) will remain calm and take deep breathes, when they feel nervous, so that oxygen can be transported by blood 💉 in the circulatory system, from the lungs to the rest of the body. Remove all carbon dioxide that will turn their thoughts cloudy so that our boys (and girls) have clarity 🌬in their brain cells to remember all that they been taught and apply that knowledge🤔 to the questions. 

Father, You are the only one who is in control and has the power🔋 to switch 🔛them on and stay close 🔁to them, so that their brain juices will flow 〰 thru and the answers will light up💡! 

Father, we also pray that the nutritious food 🍎that they have been consuming, have been completely digested by the small intestines in the digestive system and will provide energy ⛽ to their body and continue to keep them healthy💪🏼. 

May You remove all Kinetic Energy 😖which causes anxiety and convert them to Gravitational Potential Energy😎, so that they may remain calm. Father, may your presence be felt as lubricant 💦to reduce the friction that is caused by the rough and tough questions.

Grant them the Spiritual and structural adaptations to write ✍🏼 fast and concisely. Enable them with Your wisdom to overcome the killer 🦈 questions so that they can reproduce whatever they have learnt to help them survive this Science paper. 

Repel⬅➡ all fears they have of the Science paper and we pray that at the end of this whole PSLE, our boys (and girls) have learnt to be more attracted ➡⬅to You, constantly be magnetised 🖇to u and continue to draw their strength from You as they move into their next phase of education.

💙All Glory to You! 

In Jesus most precious name, Amen

reflections for CCA

https://padlet.com/choy_mingzi_juliana/RMPS_SAC2025_enrichment_module_reflection_primary

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perfect flight

SINGAPORE – To most travellers, a plane is simply the space where travel unfolds. But behind every seat, overhead compartment and window lies years of planning, testing and investment.

From conceptualisation to certification, the timeline can span several years, says Mr Ingo Wuggetzer, vice-president of cabin marketing at Airbus, Europe’s largest aerospace company. “Each component – a seat, a lighting system, even the sidewall lining – goes through rigorous testing.”

Airlines and manufacturers consult stakeholders, run trial sessions and gather extensive feedback before arriving at a cabin design they are willing to put into production.

The costs are equally significant. German aviation giant Lufthansa Group, for instance, has invested €2.5 billion (S$3.78 billion) into product and service improvements since after the Covid-19 pandemic to the end of 2026.

The project includes upgrades like more spacious seats and a new in-flight entertainment system with Bluetooth connectivity to personal devices.

“Aircraft cabin design is a very complex task that contains several variables,” says Mr Marco Willa, head of onboard experience at Lufthansa Group. “When it is done well, it really is a masterpiece.”

Over the past decade, two priorities have shaped cabin design more than any others: weight reduction and the use of sustainable materials, says Mr Vito Mirko Giacovelli, Cabinair Group’s commercial director.

Cabinair Group is a Britain-headquartered collective of aviation companies that provide solutions in areas like aircraft interior design, maintenance and repair.

Weight reduction matters because a lighter aircraft burns less fuel, boosting efficiency and airline revenue. A familiar example is slimmer seating, achieved by reducing cushion thickness. Meanwhile, sustainable materials such as bamboo, recycled plastics and carbon fibre have made their way into panelling, flooring and upholstery – cutting both cabin weight and environmental impact.

But there is a trade-off. “Passengers are starting to push back on this trend, especially when reduced space and comfort don’t translate to lower fares. As a result, customers are becoming more loyal to airlines that deliver the best overall experience,” says Mr Giacovelli.

Juggling passenger and airline needs

While safety remains the top priority in cabin design, other factors are constantly at play.

Mr Yogesh Tadwalkar, director of ergonomics consulting firm Synergo Consulting and health tech start-up BalanceFlo AI, points to four other key parameters that often compete for attention: revenue maximisation, comfort, functionality and aesthetics.

Mr Tadwalkar, who has provided ergonomics expertise and training to major aviation players such as Airbus and Thales, says: “There are always some trade-offs between these. For instance, the trade-off between revenue maximisation and comfort would be packing in as many rows of seats as possible, which will have an impact on leg room.”

Ultimately, it is up to airlines to decide where one parameter takes precedence over another and how far each threshold can be pushed.

Trends in economy class over the decades, Mr Tadwalkar notes, show a clear shift where safety-related features have steadily improved, but cabin ergonomics – including seat pitch and recline angle – have deteriorated.

Still, some gems remain and newer features powered by technology are enhancing the flight experience. Here are five that make your flight safer and more comfortable.

1. Seats that will not catch fire

Airbus’ Mr Wuggetzer finds that one often overlooked, yet critical, cabin design constraint is flammability. “Every material, and combination of materials, must pass strict tests proving they will not burn for at least two minutes, in order to allow for safe evacuation of the aircraft in case of an emergency,” he says.

German airline Lufthansa’s newest cabin concept Lufthansa Allegris features new seats in all classes of travel that are said to offer more comfort, flexibility and privacy. PHOTO: LUFTHANSA

Aviation authorities like the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the Federal Aviation Administration mandate fire-resistant materials for aircraft seats.

Mr Tadwalkar says this means all seat cushions have fire-blocking layers – typically made of synthetic or glass fibres – and fabrics, foams and carpets are tested to resist toxic smoke generation and be self-extinguishing.

2. Sixteen million lighting colours for better health

A more recent development is airlines’ use of advanced LED lighting that can shift in colour and intensity to suit different stages of a flight.

The Airbus A350 aircraft, for instance, features a lighting system that can create an immense number of ambience scenarios with 16.3 million available colours.

Airbus’ Airspace cabins reimagine the travel experience for passengers, and include features like an ambient lighting system and large overhead compartments. PHOTO: AIRBUS

“It can be programmed to reduce jet lag by up to three or four hours, helping passengers adjust more quickly to new time zones,” says Mr Wuggetzer. 

According to Lufthansa’s Mr Willa, adjusted lighting can counteract symptoms of jet lag like fatigue, dizziness and headaches, especially when flying across several time zones. The company works with Hamburg-based start-up jetlite, which has produced a science-backed light technology to reduce jet lag.

“An algorithm controls the cabin lighting according to flight time, duration and direction, as well as the time zones, daylight and seasons at the departure and destination points. More than 24 different light scenarios can be created to positively influence passengers’ biorhythms,” he adds.

3. Cabin air is cleaner than average indoor spaces

Clean cabin air is one of the least visible yet most important factors shaping the flight experience.

According to the International Air Transport Association, most modern aircraft are fitted with high-efficiency particulate air (Hepa) filters, which are 99.9 per cent effective at removing viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Mr Choong Weng On, vice-president of engineering at low-cost carrier Scoot, says cabin air is typically changed completely every six minutes.

“When we talk about air quality, we often measure it by how many times air from the inside is exchanged with air from the outside. The rate of air exchange in an aircraft… is comparable to that of hospitals,” he says.

Contrary to popular belief, air in the cabin does not flow along the length of the plane, but instead rotates in a circular motion from top to bottom throughout the cabin. This optimised airflow prevents the spread of contaminants longitudinally and ensures a constant supply of fresh air, according to experts who spoke with ST.

4. Aircraft fuselage material affects cabin air pressure

At a cruising altitude of around 30,000 to 40,000 ft, outside air pressure is far too low for humans to breathe unaided. Aircraft cabin pressurisation artificially increases air pressure within the cabin to simulate a lower altitude during high-altitude flight.

Until the early 2010s, the industry standard of cabin pressurisation was around 8,000 ft. That changed in 2011, when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner entered service with a lower cabin altitude of 6,000 ft, as a result of using composite materials to build its fuselage.

A composite fuselage is both stronger and lighter than traditional aluminium designs, allowing better pressurisation in the cabin. Lower cabin altitude is typically related to better passenger comfort as it can alleviate fatigue, nausea and headaches, which could help reduce jet lag.

Today, other aircraft like the Airbus A350 and A380 also feature a 6,000 ft pressurised cabin. This lower cabin altitude is now seen as the standard airlines strive to match.

5. Larger windows increase perceived space

One of the most noticeable upgrades in newer aircraft is the size of the windows.

“One of the major asks of airlines has always been that aircraft need more natural lighting. The whole cabin will look more spacious,” says Mr Choong.

Bigger windows allow the cabin to be flooded with natural light, which often helps to increase perceived space and reduces the feeling of confinement. 

Scoot’s newest Embraer E190-E2 aircraft feature 30.9cm-wide windows, which are 34 per cent larger than an Airbus A320neo aircraft’s windows. PHOTO: SCOOT

The Embraer E190-E2 is Scoot’s newest aircraft. It features a 2-2 seating configuration and windows with a 30.9cm width. The single-aisle Airbus A320neo aircraft, in comparison, have windows of 23cm width.

Scoot uses the aircraft to fly to short-haul destinations like Vientiane in Laos and Phu Quoc in Vietnam.

“The size of windows is more obvious relative to the whole cabin. The Embraer features a smaller cabin, so the big windows increase the sense of openness,” says Mr Choong.

Plane Truths is a new series that makes sense of air travel. For more travel stories, go to str.sg/travel

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SINGAPORE - The day he died, Goh Yong Le was taken out of class and questioned by two teachers in the conference room about taking a classmate’s belongings the previous week.

He cried three times that day. Shortly after the school day ended, he took his life. He was 11. 

In 2024, the year Yong Le died, there were 314 suicide deaths, a provisional number that will be updated in 2026.

Still, for the sixth consecutive year, suicide remained the leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 29 in Singapore, a persistent and tragic trend.

The day it happened 

In a recent interview, Yong Le’s father, who requested anonymity to safeguard the privacy of his family, said his son sobbed when he was asked to find the missing item, which he had apparently hidden in the school’s garden.

He and his teachers could not locate it, and it is unclear whether Yong Le had actually taken the item.

He was subsequently asked to write a statement about what he had done, and his school bag was searched. He became upset and cried again.

He then returned to class to complete a practice paper before attending another class.

After the last lesson of the day, the boy was asked to apologise to his classmate outside the classroom. He cried a third time.

His father, 42, said that their family was blindsided and that the boy did not have depression.

Helplines

Mental well-being

National helpline: 1771 (24 hours) / 6669-1771 (via WhatsApp)

Samaritans of Singapore: 1-767 (24 hours) / 9151-1767 (24 hours CareText via WhatsApp)

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928

Chat, Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health: 6493-6500/1

Women’s Helpline (Aware): 1800-777-5555 (weekdays, 10am to 6pm)

The Seniors Helpline: 1800-555-5555 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm)

Counselling

Touchline (Counselling): 1800-377-2252

Touch Care Line (for caregivers): 6804-6555

Counselling and Care Centre: 6536-6366

We Care Community Services: 3165-8017

Shan You Counselling Centre: 6741-9293

Clarity Singapore: 6757-7990

Online resources

mindline.sg/fsmh

eC2.sg

tinklefriend.sg

chat.mentalhealth.sg

carey.carecorner.org.sg (for those aged 13 to 25)

limitless.sg/talk (for those aged 12 to 25)

shanyou.org.sg

According to the teachers, he stopped crying each time and he appeared “okay” after that, said his father, a former software platform architect, who now trades on the United States financial markets at night.

Together with his wife, 40, who is a homemaker, he has two other sons, the eldest of whom is on the autism spectrum, and two daughters. Yong Le was the second of five children.

There was a call that day, but the teacher could not reach the parents by phone and texted to ask for a good time to call.

Yong Le’s father works nights and typically handles communication with the children’s school, and so his wife set the call for 4pm by text.

“We didn’t know he was disciplined in school. We didn’t know he was crying in school... Around 2.30pm, a phone call came from the school, and said he was found at the void deck,” Yong Le’s father said.

“Then the hospital called. They asked us, ‘Are you here? Are you here? We are trying to save your son.’ I had just woken up and I rushed down... When I reached the hospital... the tube was already disconnected.”

He loved his pet snails

Yong Le’s father said his son had gone to school happy that day, as he was looking forward to getting a new aquatic snail in the evening.

Yong Le loved his 40 small pet snails. He named all of them, and he alone could tell them apart.

He excelled in maths and science, often topping his class. However, he sometimes fell asleep during lessons, telling his father that he found them slow and boring.

He appeared “very chill” but was an emotionally sensitive boy, said his father.

“If his ting xie (Chinese spelling) was not good, never mind. When his teacher scolded him in class: ‘Why are you sleeping again? Can you wake up?’, never mind. When his friend pushed him down the staircase one time... he was also quite okay (about it),” said the father.

“He’s the quiet type, so people see him as very chill, until he suddenly breaks. Like once, when one of his favourite snails died, he cried for it, and he cried for hours.”

Yong Le also enjoyed his food.

His parents filled his coffin to the brim with his favourite foods, including a big tub of chilli crab, Nissin instant noodles and bottles of Coca-Cola, and other things.

Describing Yong Le as “an old man in a young boy’s body”, his father said Yong Le preferred to play video games or draw in a quiet space than go on outings. He would go on solitary walks once or twice a month. He also liked going to the library, and reading books on physics, microbiology and philosophy.

“He was just not interested in worldly things... When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up... he said a ‘job at McDonald’s, food to eat and a bed to sleep in, can already’.”

Yong Le was very smart but wanted a simple life, and was still learning to deal with the world’s complexities, his father said.

The few times that he was overcome with emotion, he would go to his room to calm down and rest.

“Unfortunately, that day, in school, he didn’t have the safe bedroom and a blanket to crawl under,” said his father.

One thing that Yong Le’s father hopes for is greater empathy in the school disciplinary process, particularly those involving sensitive children.

While discipline is important, the child’s mental health should be prioritised when there are multiple crying episodes, he said.

Fully aware that suicide is complex, he said that he and his wife do not blame the teachers or school, but they hope to see more understanding for children who have a sensitive nature, like Yong Le.

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Suicide is complex

Dr Jared Ng, a seasoned psychiatrist who was the founding chief of the Department of Emergency and Crisis Care at the Institute of Mental Health, said that among children and young people, suicide can sometimes be a highly impulsive act, triggered by acute emotional pain or a stressful incident that feels overwhelming in the moment. 

“Young people are more vulnerable in this way because they tend to be more impulsive, and also because their coping mechanisms and life experiences are still developing,” he said. 

Yet, even when suicide looks impulsive, it usually occurs against a backdrop of vulnerabilities that have been present for some time, he said.

Many who die by suicide have underlying mental health conditions, ongoing stress in their lives, or struggles with self-esteem and isolation, he added.

“In the days and weeks before death, it is not uncommon to see warning signs such as changes in mood, withdrawal, recklessness or expressions of despair,” said the founder of Connections MindHealth, a private clinic.

“The acute trigger may be the final straw, but it lands on ground that is already fragile. Suicide is rarely the result of a single cause.”

Dr Ng said it is important to remember that what one child finds stressful, another may not, so adults should not be too quick to judge or dismiss a child’s concerns.

Sometimes, children also hide their emotions from their parents, either because they do not want to cause worry or fear being reprimanded.

“This is why prevention also lies in the broader circle of friends, peers and teachers. Schools and families play a vital role in recognising signs of distress, whether repeated crying, withdrawal or sudden changes in behaviour, and responding with empathy rather than discipline alone,” Dr Ng said.

Open communication between teachers and parents is also crucial. 

“For all of us, reinforcing the message to young people that it is safe to reach out for help when they feel overwhelmed can make the difference between life and death,” Dr Ng said. 

“Ultimately, whether a suicide is impulsive or not, what matters most is that children and youth feel heard, understood and supported. Every expression of distress is a call for help that deserves to be taken seriously.”

Yong Le died on July 29, 2024.

A pic of Yong Le taken in 2015, when he was three. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE GOH FAMILY

In May, Yong Le’s parents found some form of closure when the coroner released his findings.

His report said that the boy was in a state of emotional distress and made the decision to end his life shortly after school.

Yong Le’s father said he is advocating better care in schools and the community to prevent similar incidents.

There has been some change. For instance, Yong Le’s school now holds questioning, or what it terms as fact-finding sessions, outside of the conference room, in non-intimidating spaces, he said.

Still, safety records could be made a key performance indicator for educators and schools, to encourage them to always prioritise keeping children safe, Yong Le’s father said.

When incidents occur in school, parents should be notified in detail and promptly, he added.

Yong Le’s father said he would agree to the interview with The Straits Times, so long as the story did not ascribe blame to the teachers, school or anyone in particular.

He hopes that his son’s story can help raise awareness of the need for the community to watch out for highly sensitive children.

“I can’t bring back my kid, but, at least, I can help to save other kids.”

If you or a young person you know is in crisis, please seek immediate help.

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Joyce Teo is senior health correspondent at The Straits Times and the host of ST podcast series Health Check.

how to help our teenager children

SINGAPORE – Exam periods can be a challenging time for relationships between parents and their teenage children. While you might have been actively involved in their PSLE preparation, your teens now prefer to manage their revision and desire their own space.

Yet, it is only natural that you worry about their preparedness, especially for important year-end papers and national exams like the N, O and A levels. Are they studying enough?

“Many parents may not realise when their care and concern can tip into overbearing behaviour,” says family life educator Selene Yap from non-profit organisation Lakeside Family Services in Jurong West.

Teens can feel suffocated by excessive monitoring of their studies, micromanaging of their schedules, nagging and unsolicited advice. Instead of constant reminders, what they need is acknowledgement from their parents that they are, in fact, studying.

Ayden Ang, 19, a diploma graduate from NUS High School of Math and Science recounts: “Sometimes, my parents assumed I wasn’t studying or revising when they saw me on the phone in my room. I wished they had more trust in me and my study schedule.”

Despite this, he appreciates his parents’ efforts, such as ensuring that he arrived at school on time for exams and cooking his favourite food of ramen. He and his 21-year-old brother Ashton are now doing national service.

His 15-year-old sister, Alethea, is also thankful for her parents’ support, like when they bought comfort food such as french fries and croissants, and stayed up late with her during study sessions.

But she would have liked a heads-up about outings, especially around exams.

“While I appreciate their effort to help me relax, I wish they had informed me about their plans a day earlier,” she says. “I had already worked out my study schedule for that day. Now I have to spend extra effort to change it to accommodate our outing.”

The siblings’ responses to The Straits Times are a revelation to their father Kelvin Ang, who is behind the longstanding Cheekiemonkies parenting and lifestyle blog and social media account. The 49-year-old financial planner realises that what parents consider “best” may not always be the case in their children’s eyes.

He cites examples such as urging them to quickly wrap up their revision, encouraging earlier bedtimes or suggesting meal outings – which were done with the best of intentions.

“Sometimes, they don’t see it as such. It’s not because they don’t appreciate us. It’s just a normal part of growing up where they start to be more independent and set boundaries. Some parents mistake this stage for rebellious behaviour.”

Mr Kelvin Ang (second from right), with his children (from left) Alethea, Ayden and Ashton. PHOTO: COURTESY OF KELVIN ANG

He believes parents should take a step back and empower their children to discover their own path and manage their time independently.

He adds: “We can offer support from the sidelines, but whatever we do, it shouldn’t come across as barking out an order.”

How can I help you?

Indeed, parents should be partners to their teens, showing interest in what they are going through instead of dictating or making assumptions, advises Miss Germain Kang, a science teacher and upper secondary year head at Fuhua Secondary School.

She is among eight educators who received the President’s Award for Teachers on Sept 4 for their outstanding work.

Miss Kang emphasises that while parental involvement is crucial, it is important not to burden teens with excessive expectations.

Miss Germain Kang (centre), upper secondary year head at Fuhua Secondary School, with Secondary 4 students (from left) Muhammad Hilmi Muhammad Rizal, Singh Ipshita Pramod, Charlene Tiu and Wong Kai Yu. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

And, instead of dwelling on what they are not doing, acknowledge their positive actions. For instance, let them know: “I noticed you’ve been revising more often this week and I’m proud of you.”

Children are motivated when their effort is recognised over just their results. Praise them when they show perseverance, follow a self-planned study schedule or try different methods to tackle difficult subjects.

For teens who appear disengaged from studying, address it with empathy. For example: “I know sometimes it can be hard to focus. What would help you feel ready to tackle your revision now?”

Encourage them to reflect on their experiences to plan their exam revision, fostering a sense of autonomy and motivation. Try asking: “Would you like to tackle history first, or do you prefer to start with your favourite subject?”

When appropriate, provide constructive advice that leads to concrete actions. Instead of saying, “You need to try harder,” you can suggest: “How about we aim for 25 minutes of focused revision, then have a snack break?”

Also, refrain from using language that suggests comparison. For example, do not ask about their friends’ revision progress or the number of practice papers that others have completed.

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What is on your mind?

If teenagers are reluctant to open up, how can you provide support during exam periods without being intrusive?

Miss Kang suggests that you respect your children’s readiness to receive help by using phrases such as, “Would it be helpful if I…” or “I am here if you need anything”.

The key is to be consistently available and supportive, while allowing them control over their preferred level of engagement.

Strengthen your bond by connecting during everyday activities, such as walking to the bus stop together. Use this time to discuss your day and invite your teens to share theirs.

Strive to understand and respect their communication style, and observe when and how they are most receptive.

However, showing care for teenagers during exam periods extends beyond simply asking about their revision progress. Non-verbal ways, Miss Kang says, can be equally impactful.

You can make sure they have enough stationery, that the home environment remains conducive while they study, and that their comfort foods are available.

Ms Yap from Lakeside Family Services adds that thoughtful gestures such as a text message, a handwritten note, a warm smile or a gentle pat on the back can also help.

“I like sending my children funny WhatsApp stickers or light-hearted videos to add a dose of humour during stressful moments,” shares the mum of three children, aged between 25 and 31.

Miss Kang adds that you should pay attention to distress signals such as changes in your teens’ sleeping habits, appetite or mood.

“Addressing these issues can sometimes be more effective than having conversations about exam revision,” she says.

Acknowledging your teens’ exam stress

Fuhua Secondary School’s Miss Germain Kang (centre) suggests that parents show empathy to their children. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

Many parents are familiar with the saying: “Exam results do not define our children’s worth.” But some feel that expressing this to their teens can conflict with their attempts to encourage them to study hard and persevere.

Miss Kang says you should assure your children that your love for them is unconditional – and this is also regardless of their exam scores.

Beyond the results, you want to inculcate and affirm values such as resilience, hard work, discipline and effort. These qualities will better equip them to navigate future challenges and even failures as independent adults.

“Poor exam results will not define them if they learn from their mistakes and understand how they can do better,” says Miss Kang. She adds that parents can help identify areas where their kids have shown improvement and focus on their growth.

And you can still help your children see that exam results do matter for their goals, such as getting into their dream schools. It is useful to chat about the different paths they can take for their education.

Ultimately, you should empathise with your children and acknowledge that exams are tough, says Ms Yap. It is common for teens to feel overwhelmed, expressing sentiments such as “I can’t finish my revision” or “I’m going to fail”.

Instead of immediately dismissing or correcting these feelings, show that you get what they are struggling with and make sure they feel listened to. Then, gently steer them towards more positive and realistic outlooks, like “I’ll do my best” or “I can tackle this step by step”.

Ms Yap shares: “My three young adult children have gone through the rigours of the O- and A-level exams, a journey that often feels like a marathon. It demands not just academic effort, but also endurance and resilience.”

You can be your children’s cheerleader, offering steady support and encouragement every step of the way.

Ayden, who did the six-year Integrated Programme at NUS High School, offers this advice for teens.

“Focus on your own journey and don’t compare yourself with others. I know this is easier said than done, but worrying about how you measure up to others only creates unnecessary stress and anxiety,” he says.

“As long as you stay determined and have faith in yourself, you can improve and achieve results that you can be proud of.”

Ms Yap also shares some dos and don’ts as you support your teens through their exams.

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Don’ts

Nag or criticise: Avoid making comparisons or using negative labels and harsh language. Comments like “You should study harder” or “You’re so lazy” can erode their confidence and motivation. Instead, choose words that are constructive and supportive.

Transfer your anxiety: Children are highly attuned to their parents’ emotions. If you appear overly anxious, they are likely to feel it too. If you can show them how to handle stress calmly, it will help them manage their own feelings better.

Dos

Trust and encourage: Have faith in your teens’ ability to discover effective study methods. Offer phrases like, “I believe in you. I see you persevering. Keep up your wonderful efforts.” Ms Yap shares that her children used to study at Starbucks or with their friends online. “It did not make sense to me at first, but it helped them feel less stressed, added joy to their studying, and gave them positive peer motivation,” she says.

Celebrate progress: Even small gestures can make a significant impact. Mark milestones with special treats or their favourite food. These moments bring joy and reinforce that their hard work is noticed and appreciated.

Chatting with your kids after exams

After an exam, and with more papers possibly on the horizon, it is crucial for parents to communicate effectively with their children to prevent unnecessary stress and misunderstandings.

Miss Germain Kang, year head for upper secondary at Fuhua Secondary School, offers the following advice:

Teens can feel suffocated by excessive monitoring of their studies, micromanaging of their schedules, nagging and unsolicited advice. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

What parents should avoid

Immediate post-mortems: Children often feel emotionally vulnerable after an exam, replaying mistakes in their minds. Questions about their performance, such as “Which questions were difficult?” or “Did you finish all the questions?” can heighten their anxiety and may affect their confidence for the remaining papers. What your kids need is support for what is coming up. Save reflections and deeper talks for later.

Asking for grade predictions: Questions such as “Do you think you will score an A?” creates unnecessary stress and expectations.

Comparisons: Comparing with peers (”How did your friends find it?”) or past assessments (”Was it easier than the practice papers?”) adds pressure to your children.

False reassurance: Phrases like “I’m sure you did fine” can actually be unhelpful when your children genuinely struggled. It may also make them feel pressured to meet your hopeful expectations.

What parents should do

Affirm effort and strengths: Cheer your kids on for their hard work. You can say: “You’ve put in good work preparing for that paper”, “One paper down, you’re making progress” or “Well done for getting through that one.”

Keep check-ins simple and present-focused: Ask about their emotional state, not their performance. “How are you feeling right now?” is a good example.

Offer immediate support: Focus on practical needs. “Are you hungry? Shall we have lunch?” or “Do you want to rest before thinking about the next paper?” or “What would be most helpful now – some downtime or getting straight into preparing for tomorrow’s paper?”

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Elisa Chia is a correspondent at The Straits Times, writing parenting and lifestyle features.

friends at 50

My friends and I just sent a “love letter” to our physics tutor in junior college, more than 30 years late. 

Our school doesn’t even exist any more after a 2019 merger, but when we recently learnt he was still teaching at the merged school, well into his 70s, we decided to pay tribute to his dedication to teaching.

It’s funny how we never realised he was a favourite among us, until now. After scribbling down personal messages for him in a cafe where we last gathered in August, we the class of 92S4 whipped out a gigantic cake and celebrated our 50th birthday milestone together.

We sang the birthday song not just once, but three times. Celebrations are always more fun in the presence of so many “partners in crime”.

In today’s digital age, birthday greetings are often delivered through text messages and voice notes. Tech advancements may have made communication easier, but nothing can beat the joy and laughter from interacting face to face with old friends as we revel in shared memories of the past and enjoy new experiences together.

This year being the half-century mark of my existence on earth, I made it a point to celebrate in person with two groups of classmates – primary school and junior college – simply because we are all the same age.

Primary school was a long time ago and a few of us went to the same secondary school where lifelong friendship bonds are typically formed and developed separately. What binds us together is our common background of being kampung kids made good, and it’s heartening to see how far we have come in our respective careers. Our school does not exist any more, but memories live on in the people we attended it with.

Two years of JC flew by quickly, most of it spent mugging for the A levels, but somehow we still created enough fond memories to last a lifetime. We may not be one another’s closest friends, but we still find value and joy in occasional meetups and asking: “How have you been?”

What’s amazing is how we can look beyond the wrinkles, receding hairlines and extra kilos piled on, and recognise the teenagers we were when we first met. We have all aged with time, but we can still pick up strands of conversation as if it were yesterday, and it does not feel awkward at all.

As teenagers, we used to rave about music and movies and complain about difficult maths problems. Now at 50, we find comfort in knowing we are not alone in facing issues such as knee pain, stress from working with Gen Zs, and parenting wayward children. 

Showing off? No

I know what you’re thinking. Many people shun class gatherings for two reasons. First, the fear of getting judged on your life achievements (or lack of), and second, worries of someone trying to sell you insurance. And is there any point in catching up with people whom you have not met in such a long time?

A social media post I saw asked: Would you attend your class gathering if all your secondary friends are high-fliers in their careers and live in landed property or condominiums, but you are a private-hire vehicle driver living in a two-room Build-To-Order flat for singles?

Some people replied “why not?”, others said they would not attend if they had nothing in common and the purpose was to show off.

I also remember the visible stress on my Korean husband’s face whenever he has to attend a class gathering in Seoul, where we lived for eight years until 2023. The Koreans often make this an exercise in trying to outflaunt and outdrink one another.

But I am happy to report that bragging and flaunting is the last thing we do when the willing members of 92S4 gather. There is also no stress involved, just a lot of laughter.

It’s not that we don’t have anything to flex – among us is an architect, a crisis management pro, a software consultant, and an aviation specialist. There are frequent fliers among us too. Two are living in Australia, one in China, another two recently relocated home – one from South Korea (me), one from Finland. 

But no one boasts. There is a complete lack of pretence at these gatherings. We let down our guard and open our hearts. We can have honest conversations even on difficult topics such as the war atrocities in Gaza and how different countries integrate foreigners. We ask questions, we argue, and we walk away with no hard feelings. Perhaps it’s good for one’s mental well-being to speak freely and listen with an open mind.

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Magic of nostalgia

There is also a certain pleasure in revelling in the memories of yesteryear, when life was simpler.

Call it the magic of nostalgia – gathering with old friends brings us back to the carefree days when we were 17 years old, and evokes warm, fuzzy feelings. We studied hard, but we played hard too – dinner at Lau Pa Sat after school, hanging out at classmates’ homes, and swimming on weekends.

A group photo of class 92S4 taken in the campus of the junior college that is no longer in use today. The writer is seated in the front row, third from right. ST PHOTO: CHANG MAY CHOON

We had some cool kids in our batch. Both prom king and queen were from our class, and we had talented football players who also goofed around posing for the camera.

It was not easy to keep in touch after graduation. It was only in 2023, upon my return from Seoul, that we started to gather at least once a year.

“Eh, I haven’t seen you in 30 years!” was a common refrain the first time we gathered. Now, we have people saying we should gather more often. 

The timing is good too. Any earlier, those of us with young children may not be able to slip out without the spouse’s “permission”.

For our last gathering in August, which was a last-minute decision, our aviation specialist said: “Let me apply for my exit permit, it usually needs three business days, but I will seek exemption because we are 50!” 

Twenty minutes later, his wife gave her blessing as she felt it was, as he put it: “good for my mental health”.

He explained in person later that he does not have many friends outside of work, so his wife felt it would be good for him to join us to de-stress.

Our gatherings are in some ways a healing session. We get sucked into a time warp where nothing else matters, other than the company, the food and a lot of nostalgia. And we feel like teenagers again, reminiscing about the silly things we did in our youth, such as jumping into a quarry on Pulau Ubin that “hurt like hell”.

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Days and years can fly by quickly in working life. Such gatherings remind you not to lose yourself and to cherish people who accept you as you are, and to thank those you never did.

If we can find our other teachers, maybe we should write them cards too. I didn’t get to see our physics teacher when I delivered the card to the school, but he did send me a text message after that. 

“Such a nice card from your class,” he said. “Thank you for all those kind words. Take care.”

Chang May Choon is assistant foreign editor at The Straits Times. She is in charge of the foreign desk’s multimedia coverage and has a special interest in South Korea.

SINGAPORE - A real estate agent was so astute in speculating in properties that he bought and sold five homes for himself and made over $2.3 million when he was just over 40 years old.

Just before he got married, he was so flush with money that he bought a resale HDB flat and paid the $668,000 purchase price in cash.

The flat eventually became his matrimonial home and he later added a $3.2 million condominium unit to his portfolio.

Although he was self-employed, he was diligent in planning for his retirement by contributing to his CPF savings, which has a balance of over $620,000 as he hits 55 in 2025.

In addition to a healthy retirement sum, he has also amassed another $1.5 million in cash and stocks. With such decent savings, he could afford an expensive car, but he chose to drive a nondescript Japanese car worth $75,000.

As he was so prudent and careful in saving and investing his money all his life, it was not surprising that he fought tooth and nail with his 41-year-old former wife, maintaining that the bulk of his wealth was accumulated before their 12-year marriage.

Although he works only part-time now and has a monthly income of $3,000 from renting out his HDB flat, he had been the main provider for his household and three young children. His former wife draws a monthly salary of $7,700 as a clerk.

As he owned the family’s properties and paid for most of the household expenses, the High Court allowed him to retain 70 per cent of the couple’s $5.5 million matrimonial assets. This was in addition to about $1 million in cash and CPF savings which he can keep, as he had saved this sum before the marriage.

This case provides interesting insight into what constitutes premarital assets and how good financial planning can make a difference in how your assets will be divided when the relationship turns sour.

The matrimonial home

Just months before he tied the knot, the real estate agent bought the resale HDB flat and registered it under his sole name as a single owner, as he was over 40 years old then.

After their marriage, the couple lived there for more than eight years and all three of their children spent their childhood years in that home.

As the flat, which is worth $900,000 now, was bought and paid for entirely before the marriage, the man argued that it should be kept out of the matrimonial pool, as it was a premarital asset.

But High Court Judge Choo Han Teck disagreed and said: “This flat cannot be described in any way other than as a matrimonial asset.”

In some past cases, the courts had chosen to divide such assets in an equitable manner, such as by assigning a smaller value for cases involving properties that were used as matrimonial homes for a short duration lasting only about a year.

Justice Choo noted that in this case, the flat had been used as the family’s matrimonial home for a much longer period, and there was no reason to treat it differently. So its entire value was included in the pool for sharing.

The risk of holding properties separately

To avoid paying the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for his condominium unit, the man paid for the property but allowed his then wife to hold it in her name.

In all, he had paid almost $2 million for the property.

As the unit was held in the wife’s name, it would be practically impossible to argue that it would not constitute a matrimonial asset.

If he had chosen to buy the property with funds he had saved before the marriage and then held it in his own name, he might have stood a chance of convincing the court that the property belonged to him solely.

But doing so would have meant having to pay the ABSD, as he already owned the HDB flat.

What this means is that home buyers should not just look at not paying taxes as the primary goal when investing in properties, because letting someone else hold their assets could lead to unexpected consequences that could cost them a lot more.

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Premarital funds

If a couple had got married soon after they started working, the bulk of the savings in their CPF and bank accounts would be considered in any matrimonial split in a divorce.

In such cases, they could ask for some funds to be excluded if they can show that the money in certain accounts was given by their parents and these accounts had been kept separately from other matrimonial assets.

In this case, the man was already very cash-rich before he got married and he wanted his premarital funds to be excluded from sharing.

For instance, the balance in his CPF account during the divorce was about $624,000 while the balance at the time of the marriage 12 years earlier was about $253,000.

This meant the $253,000 should not be considered as matrimonial assets, and the court included only the amount of $371,000, which was saved during the marriage, for sharing.

As for his cash savings, the man had kept the bulk of the money that he earned before the marriage in a joint account with his then wife.

During the divorce, the account had $937,000, which was claimed by his former wife. But he was the one who managed the money and had used it to generate interest income, which was not directly used for the family expenses.

Justice Choo found that the man did not refer to the money as the family’s wealth and there was no evidence he had treated the fund as matrimonial assets.

“I thus accept that a significant portion of the $937,000 is likely to have originated from the husband’s premarital funds,” the judge said.

Since it was not possible to determine how much money the man had before the marriage, Justice Choo allowed him to retain 80 per cent of the balance, or $749,600, and put the remainder, $187,400, into the matrimonial pool for sharing.

Excluding the man’s premarital funds and CPF savings, the court found that the couple had more than $5.5 million in assets to be divided between them.

As the bulk of these assets came from the man, the court found that 91 per cent of the direct financial contribution came from him while his former wife contributed only 9 per cent.

As for indirect contribution, the court rated both parties as equal because the man, who worked part-time, also helped to take care of their three children in addition to footing most of the household bills.

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The overall ratio was therefore about 70 to 30 in the man’s favour.

This meant that he would get $3.85 million from the matrimonial pool, with his former wife getting $1.65 million.

He wanted her to transfer their condominium unit back to him, as her entitlement was just about half its value.

Justice Choo left it to the couple to decide who should get what based on their shares, noting that they have the option to apply to the court again if they could not agree.

The lesson here: Main breadwinners of families need not worry about being short-changed if they are diligent and prudent in managing their assets.

Check out Invest editor Tan Ooi Boon’s new book – Retire With More Money – at stbooks.sg

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no more monej

A woman tried to make her wealthy former husband pay a lot more for their two young sons by applying to increase monthly child support from $4,000 to more than $30,000.

But her application was shot down by the High Court, which found no basis as to why two children, aged 10 and 12, would need to incur expenses averaging $15,000 each every month.

High Court Judge Choo Han Teck said: “When wealthy parents wish to spoil their children with expensive toys and feed them Michelin-starred meals, they can do that of their own accord.”

Normally, when there is a dispute, the courts will determine what maintenance is reasonable and adequate for the children’s needs, not what the parents want to have or what the children would like to have.

The couple, who are in their 40s, were married for only about three years when they divorced in 2015. Their current job statuses were not disclosed – the husband used to be a managing director in an energy company while the wife worked as a lawyer.

When he was a young man, the husband had already inherited substantial assets from his father. When his mother died in 2014, he and his sister became beneficiaries of a trust that held cash and properties, which were then valued at more than $50 million.

The trust was unusual because their late mother stated that they could sell the real estate only after the 25th anniversary of her death in 2039. Until then, they were each permitted to withdraw only a sum not exceeding $10,000 per month from the estate.

Not surprisingly, to support her case to increase payments for her children, the former wife produced documents to show that their father had the means to pay what she was asking for.

But Justice Choo noted that the father’s wealth was immaterial to the application to increase the child support, which usually depends on what the children need and not what their parents have.

In assessing the needs of a child, the court is usually mindful if the supporting parent earns a low income. “But it does not follow, however, that maintenance should increase in proportion to the capacity of a parent to pay, with no limit to the increment,” Justice Choo added.

He noted that the amounts claimed – $16,800 and $15,000 a month for two primary school children – were unjustifiable.

For instance, their mother wanted to claim $3,200 just for the children’s meals. But Justice Choo found the amount to be excessive because even if a child spends $20 on food daily, the monthly amount would just be $600.

Although the older child has a sensitive mental condition due to autism, the judge did not buy the mother’s claim that the boy had to dine at expensive, quiet restaurants.

As Justice Choo found most of the other undisclosed expenses were also excessive, he ruled that the monthly child support for both children should remain at $2,000 each.

But he made an exception for the one-off expense that was incurred for the boy with special needs because the mother paid $2,200 a month to hire a “shadow support” to help her son prepare for the Primary School Leaving Examination.

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A child psychologist had recommended the child to be enrolled in a class with fewer students, but the mother had opted for additional help instead to avoid changing her son’s school during the PSLE year.

Justice Choo allowed this claim, as the cost was incurred for the welfare of the child in view of the national examination, but he noted that the shadow support should not be a permanent and recurring expense.

As $26,400 was incurred in hiring the shadow support for a year, the judge ordered the father to pay for his half share, or $13,200.

What this means is that the courts will always consider the welfare of children embroiled in divorces and would always ensure they are well taken care of without incurring unnecessary expenses that would overburden their parents.

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no more money

Last summer, after years of bouncing from rental to rental, Ms Brianna Racoosin bought her dream home, a sunny two-bedroom condominium in Brooklyn. To cover the US$1.1 million (S$1.4 million) price tag, Ms Racoosin, an art teacher at a public high school, didn’t take out a mortgage; she paid in cash, thanks to a trust set up by her parents.

“I never thought that I would use the money to buy until I had a partner or a family,” she said. “But then I was like, what’s the point of waiting?”

While generational wealth may be a subject of contempt, and envy, Ms Racoosin, 30, is far from alone when it comes to relying on family money to get a leg-up in the housing market.

About one in five Gen Z and millennial home buyers in the US relied on gifts from family to help with down payments, according to a study released by Redfin.

Ms Danielle Nazinitsky, an agent with Decode Real Estate who worked with Ms Racoosin: “A lot of people don’t want to talk about gifting, even though everyone has help.”

In a historically tight housing market, parental support can help put home ownership within reach. Still, there’s a lot to consider before you turn to the bank of mum and dad. Here’s what you need to know.

Why are home buyers turning to their parents?

A perfect storm of factors is making it especially difficult for prospective home owners in the millennial and Gen Z age groups to buy using entirely their own means.

“It’s the trifecta of high rates, high prices and rising insurance costs, which just makes it really hard for somebody when they’re starting out,” said Mr Bill Banfield, chief business officer of Rocket. “And this is all exacerbated by lower inventory levels.”

Ms Glennda Baker, a real estate broker, wrote in an e-mail that there was “fierce competition” for first-time buyers in her area and in other markets.

“More than 30 per cent of our first-time homes are being gobbled up by private equity and hedge fund buyers,” she said.

Even if someone has squirrelled away enough money for a down payment without help, the average home buyer would still struggle to afford the mortgage payments.

A median-income American family would need a US$17,000 salary increase to afford an average home, according to a Zillow study released this summer.

How can parents help?

There are a handful of ways parents can help their children buy a home, each with its own set of considerations.

The most common, and the most straightforward, is a cash gift, whether that’s by chipping in towards a down payment or funding the entire purchase.

There are a few drawbacks to cash gifts, said Ms Deanna Cascella, a wealth and estate planning strategist at Morgan Stanley, including a lack of financial protection: No one is stopping your child from, say, embarking on a spending spree instead of purchasing a home.

“But the pro is that it’s really simple and you’re done,” she said.

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If you’re looking for more guard rails, a less common option is a gift in trust. In this situation, the trust is the owner of the property, not the child.

While a more complicated option, it’s a strategic one as far as estate planning is concerned.

Some parents may opt to co-sign a mortgage with their children to increase their approval odds. But that also has risks.

“Both the parent and the child are responsible and obligated to the loan,” Rocket’s Mr Banfield said. “If something goes wrong, it affects both people’s credit.”

Parents can also choose to loan their children money, which could have better terms than a mortgage rate. For this option, a lawyer is necessary.

“It’s pretty simple to administer, but it does introduce a formality and makes sure that the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed,” Ms Cascella said.

How do you start the conversation?

If a future home buyer is thinking of approaching their parents for help – or conversely, a parent is thinking of helping their child – it’s best to talk candidly and early.

“There are a lot of personal considerations that parents and kids need to talk about, and need to talk about openly, before they make these arrangements, because the home purchase can affect people right now and then long into the future,” Ms Cascella said.

Before broaching the conversation, do your research.

“There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. But you want to do it in the appropriate way,” said Mr Ramit Sethi, a personal finance expert who hosts the Money For Couples podcast. “You always want to explain why you are asking – and then, of course, you want to give them an out.”

Parents, too, need to decide if lending a helping hand makes sense for them.

“As you age, there are a lot of unexpected expenses that might come up, so ensuring that your financial support isn’t going to inhibit your long-term financial health is really important,” said Ms Amanda Shur, a housing trends expert at StreetEasy. “It’s really important that parents speak with a financial adviser to make sure that they’re gifting the money in the most prudent way.”

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Also, consider your relationship with your parents and the level of involvement you’re comfortable with. Would they hold the contributions over your head? Would they expect to be present at every house tour or have the final say over the purchase?

“Emotionally, I always advise setting boundaries up front – who’s in charge of the decisions, how communication will work and whether this is a gift or a loan,” said Ms Baker, the real estate broker.

Mr Matt Laricy, an agent in Chicago, has seen family dynamics go awry. “Sometimes it’s like watching the Kardashians,” he said. “Like, you don’t want to see it, but it’s kind of fun being in the middle of it.”

Who needs to know?

If you’re accepting a gift from your parents, a few parties need to be in the loop.

It’s always a good idea to keep your real estate agent informed. If a cash gift goes towards your down payment, you’ll likely need to document it with your lender in the form of a letter. This assures your lender that the money is a gift, not a loan.

Make sure the money is given in a single transaction and that it lands in your account early. After 60 days, the funds are considered “seasoned”, which helps confirm to the lender that the funds are truly yours, according to Rocket Mortgage.

Who you tell beyond the necessary parties is subjective. It’s wise, for instance, to be transparent with siblings to avoid conflict. If you’re married, it’s important to keep your spouse in the loop, whether you’re receiving the gift or the one doing the gifting.

When it comes to friends and peers, though, sharing that your parents helped you buy your house might be a murkier decision. For Ms Racoosin, who relied on a trust fund to purchase her house, it was complicated.

“It is something that I felt guilty about,” she said. “There’s so many people who are working really hard who aren’t able to do this. And so, like, who am I to say that I own this place?”

Those feelings, Money For Couples’ Mr Sethi said, reveal the love-hate relationship Americans have with family money.

“It’s one of the most taboo topics in personal finance,” he said, “yet, so many people orient their entire financial lives to give wealth to the next generation.”

Before diving into home ownership, Mr Sethi said, it’s important to get real with your finances and refrain from judgment – whether your parents are giving you a boost or not. NYTIMES

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retrench

Ms Marla Hetzel knew the healthcare company she worked for was struggling and that several employees had been let go. So when colleagues who once sought her input suddenly cancelled meetings with her, she started to worry.

“I began seeing signals that were telling me that if there were going to be more layoffs, I was probably a target,” said Ms Hetzel, 55, who led the company’s innovation efforts.

So she and her husband made some changes. They began tracking every expense, challenging themselves to spend less each month on discretionary items like eating out, and contacting their cellphone and cable providers to find ways to reduce their bills.

“We were educating ourselves on where our money was going and reflecting on our behaviours so that we could be ready to modify them if we were forced to,” said Ms Hetzel, who lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the US.

In May, Ms Hetzel was laid off, joining a group that now totals nearly 900,000 US private sector employees who have lost their jobs in 2025, more than the number laid off through all of 2024.

The US federal government recently estimated it would end the year with 300,000 fewer workers. Many of these people are late-career employees and not willing or financially able to retire.

Yet, finding a new job after age 50 can take months, especially as the labour market tightens.

Employers added a mere 22,000 jobs in August, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, fewer than what economists expected. The unemployment rate also rose to 4.3 per cent, from 4.1 per cent in June.

When you are laid off later in your career, financial priorities shift sharply – you are no longer focused on building retirement savings but on maintaining enough cash flow to cover expenses, said Mr Christopher Stroup, founder and president of Silicon Beach Financial in Santa Monica, California.

Your first step should be figuring out how to use the money you have as a bridge to pay living expenses while you look for a job, he said.

Here are some ways to secure your finances while you search for a new job.

Manage any severance package carefully

If you are lucky enough to receive a severance package, experts agree it is important to treat it as an asset, not as a windfall.

Severance packages are typically equivalent to one week of salary for each year of employment, so, depending on how long you have worked at the company, you could receive up to half a year’s salary, or more.

For many people, that could be the most money they have ever received at once.

“You may feel rich, but that feeling can lead to problems if there’s a lack of financial discipline,” said Mr Josh Andrews, advice director at USAA, a firm that offers insurance, banking and retirement services to the military community. That money, he said, is not for a vacation or for retail therapy but to cover your expenses while you look for another job.

Mr David Haas, president of Cereus Financial Advisors, in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, recalled a co-worker who was laid off and used his severance to take a month-long vacation.

When the co-worker returned, he had trouble finding work. Because he had spent his severance, he liquidated most of his retirement accounts to pay his living expenses, resulting in a huge tax bill and penalties for early withdrawals, said Mr Haas.

“Fortunately, he was able to find a job by the time the tax bill was due, but he still had a lot of trouble rebuilding his retirement savings in his 50s,” Mr Haas said.

Mr Andrews said that if your employer gives you the choice to receive your severance in one lump sum or as biweekly payments, consider the latter, to make it easier to budget and less of a temptation to spend.

Avoid taking money from accounts for retirement

Before taking money from your retirement account, use any other funds you have, including your severance, emergency fund and savings, Mr Andrews said.

If you have taxable investments, such as a typical brokerage account with stocks and mutual funds, consider selling those before using your retirement fund, despite the potential loss of investment gains.

Your retirement accounts should be your last resort, particularly if you are younger than 59½, Mr Andrews said.

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Keep an eye on your investment and debt

If you have taxable investments and your income drops substantially because you’re not working, consider liquidating some holdings.

“While you’re in a lower tax bracket, it may be an opportune time to sell some taxable investments and not pay as much tax,” Mr Andrews said.

An asset such as a stock, bond or mutual fund held for longer than a year is subject to a long-term capital gains tax. The rates are zero per cent, 15 per cent or 20 per cent, depending on your income – a higher income results in a higher tax rate.

Call your creditors to tell them about your job loss and ask about reducing or deferring payments while you look for work.

Don’t fret about pausing saving for retirement

Financial experts agree that it is okay to stop putting money into a retirement savings account while you are unemployed, because it is more important to focus on paying your bills and finding a stable job.

Mr Stroup said: “If saving to a retirement account is on the back burner for a year, it’s unlikely to derail your ability to retire in the future.”

If you have any income from any consulting or freelance work, make sure you have the cash flow to pay bills. Mr Stroup recommends putting any income into a savings or checking account.

“When you find that stable job, then let’s get back on that retirement journey,” he said. NYTIMES

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how ai change office

The next big thing doesn’t always turn out that way.

There was a spasmodic moment in the early 2020s when the metaverse was going to be the future. A McKinsey report published in 2022 reckoned that it could generate up to US$5 trillion (S$6.46 trillion) of value by 2030.

Meta got its new name. Some people were appointed chief metaverse officers. A few of them may still be out there, banging on about non-fungible tokens and how Barbados has an embassy in Decentraland. Everyone else has moved on.

Generative AI is plainly not the metaverse. It may end up falling short of the headiest expectations. Its full impact will become clear only over a long period of time.

Many firms say they are disillusioned with their returns to date. But the office is already a different place because of the technology.

The evidence for that is partly quantitative. Employees are often adopting the technology unilaterally, working out for themselves how best to use it. Some are doing so surreptitiously, uncertain whether they will get credit or be replaced. But the firms behind the frontier models can see what is happening.

In a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a team of researchers from OpenAI, with Professor David Deming of Harvard University, document how people use ChatGPT. Although personal use of OpenAI’s chatbot has grown even faster, the daily average number of work messages zoomed from 213 million in June 2024 to 716 million a year later.

The latest version of the Anthropic Economic Index, a piece of analysis by researchers at the firm behind Claude, distinguishes between “automation” and “augmentation” modes – one being a more directive interaction in which a user tells the model to do something, the other a more collaborative pattern of questions and feedback.

For the first time in the index’s short life, instances of automation outstripped those of augmentation, suggesting that ever more tasks are being delegated to AI.

Your own eyes and ears provide more proof that generative AI is increasingly part of office life. AI provides a constant background hum to work conversation.

If you overheard someone asking “How do you use it?”, you would know what was being referred to. Meetings now routinely end with phrases like “I guess I still have a job, then” or “It’s really the next generation I worry about”.

The jargon is inescapable. People who have no clue what they are talking about are throwing around words like “alignment”, “non-determinism” and “agentic”.

The in-crowd always have new ways to signal their credentials. First it was RAG (retrieval-augmented generation), now it is MCP (model context protocol). Did you listen to the new Dwarkesh, by the way?

The assumption that AI is everywhere is slowly taking hold. Meetings are routinely transcribed and summarised by a machine. You are no longer having a discussion with colleagues; you are part of the historical record.

Usage of AI may well be part of how your performance is assessed. Some firms have dashboards to monitor employees’ adoption of the technology. Most bosses will have sent out the message that they expect staff to experiment with it.

Some basic premises are breaking down. That interviewee on your screen, for example. Mr Jonathan Black, the head of the careers service at Oxford University, recounts the story of a job candidate asking an employer to repeat a question because the computer did not hear it.

To catch more accomplished cheaters, AI invigilation services monitor if someone is switching tabs before they give an answer, or keep track of the time taken to answer a question.

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Writing-related requests are the most common use of ChatGPT at work, according to the new study. That may well mean you are encountering fewer grammatical errors and more factual ones.

You are also more likely to be reading, or indeed producing, generic content. Sterile language has long been part of workplaces: think airline safety demos or call centre messages insisting that “your business matters to us” (even if your time patently does not). All correspondence is now lightly chlorinated.

None of this yet amounts to transformation. But AI is leaving its mark on workplace behaviour, language and assumptions. The metaverse it ain’t. © 2025 THE ECONOMIST NEWSPAPER LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

pain of surgeon

I recently chaired a virtual hospital grand round – a regular session where healthcare professionals take turns to share their knowledge, experiences and expert opinions with colleagues. What transpired left me strangely apprehensive about ever wanting to do such a task again.

It was not that the talk was anything contentious. Quite the opposite. Someone spoke up, in a genuine and powerfully personal way about something doctors don’t often talk about: having a patient die, and how it affects us emotionally.

My colleague, with astonishing vulnerability, recounted how one night, she found herself – much like doctors do in a typical plot of a medical drama – in a crisis, having to make clinical decisions where the stakes could not be higher. But unlike a neat Netflix episode, the night did not conclude with a hero saving the day. The patient did not survive. The doctor did not live happily ever after.

She detailed her meeting with the family: “They wailed. All I could say was, ‘I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry’.”

But it was when she went deeply into the effect this profound, yet often unspoken event, had on her psychologically, that we listeners to her ordeal were stymied. I was a seasoned chairperson for healthcare-related tasks, but I was lost for a way to wrap up something as raw as this, of her baring her soul. 

She said: “That night, something fundamental about my world was shaken. Medicine is never the same again. I’m never the same again. I became a recluse.” 

“My emotion was unpredictable and incomprehensible even to myself. I’d go to great lengths to avoid certain situations and having to make certain decisions. And the rumination, yes, the torture of endless rumination.”

“I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed that morning. Colleagues noticed the change, but probably didn’t know how to talk to me. Closer friends told me I needed professional help. I was reluctant. I’m not weak. I’m not one of those who can’t take the heat of this job.”

“I relented and saw a private psychiatrist. Did it help? I think so. Am I cured? I don’t know.”

A flurry of onscreen hearts

I pretended to take a sip from my empty coffee mug and waited for someone to say something.

As the silence grew louder, someone in the online audience floated a heart emoji onto the screen. This opened the safety valve – a gust of cathartic energy was released. 

A flurry of red hearts flooded the screen, followed by an eruption of comments thanking the woman for her generosity in being vulnerable for the benefit of her colleagues. 

We wished her well, went back to our work, and carried on with our lives. 

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I could not stop thinking about what was said that afternoon. Hospitals are complex microsystems where everyday work presents unexpected challenges, and sometimes, psychological harm. 

While they are generally workplaces with a high sense of purpose, which draw the best from their people, they are also where, when mistakes and untoward occurrences take place, the consequences are unforgiving. 

Qualities that make a good doctor are seemingly contradictory: a healthy dose of detachment, and a deep sense of care. How you optimally balance the two becomes a tightrope that many doctors struggle to walk.

How do we walk out of death’s long shadow?

In a work context which celebrates excellence and commitment to good outcomes, where success means lives saved, it is difficult to find helpful the standard advice given after mistakes happen.

That advice is: accept responsibility, be appropriately self-critical, reflect on achieving better results in the future, but avoid paralysing rumination and crippling guilt. 

The fact is, after a personally and professionally cataclysmic event such as a patient’s death, we all walk out of its long shadow in our own way. Or we don’t walk out at all.

What is universal is you are never the same again. How you see the profession, the world and yourself can never be the same again. 

Given that the standard advice feels trite and condescending in the immediate aftermath, the only hope of solace for the raw emotion usually comes from the knowledge that you are not the only one this has happened to. 

There are people in your midst, maybe even colleagues you look up to, who also found themselves in the same place, having to navigate the same treacherous terrain after an error, and they have managed to survive.  

The signposts they leave behind on the same unwelcome journey are probably the only things you have for a sense of direction, when you are alone at your lowest. But unsurprisingly, in clinical medicine, with its culture of heroic excellence, such touchy-feely reflections of personal failure are rare, and attempts to invite such stories attract little participation.

Some units in hospitals have sessions intended to help young doctors process the emotional challenges after patient deaths and errors. These are generally thought of as being more appropriate for junior doctors and less relevant for seasoned practitioners, who are assumed – probably incorrectly – to be less susceptible to such morbidities. It is possible that the relative absence of such a support system to facilitate productive discussion on this difficult topic puts many in the system at risk of isolation. 

For this reason, what my colleague did that afternoon was especially significant in changing the culture of how we view errors, bad outcomes and its victims.

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We will survive

Years ago, when I took over the training in internal medicine for the young doctors in the National University Health System (NUHS), I found a group of charismatic colleagues with a willingness to be self-disclosing, and started an online forum where we share reflections of our personal experiences in clinical medicine, including errors and bad outcomes.

What started out as a few senior doctors sharing their personal stories eventually evolved into a vibrant exchange between doctors of different generations, which we affectionately named “Our Sea of Stories”. Years later, after I left the training programme, I spoke with some of my ex-students about what the sharing of these stories meant to us. 

One said: “They touched on topics that people were not willing to talk about... mistakes and adverse outcomes. As the stories reached and influenced many of us in the programme, they contributed to an open and honest culture in our workplace.”

The ex-student added: “I need to say this – I think of them as like last week’s dinner: I don’t remember exactly what I ate, but I’m convinced that I would not have survived till today without it.”

What I should have said, but did not, at the end of my colleague’s talk about losing a patient, was to reference that quote and say: “Thanks for sharing your dinner. Because of it, we will survive.”

Dr Khoo See Meng, chairman of the Medical Board of Alexandra Hospital and a specialist in respiratory and critical care medicine, is the recipient of the Ministry of Health’s National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award 2025.

5 on demon rocks

https://youtu.be/FgXRSrBun20?si=xV6Y88CzuySCqLSo

borrow non stop

China is a nation of savers. The Chinese government wants its people to spend more and save less. It also wants them to take on more debt, all for the sake of saving the economy from a four-year slump.

The national financial regulator urged banks in March to expand consumer lending and offer more flexible repayment terms. In July, policymakers promised to provide “innovative” financial services to boost consumption.

Yet many Chinese consumers are wary. An alarming number of them are already defaulting on their debt.

From 2021 to 2024, China’s total household savings grew 50 per cent as people scared off by a big decline in housing values stuffed their money in banks. During the same period, the number of loans that households could not afford to pay back nearly doubled.

For China, expanding access to credit may seem like a quick way to stimulate the economy. But this push for consumers to borrow risks deepening a growing personal debt crisis. Many borrowers, particularly young people, are caught in cycles of debt, driven by poor financial literacy, high youth unemployment and stagnant wages.

Those caught in the cycle run the gamut – from factory workers to young professionals and gig economy workers. They are people who barely make ends meet while living in fear of default, calls from debt collectors and an overwhelming sense of shame.

One person I interviewed, a 27-year-old tech worker in Shanghai, said he often borrowed from one online consumer finance app to repay what he owed to another one. He said the anxiety was overwhelming. “I feel trapped in an endless loop,” he said, asking me to use only his surname, Xia.

There is a growing split in the Chinese economy. The better-offs are saving more for rainy days. The worse-offs have little choice but to take on debt.

A recent quarterly survey by China’s central bank with 20,000 respondents across 50 cities showed that consumers were increasingly pessimistic. Their perception of job security is at record lows. Their willingness to spend has dropped to levels unseen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, an estimated 25 million to 34 million people defaulted on personal loans, twice the number in 2019, including loans that were overdue, but not yet in default. The number of risky borrowers has surged to between 61 million and 83 million. That amounts to between 5 and 7 per cent of the total population aged 15 and older.

As in the United States, defaults wreck personal credit records in China, locking people out of future borrowing and significantly limiting their upward mobility. But the punitive effect could be aggravated because China lacks a formal bankruptcy system to allow individuals to erase their debts.

For many indebted individuals, taking on more loans is a means of survival, not consumption.

Mr Xia, the tech professional in Shanghai, said he had begun borrowing small sums through Alipay’s Huabei payments service during college to cover basic expenses. After graduating in 2019, his debt ballooned, peaking at over US$7,000 (S$9,000), an amount that would be manageable if he had stable employment. But he said he had been unemployed half the time since graduation.

It’s easy to get consumer loans online in China, probably more so than it is in other countries, said economist Victor Shih from the University of California, San Diego.

China’s biggest internet platforms, with huge user bases, all have loan portals. They work with state-owned banks, which are eager to lend to consumers since the housing crash ate into their business. Online loans’ interest rates are usually higher than credit cards, and online payments are much more widely used than credit cards in China.

The loan offers are everywhere on the internet. When ordering a takeout meal on a delivery app, users are asked if they want to borrow money to pay for the meal.

Obtaining a loan, Mr Xia said, often requires providing only basic identity and employment information, and the money is disbursed nearly instantly.

Despite being in debt since 2018, Mr Xia said he had little knowledge about how interest or credit scores worked. None of the four borrowers I interviewed could tell me the interest rates or service charges on their loans.

But they all said they had anxiety, depression or insomnia. One of them, a 26-year-old meal delivery person in Chongqing, e-mailed me at 4am because he was too stressed to sleep.

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Another man, burdened with US$220,000 in debt after several business failures and long stretches of unemployment, told me he had considered jumping off a building. He and his wife, both in their mid-30s, have had nearly no income for the past two years and no luck finding jobs since they have been told they were too old.

The man, whose surname is Shao, said he missed a loan payment on June 10. At 9am the next day, collectors started calling incessantly. “The calls are designed to intimidate and insult,” he said. “They want to pressure you into finding a way to repay, whether it’s taking on other loans or borrowing from friends and families.”

He had prepared himself by reading about the experiences of others like him on online forums and speaking to friends who work at debt collection companies. Still, the pressure was unbearable.

Mr Shao has yet to experience what many consider the worst part: the public shaming. Collectors will start calling family and friends from a borrower’s phone contact list, a tactic banned in principle but still widely used.

Many borrowers feel that shame long before they default on a debt. Although societal values are shifting, older Chinese people who have lived through hard times tend to judge the young harshly.

But others pushed back on blaming the debtors, arguing that the problem is China’s credit system.

“The lending mechanism is a honey trap,” one podcast listener commented, “designed precisely to catch ordinary people at their weakest moments.”

Another comment, using a Chinese idiom, likened China’s consumer loan push to “drinking poison to quench thirst”, arguing that it does nothing to tackle the underlying causes of weak consumption – economic hardship and an inadequate social safety net – and merely delays the inevitable by encouraging borrowing against the future.

Policymakers have floated proposals like a “credit repair” programme to help people who default reclaim access to loans, but analysts say that could take time to establish. The authorities also limit debt collectors to no more than three calls a day per person and prohibit calls during off hours. Still, complaints against debt collectors are soaring, suggesting that enforcement is weak.

And without a personal bankruptcy system in China, there are few ways to discharge debt. Defaulting on a loan can leave a permanent mark.

The feeling of desperation over consumer debt is widespread.

On the video site Bilibili, an account called Quitting Society functions like an online support meeting room for debtors. During livestreaming sessions, the 30-year-old host reads out confessions from people who say they’re addicted to online borrowing. His most important advice: Tell your parents, and seek help immediately.

The account has more than one million followers. A hashtag urging all online borrowers to watch the videos has drawn 170 million views and over 70,000 comments on the social media site Weibo. NYTIMES

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china future

Mr Chu Xin’s search for work has taken him on a journey this summer. First he travelled some 1,500km from his home in China’s deep south-west to Shenzhen, a bustling manufacturing hub across from Hong Kong. Next was a bus another 1,500km north to Kunshan, which churns out electronics, where he twisted tiny screws into phone parts for 10 hours a day. That was mind-numbingly dull; by day five he had had enough. So he grabbed his few belongings and headed south – ready for the next stage in his odyssey.

Mr Chu’s story is in some senses extraordinary. But in others it is very ordinary. He is one of 200 million-odd people in China whom the state considers to be “flexible workers”, a broad category that includes all those who fall outside standard forms of employment.

The group makes up what is called the “gig economy”. Its members do not have formal contracts, and yet they have become a crucial part of China’s labour supply, accounting for a quarter of the total workforce and two-fifths of it in cities.

Although some of the group have moved from formal jobs to informal ones as they have aged, many are young, unattached men with dim economic prospects. Their progress, or lack of it, will set the terms for China’s future.

If they are able to settle down, buy homes and start families, they will help ease the country’s economic malaise. If not, they will cause problems for the Communist Party. They are China’s “make-or-break” workers.

The stakes are particularly high owing to China’s economic difficulties. Consumer demand remains bleak, with retail sales growth slowing in August to its lowest rate in 2025. Property sales and prices continue to fall, dragging down sentiment. Urban unemployment has ticked up. Population decline has forced the country’s leaders to establish subsidies to encourage childbirth. The recent spate of gloomy official data has convinced some analysts that year-on-year gross domestic product growth could fall to as low as 3 per cent in the third quarter of 2025.

Unlike the West’s gig economy, which is almost entirely focused on services, roughly 40 million of the make-or-break workers are paid by the day or week to work in factories. In China’s largest manufacturing complexes they can at times make up 80 per cent of the workforce, according to a survey by Professor Zhang Dandan of Peking University.

Meanwhile, semi-official estimates suggest that 84 million people work for online firms, delivering food and parcels or driving ride-share taxis. Many more are thought to do freelance internet marketing or work odd jobs in construction and restaurants. Although factory workers tend to be in their 20s, delivery drivers can be older.

Gig workers’ lives are tough. So why do it rather than finding formal employment?

The workers who powered China’s economic boom in the 2000s often laboured in large factories that were akin to mini-cities, and which offered services ranging from room and board to weddings. Many would leave only when returning to their home towns. Contracts became common after 2008 and offered scant-but-improved benefits, such as injury insurance. The work was often tedious in the extreme, involving long hours on production lines and sometimes just one day off a month.

China’s make-or-break workers have consciously rejected such a life. They value freedom and flexibility above the stability prized by previous generations of workers, many of whom grew up in poverty. When factories require make-or-breakers to do menial jobs, they want to be able to leave.

Many we spoke to noted the importance of being able to make decisions on their own behalf. Ms Li Meng, a Shanghai resident in her 40s, worked in state schools for years before deciding to become a yoga teacher. She does not have a contract with her studio and it does not contribute to her pension. But the freedom to set her own schedule every week is worth it, she says.

These workers are also becoming adept at using China’s vast platform economy to their advantage. Short-term jobs in factories and in services including delivery, taxi driving and social-media marketing can all be sourced online. Workers can move from job to job seamlessly, often paying little attention to the company for which they work.

Mr Wang Shi, a driver in the south-western city of Lijiang, says he routinely switches between a number of ride-hailing apps in order to maximise his income. Professor Lu Ming of Shanghai Jiao Tong University says this mastery of internet platforms is helping many gig workers make more money than contracted ones. They can also take time off whenever they like.

Such freedoms are reflected in popular culture. An online trope has emerged from a recruiting centre in Shenzhen called Sanhe. The workers here, referred to as the “Gods of Sanhe”, are said to work only as long as it takes to pay for a few days’ room and board. After that, according to popular perception, they lounge about, playing on their phones and enjoying life. They are portrayed as shiftless masters of their own destiny, a portrayal that contrasts sharply with labourers of decades past, who were seen as hard workers attuned to the needs of their bosses.

However, as the gig economy grows, so do worries about its future. Since gig workers avoid formal employment and its contracts, they do not pay into their own pensions. This results in bigger pay cheques at the end of the day, and suits employers who are more than happy not to have to pay the extra costs.

Most flexible workers come from rural areas, meaning that they also lack an urban hukou, or residency permit, and therefore access to associated benefits such as urban pensions, as well as healthcare and schooling. In many cities they are unable to buy flats, too.

Other risks are more insidious, and will become evident only over time. Economists worry about the impact an enormous gig economy will have on China’s human capital. Companies have little incentive to train workers. Factories are increasingly automated, which makes them safer but even more monotonous. Workers usually specialise in “micro tasks” that require them to repeat a particular hand motion for hours on end, day after day. Mr Chu says that the worst of these are assembling phone covers or affixing labels to products. Prof Zhang fears many workers are “deskilling” when they do this kind of work.

What matters is not just what make-or-breakers can supply, but what they can eventually buy, too.

Earlier waves of workers from the countryside were largely ignored as consumers; many failed to benefit from China’s economic rise. Can gig workers buy homes and start families? If they manage to, says economist Zhang Ning from UBS, a bank, the shift would have a huge overall impact on consumption. Junhui Wang of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu and co-authors find that when rural households become urban ones, they consume 2.4 per cent more.

In August, China’s Supreme Court ruled that workers can claim compensation from employers that have denied them benefits. This came as a shock to the myriad of small companies that use gig workers and can hardly afford the extra costs. But it is not clear how the ruling will be enforced. And the bigger question is what happens to the hukou, which China’s leaders have used for decades to control the movement of people. Although recent reforms make it easier for formal workers to settle in cities, they do nothing for gig workers.

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Their parklife

Unless changes are made to the hukou, many make-or-breakers face a darker future. The average age of factory gig workers is 26. About 80 per cent are male; 75-80 per cent are single and childless. In manufacturing hubs increasing numbers of young workers sleep in parks and under overpasses. Until recently, dozens could be seen snoozing in one of Kunshan’s biggest parks after they finished work, many with luggage in tow. (They have since been cleared by police.)

Large crowds gather in so-called labour markets, where intermediary agencies hire people for temporary construction or factory work. In Shenzhen’s biggest market, your correspondent was told by locals to take care, since many labourers were said to be alcoholics or drug addicts.

This is hardly conducive to the stability and calm the Communist Party aims to foster. Moreover, the new generation of workers is better connected than previous ones. They are armed with smartphones and spend hours a day scrolling social media.

Mr Dexter Roberts, author of The Myth Of Chinese Capitalism, says that young gig workers seem less deferential to the Communist Party than their predecessors. It is not a stretch to imagine a growing cohort of homeless, disgruntled and hopelessly bored workers causing ever greater disruptions to China’s peaceful urban veneer. The country’s leaders, then, have reason to help workers find their own homes to sleep in, rather than parks.© 2025 THE ECONOMIST NEWSPAPER LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.