The recent pandemic has without a doubt affected our relationships with friends and family members. For those parents looking to connect with their teens or adult children on a deeper level; or for those youth who want to have a better relationship with their parents, we at Presence and RE:NEW hope to provide resources that will help families take the time to understand one another’s perspectives.
Our last blog article talked about how Yanzie, a typical good American-Born Chinese girl, dealt with parents’ expectations, identity issues as an ABC, together with all the other challenges in her high school years. In this issue, Yanzie shares about the changes she experienced in her college years, the transformation of her relationship with her parents, and how faith carried her through growing pains and difficulties. With understanding and acceptance, she believes there can always be warmth and harmony within the family.
In the eyes of Chinese parents, the so-called perfect child is believed to have no more than a few characteristics: outstanding academic performance, helpful with house chores, active school participation, gets along with peers, respectful and courteous to elders, responsible, and caring for family members. Though Chinese parents work hard to raise their children to be sensible and good, have you ever thought about how they think about their identity, their relationship with parents, and the various challenges they face in school?
People in different eras have had very different life goals and pursuits. Technology and innovation has created a totally new world for our generation. The lifestyle, thinking patterns, goals and ideals of today’s youth are in no comparison with ours twenty to thirty years ago. Dr. Agnes Ip has shared with us about the don’ts when communicating with our youth, from which we can grasp the secrets of building relationships with the next generation.
Did your child ever tell you, “Mom, I want to marry you!”? My son did that when he was young, and I laughed so hard at that time. Now my son is actually dating someone, putting his arm on another girl’s shoulder, not thinking of me first like he used to do in the past…. I have the same smile on my face, but somehow feel sour in my heart.
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the problem of internet addiction especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also laid out the signs of internet addiction and its causes so parents could assess whether they and/or their children are becoming internet addicts. Today in Part 2 we will look at the physical symptoms of internet addiction and how to protect our kids from developing these problems.
As we become more and more dependent on technology in this season of social distancing and quarantining due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both parents and kids have had to use screens and the internet to accomplish everyday tasks… As “logging on” becomes a more widespread habitual behavior and necessity in light of the pandemic, internet addiction is likely to become inevitable as well.
In a time when social distancing and wearing masks has become the new norm, stress levels among kids and their parents has undoubtedly increased. In Part 1 of “Help for Stressed Out Families,” we learned about the effect parental stress can have on kids, even though most parents don’t even realize it. In today’s article, Dr. Kara Powell will focus on ways parents can help their children better deal with stress.
Increase in stress has become common among families where parents now have to work from home and kids have to learn from home because of the pandemic. Especially in these times, it’s important to remember how we as parents can affect our kids negatively if we are not careful to manage our stress. In Part 1 of “Help for Stressed out Families,” Dr. Kara Powell details the connection between parental stress and the stress of our children.
With July almost ending, a new school year is right around the corner. With the COVID-19 situation going back and forth in many parts of the world, there are many uncertainties and challenges that this new school year brings. May God give us wisdom and strength to walk in His will – let’s all come and pray!