Featured on the Hong Kong Economic Journal (November 22, 2018)
When I first became a parent, people asked me whether it helped me understand children more. Having been an educator for over 10 years, I had interacted with many children over the years and the question asked whether I could relate to them more because I had my own. My answer every was ‘no, not at all’. When I became a parent, I didn’t understand children more, I empathized with parents more! Over the years, because of my work, I had interacted with hundreds of parents and it had and continues to be such an honour to hear their stories, their accomplishments, their struggles, their worries and their concerns. And before I became a parent, I think I tried to show understanding but I don’t think I could show empathy. Because I had never been in their shoes before, I could only offer a listening ear, advice based on my experience as an educator and encouragement as a friend. But things changed after becoming a parent.
I think I used to see things as more black and white and