Consider other factors behind child's misbehaviour

Besides the lack of a stable home environment, there are other factors that can cause a child to misbehave continually ("Child misbehaving in school? Home woes may be the cause"; Sept 28).

These include learning and/or psychological disorders.

Also, if a child has to resort to misbehaving to gain attention from his teachers, it could imply that there is a lack of effective feedback channels for teachers to better understand the child's circumstances.

In any case, I would caution against adopting stereotyped views of troubled children, as this can deprive them of receiving the right type of intervention.

Parents want to provide the most conducive environment for their child to do well in school and in life.

Unfortunately, things are often not as straightforward.

Besides, school itself takes up a lot of a child's time and energy.

From secondary school onwards, most students will spend the major part of their day in school.

With co-curricular activities, project discussion, fieldwork and piles of homework, schoolgoing children often have very little time, physical energy and emotional reserves left for the family.

As the saying goes, it takes a whole village to raise a child.

I hope our education system will change from that of an assessment centre, rewarding those who come neatly packaged for success, to being a holistic educator and nurturer of the next generation.

Sandra Lim Yim Keng (Ms)

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 07, 2015, with the headline Consider other factors behind child's misbehaviour. Subscribe