SINGAPORE - A new mental health resource guide and a website with links to workshops and helplines are among the new resources rolled out to help parent support groups for students' mental well-being.
Published last month, the resource guide by the Ministry of Education (MOE) shares parenting tips and aims to help parents identify signs of stress in their children.
Speaking at a virtual sharing session with representatives from parent support groups and educators on Thursday (Jan 6), Minister of State for Education Sun Xueling noted how the resources could help those in parent support groups share tips with other parents in their network.
"During our many discussions with parent support groups, one key need that arose was how parent support groups can be supported to play their role better, and which other potential partners they could link up with to better support mental well-being for their families and for their children," she said.
"The guide was put together based on feedback and suggestions from parent support groups and parents, as well as useful resources that MOE is aware of, on mental well-being. The mental well-being resource guide is also complemented by an online parent support group repository that will provide up-to-date resources that parent support groups can refer to for their ongoing efforts on mental well-being."
Ms Sun said she hoped the repository would be strengthened by parents in the support groups over time, with inputs from parents on the initiatives, experiences and projects that they have tried.
During the session, parents and educators from four schools shared their plans and initiatives to promote students' mental well-being in the upcoming year.
Representatives from Yuan Ching Secondary School shared plans to develop initiatives to create a stronger parent community.
The school's parent support group plans to roll out coffee chats with parents so they can build rapport with peers and exchange ideas candidly.
The school will also refer parents whose children require support to the parent support group if they have additional needs, such as in the case of first-time parents or single-child parents who have little experience.
Representatives from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School said the school intends to consult parents who have psychology or mental-health training to curate material and tips for parents to support their children.
Principal Fiona Tan said: "For the school staff, the teachers and the parents, we all share a common goal and ultimately we want our children to be happy. We want our children to be resilient. And what we hope (to achieve) through working together with our parent support group is to strengthen the network of communication and support among parents."
