Lesson on money for son before he begins Primary 1

SINGAPORE - Mr Joshua Wee got the "shock of his life" when he realised that his youngest son could not recognise a $10 note, just weeks before he starts Primary 1 this year.

The human resource senior manager, 39, said of his son Mason, aged six: "One day, he told me that he had picked up a $1 note while waving a $10 note that I had dropped on the floor by accident. So I sat down with him to count coins, but it was unproductive because he just found the exercise funny."

Ahead of the reopening of school on Tuesday (Jan 4), Mr Wee has taught Mason the concept of money by letting him buy his own sweets at a provision shop.

The father of four children aged six to 14 is also taking leave on Tuesday to make breakfast for his children and walk his youngest son to school.

"Traditionally, my wife and I will ask them what they want and we will have breakfast together. Often it's just sausages and eggs or bacon sandwiches," he said.

Mr Wee's family looks forward to safe distancing measures easing such that more school activities facilitating social interaction can resume.

Through conversations with his children, he learnt that the limited social interactions with friends from other classes have dampened their spirits.

"My 14-year-old daughter calls it the lost years," he said.

But his children have also shown resilience in finding ways to connect with their pals, staying in touch with them through Zoom videoconferencing calls, he said.

And with his oldest son starting secondary school next year, Mr Wee hopes students from different classes will eventually be able to mingle.

He said: "Over the past two years, my son has been disappointed that he has missed out on a lot of milestone activities that his older sister went through, such as the Primary 5 camp and graduation... It's a real shame that they've had to miss out on these social activities, and I hope that we can eventually go back to what school was like before the pandemic."