ST Podcasts
Podcast Picks: Speaking good Singlish, cutting out screen time for babies and toddlers
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This week's podcasts by us explore the Singaporean lifestyle, from Singlish to toddlers' screen time to the public service
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG/ST PODCASTS
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This week, we explore how public perception of Singlish has developed over the years, discover how screen time has been detrimentally affecting babies and toddlers, and discuss what it takes to be a public servant in this day and age, in our latest three episodes.
The Usual Place: Standard English vs Singlish: Is the lingual tug-of-war over?
How good is your English?
Or to put it colloquially: your English can make it or not?
The public perception of Singlish, once the subject of fiery debates and campaigns aimed to discourage its usage, has gradually shifted over the years as more Singaporeans have grown to accept, and even embrace, our ubiquitous local creole.
Nowadays, the conversation has shifted to a new topic. How do we balance our appreciation for Singlish while maintaining a strong standard of English? And how exactly did we progress from the unyieldingly negative stance taken on two decades ago against Singlish?
Join Natasha Zachariah as she explores all things Singlish — defining it, embracing it, and using it — with her guests - actress, host and voiceover artist Caitanya Tan, content creator Nicole Chen, and Audrey Wan, a recent university graduate whose group’s final-year project inspired this episode.
Health Check: Why babies and toddlers do not need screen time
It is not an uncommon sight to see young children, toddlers, or even babies, glued to their screens in public. Parents have found devices to be an effective entertainment medium to capture the attention of children. Experts, however, find this increased reliance on screen time to be detrimental to children.
In the latest episode of Health Check, senior health correspondent Joyce Teo sits down with her two guest experts - Dr Yvonne Ling, an eye surgeon specialising in adult squints and paediatric ophthalmology, from the Singapore National Eye Centre and Dr Christelle Tan, a consultant at the Department of Child Development at KK Womens’ and Children’s Hospital (KKH), to find out more about the dangers of excessive screentime.
Children in Singapore are getting myopia from a younger age, from spending too much time indoors on near work and too little time outdoors in the daylight.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Dr Ling, who has over thirty years of experience as an eye specialist, shares about the rise of myopia among young children under the age of six. Some even have symptoms of eye fatigue, a condition caused by straining the eyes more common in adults, such as blurring of vision or headaches when standing too long.
Another harmful effect of screen time on toddlers and babies, notes Dr Tan, are language and developmental delays. Her primarily pre-school age patients often come in with poor social interaction skills, poor eye contact, and poor response timing when called.
Work Talk Podcast: Who wants to be a public servant?
“The most important thing...is the fact that we always take care of our people. And if we take care of our public service officers well, they will take care of the larger mission of taking care of Singapore and Singaporeans,” says Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing.
The public service is one of the pillars of Singapore society, and public servants have long been regarded as having one of the more stable professions available. Yet, the job is not without its pressures; though the public service reports to the government, it is heavily scrutinised by the people of Singapore, whom it is meant to serve.
Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister-in-charge of the Public Service, at a Work Talk Podcast recording in the ST Podcast studio.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
In this episode of Work Talk, senior business correspondent and host Krist Boo speaks with Mr Chan about the mission of the public service and how it plans to address the challenges, both old and new, that it faces.
Beyond the role of the public servant, Mr Chan also talks about how the public service also aims to take care of the public servants within, from members of the civil service to the rank-and-file. He discusses common concerns of job seekers of all ages, including fears surrounding the advent of technology and the threat it poses to jobs.
“We never say that we are a perfect public service. We will always say that we are a public service that is striving always to improve,” he adds.
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