If you think celebrity kids lead an easy, luxurious life, think again. In fact, they probably have it tougher than normal kids, what with the constant scrutiny and pressure to match up to their parents’ success.
These days, social media has been instrumental in bridging the gap between celebrities and normal folk. We now realise that the more we know our Singaporean celebrities, the more they are like us, especially when dealing with their kids and disciplining them.
Adrian and Tracie Pang reveal their parenting styles
Take the case of Adrian and Tracie Pang. This Singapore power couple, also parents to 2 teenage boys, Zack and Xander, aged 17 and 16, have been rather open about their parenting strategies. Here is how they are raising their kids to be creative, global citizens:
- Encourage your child’s passion: Looks like both Zack and Xander have inherited their parents’ passion for theatre and drama. They have performed in plays like Spring Awakening, The Full Monty and Crazy Christmas, and earlier on in TV shows on Okto as well.
As parents, we need to support our kids in their interests and hobbies, and it’s great that the Pangs are giving their kids the exposure they deserve, from a young age.
- Focus on priorities: According to Today, though both kids are keen to enroll in drama school, mummy Tracie Pang has emphasised that they would have to focus on their International Baccalaureate exams first, following which, they would have to go through National Service.
We totally agree that a good education empowers you, and makes you strong enough to look after yourself in any given situation!
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/TRACIE PANG
- Encourage your child to ask questions: It’s not surprising that creativity runs in the household. Tracie Pang has been quoted as saying, “I don’t think that was purposefully done but it’s just the nature of the way we are as a couple, the way we work. We encourage them to ask questions and be pro-active in thinking about stuff, and that creates a creative mind.”
In fact, these parents have been cool about their kids’ questions on sex as well, and have never shied away from talking about the birds and the bees. As Adrian Pang told theAsianparent once, “Communication is a major pillar of our family structure. We genuinely TALK with one another about our day, about how we are feeling, what we’re thinking…”
- Teach them independence: These parents are also making sure they go the extra mile when it comes to making their children self-reliant. In fact, ever since their kids got into their teens, they have not had a maid!
Mummy Pang has been quoted as saying, “We felt that we wanted them to learn … what it’s like to actually do stuff for yourselves. I have taught them to cook so they can fend for themselves when they are at home alone (during rehearsal and performance periods when we are not at home at night). They often cook spaghetti Bolognese, and recently, Zack cooked himself pan fried salmon.”
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/TRACIE PANG
Daddy Pang agrees, “I think it’s important to equip one’s children with the mental and emotional tools to deal with life’s hard knocks. There’s only so much that you can do to protect your children for all their lives.”
Teaching children to do their chores on their own empowers them and makes them more confident. This will enhance their decision-making abilities, and will teach them to not be afraid to fail, or think out of the box.
- Broaden their horizons: Daddy Adrian Pang has told theAsianparent earlier that, “As far as my two boys are concerned — they are lucky to be growing up in Singapore and being exposed to as many different ways of life as possible. I want them to become ‘citizens of the world’.”
Indeed. When you give your children opportunities to experience new cultures and new environments, their curiosity and creative juices start flowing.
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/TRACIE PANG
- Emphasise on character and values: Your values determine your choices in life. Adrian Pang once told us that he has only these 5 words to tell his sons when it came to advice, “Respect. Reason. Responsibility. Right & Wrong. Renewal.”
And in the end, love and gratitude matters too, and they form the backbone of every family. Daddy Adrian sums it up rather nicely when he says, “I hope that they learn to treasure each other even more than they already do, that they continue to love and protect each other as brothers, and that we will always stick together as a family no matter what life throws at us.”
“We have to be grateful for the light in our own lives and do what you can to share that light with others.”
Adrian Pang: “My sons are teaching me more about life than I pretend to be teaching them”
We spoke to Adrian Pang on the occasion of Father’s Day. From how his sons have been teaching him about life to many more. Here’s an excerpt:
Growing up, you went to some of the best schools in Singapore and then went on to study law in Britain. When and how did you decide to not to go down a corporate route and follow a more ‘alternative’ career in the arts?
AP: In my final year at university, I finally faced up to the fact that I never wanted to be a lawyer, and that being an actor was all I ever loved to do.
What did your parents think of this decision?
Like any self-respecting Asian parents, they freaked out!
Do you think parents in Singapore are more accommodating of their children’s career and life choices today, than they were a generation ago?
I think that in dribs and drabs more parents are becoming more “enlightened” to the fact that their measure of “success” might be different from what their kids’ ideas are.
You are married to a non-Singaporean, how has it been bringing up children who belong to what we now call “third culture”?
As far as my two boys are concerned — they are lucky to be growing up in Singapore and being exposed to as many different ways of life as possible. I want them to become “citizens of the world”.
Adrian Pang with his family – wife Tracie and sons Zack and Xander.
You often talk about your favourite role being that of a dad to your two sons, Zack and Xander. Tell us what a typical day with your boys is like?
At the boys’ age now (they are both in their mid-teens), they spend most of their day in school, and Tracie and I are at work most of our day, so it is important that we agree to try to at least have a meal together. At this meal no mobile devices are allowed in the vicinity, and we genuinely TALK with one another about our day, about how we are feeling, what we’re thinking, and generally have a laugh and enjoying one another’s company.
Communication is a major pillar of our family structure.
How has the fatherhood experience changed for you over the years – what has been the one consistent thing through this all?
The fact that my sons are teaching me more about life than I pretend to be teaching them.
How does being a celebrity impact your family life?
I don’t buy into any of that nonsense.
What are the top 5 pieces of advice that you would give to your sons?
Respect
Reason
Responsibility
Right & Wrong
Renewal
If you constantly try to fit these into your life, you’re going to do ok.
Click on the next page to find out about how Adrian Pang is preparing to play the role of Singapore’s founding father in The LKY Musical…
Adrian Pang and Sharan Au will star as Mr and Mrs Lee Kuan Yew in the upcoming production The LKY Musical
What was your biggest challenge in playing LKY ?
The biggest challenge is probably showing the private side of this very private man.
How did you prepare yourself to play this particular role?
There is a wealth of material at my disposal as research, but the trick is to distill the most valuable aspects of an incredible life into two hours on stage.
Do you feel an extra degree of nervousness in playing such a well-known real life personality?
No.
What lessons in parenting would you take from LKY?
Lead by example.
The interview was conducted by Sumati Nagrath for theAsianparent.
Also READ: Raising your child to be creative
(Source: Today)
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