They Say “S’poreans Make Terrible Parents” — And People Seem To Agree

Had enough of unruly kids? A Singaporean netizen recently went on Reddit to share a frustrating encounter with a child that left them feeling annoyed. 

In a post titled “SG parents make bad parents”, they wrote: “Parents these days don’t scold their kids until someone else scolds them for you. Then they get pissed at another adult disciplining their kid.”

The OP recalled that earlier in the day, they had been standing behind a child around eight or nine years old, while waiting to buy snacks. The kid, who looked to be about 120cm tall, apparently did “some acrobatics” to reach the snacks, stretching so far that they ended up pushing the OP.

They wrote: “After the third or fourth time I told the kid, ‘Don’t push me please’. The parents immediately turned around. I told them ‘I’m not trying to push your kid but your kid keeps pushing me’.”

To the OP’s disappointment, the parents simply replied: “It’s like that one, anyway we are done.”

“The parent did explain to the kid that I was probably waiting for my turn, [but seriously, why else would I be standing behind them]? They then loudly announced they wanted to get out, to [be passive-aggressive] to me,” they added.

Reflecting on the experience, the OP bluntly declared: “Parenting is really terrible these days, if it were me, my parents would apologise on my behalf and tell me not to push people.”

The OP’s frustrating encounter may have been an isolated incident, but it seemed that many Singaporeans agreed with their take. 

“Permissive parents breed entitled brats,” stated one netizen, while another wrote, “That’s the norm nowadays. Just like how our parents’ generation see us as ‘spoilt kids’. Every following generation ‘gets worse’.”

One even opined that parents “need to parent themselves before being parents,” explaining that adults these days are more likely to shrug off their children’s misbehaviour.

Others labelled modern parents “soft”, with one adding that they “don’t know how to raise kids anymore,” as many are busy with work and leave their children in the care of helpers or at childcare centres.

Some netizens also shared their own experiences with ill-behaved children.

“So many brats in Singapore. [I’m] seeing so many kids kicking their parents while on the MRT and at bus stops these days,” one wrote.

Others said they’ve seen parents “not making an effort to control their badly behaved kids” in public spaces, including on public transport, in shopping malls, and at restaurants. 

They added: “This annoys me when the kids are causing disturbances and inconvenience to other people around. The next generation is going to grow up selfish and entitled sadly.”

Another shared: “My neighbour’s kid literally screeches while playing his computer games. Not an excited shout but a screech at max volume that can be heard even through closed doors.”

A number are even of the opinion that the “self-entitlement” seen in many Singaporeans today inevitably trickles down to their children, shaping how they are raised and how they act. 

A comment simply read: “That is why I hate kids.”

With that said, is it really fair to say that all Singaporeans make bad parents, or do only the most extreme cases get noticed, giving people a skewed view of parenting and kids these days?

Do you, like the majority of commenters in the Reddit thread, think parents today have become too “soft” in their parenting, or are there cases that prove some still know how to raise children well?

Photo: Unsplash/ Hoi An and Da Nang Photographer, r/SingaporeRaw