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When children grow in competence, we often picture them leaving that dependent state of infancy behind as they step into the mature realm of independence. This may lead us to view dependency as an immature quality, something we should grow out of. Some of us may think, “My son is clingy and needy. He always wants me to be around. How do I convince him to go and do things on his own?”or “I send my daughter to school so she can be more independent.” Is dependency really a sign of weakness?

July 18, 2019

Why 4 is the Age of Independence (and How Attachment Actually Helps Kids Learn It)

Most recently, the world watched helplessly as Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as Supreme Court Justice despite being called out for sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford. While his confirmation has us questioning the effectiveness of #MeToo, there is no doubt that the movement has brought conversations surrounding consent, toxic masculinity and body positivity into the forefront. This is a three-part series by respectful parenting expert Li Ling Phua, Director of Chapter Zero Singapore, exploring how parents, educators and other adult caregivers can teach children about consent, body positivity, and how to raise emotionally healthy children.

Dec. 17, 2018

Teaching Consent: Expert Tips on Talking to Children About (and Modeling) Consent

In collaboration with Pop-Up Adventure Play, Chapter Zero Singapore and Playeum are excited to bring you a Pop-Up Adventure Playground at Playeum this Saturday 9 June 10-11am. Kids can have fun at Playeum for free (normally ticketed) and explore the tyres, wooden pallets, tubes, cardboard boxes, fabric, tape and string – ie normal household and junk that they can upcycle into creative pieces.

Jun. 8, 2018

Fun Things to do with Kids this Weekend in Singapore

Yay, our pop-up playground happening tomorrow is featured by SmartParents - Parenting Made Easy as a top weekend activity for you and your children. Thanks for the feature.

Feb. 7, 2018

Wow Weekends! 6 things to do in Singapore

Join the folks from Chapter Zero, who are hosting their fifth Pop-Up Adventure Playground on the playazza (forecourt) of Playeum. You’ll witness kids from as young as three years old entertaining themselves with what they call ‘loose parts’ – essentially tactile common objects found around the home that aren’t nailed down.

Nov. 29, 2016

How to encourage your child’s creativity: free play at Singapore’s next Pop-Up Adventure Playground

[Article featured in the Asian Parent] Children learn both indoors and outdoors, but parents are often fearful of outdoor play for kids at a young age. After all, a baby crawling across the grass may put things in his mouth, or a pre-schooler running around the playground could fall down and scrape his knee.

Mar. 11, 2016

Take me outside: Why outdoor play for kids matters

One of the long-standing goals that parents have for their children is agency: independent thought and action. Across cultures and ethnicities, parents most value their children’s ability to be self-reliant, self-fulfilled, resilient, determined, able to think for themselves and to do things on their own.

July 8, 2019

The Signs and Science of Independence: When Kids Turn Four and Step Out for More

The many benefits of imaginative, open-ended play include freeing children from expectations and pressure to follow rules or produce a finished work, says Mrs Shumei Winstanley, co-founder of parenting group and social enterprise Chapter Zero Singapore.

Dec. 9, 2018

How to Handle Boredom

"Apart from speaking openly about sex, there are several other ways parents can educate their children on the subject and protect them. Parents can teach their young children to practise body autonomy by, for example, giving them the right to refuse or accept acts of intimacy, said Ms Phua Li Ling, a consultant at parent support group and social enterprise Chapter Zero Singapore. "We want to reinforce that they are in charge of their bodies, and even people they know cannot push them into doing something they are not comfortable with."

Mar. 11, 2018

Educating kids about sex early - at home and in school

Before moving into her terrace house in Jurong in 2014, Ms Kasia Poleszak-Langner and her husband, Mr Christopher Langner, 40, a journalist, decided not to get a coffee table and a television set for their living room. Instead, they wanted to turn the space into a play area for their soon- to-be-born son. Ms Poleszak-Langner, 33, a co- founder of social enterprise Chapter Zero Singapore, says: "We wanted him to feel included in the household and, at the same time, have easy access to different types of play."

Mar. 11, 2017

Design is being used to change the way children play at home

Let your kids unleash their creativity and have fun at this pop-up adventure playground by Chapter Zero Singapore today. Aimed at celebrating a child’s right to play, kids can let loose to play with parts such as tyres, cardboard boxes and fabric that are usually considered as junk. All it takes is just their imagination to reinvent them as toys and equipment.

Oct. 21, 2016

Weekend guide Oct 22 to Oct 23, 2016

Parenting organisation and social enterprise Chapter Zero Singapore will set up the temporary playground on the street in Kampong Glam, which is closed to traffic every weekend, using all kinds of objects and materials.

Aug. 5, 2016

Play With Junk For a Day

In our ongoing series on consent, parenting expert Li Ling Phua explains the importance of body positivity and awareness, and why we should try to banish shame from our lives [...] Back with my daughter, I understood that my mother’s concern came from a wish to protect her grandchild’s dignity or privacy, but I was also wary of teaching my child about body boundaries through fear and shame. A child’s body image affects their general self-image, and it is therefore important that children see their bodies in a positive way. In addition, shame is the often the tool sexual predators rely on to keep victims silent.

Jan. 17, 2019

Teaching Consent: Parenting Advice for Modeling Body Positivity

A while ago, a magazine for parents contacted Chapter Zero for input on a story they were writing on discipline. I was given a list of questions. Amongst them was a question on reasoning with children and whether it works. I wrote so much in response to that particular question it became an entire piece unto itself. Alas, the magazine didn’t use my thoughts on reasoning with children in their story. Perhaps by happenstance, or confirmation bias, I keep seeing this same sentiment – that children cannot be reasoned with – surface in online parenting groups and social gatherings.

Sep. 7, 2018

How to Reason with Toddlers and Babies: 6 Strategies to Empower Parents and Children Alike

However, Phua Liling, a consultant with Chapter Zero Singapore and administrator of the Respectful/Mindful Parenting Singapore Facebook group, notes that research clearly shows that spanking is bad for junior’s development. “Children who are spanked become more aggressive over time, display other anti-social behaviours, are more prone to lying, and are at a higher risk of developing mental health problems later in life.” She adds, “I’m passionate about helping parents break out of hitting as a patterned reaction to their children’s behaviour.”

Feb. 8, 2018

8 effective ways to discipline without using the cane

Kasia is Polish and her expat journey has taken her to London and Singapore, each for five years. She's one of the co-founders of Chapter Zero Singapore, a social enterprise that supports parents of young children in respectful, mindful and evidence-based parenting. She is also a part-time information security consultant.

Jan. 3, 2017

Meet the Panel

Ms Shu Mei Winstanley, cofounder of parenting organisation and social enterprise Chapter Zero Singapore, says that a young child's brain is not fully developed until the age of three and much of what he does, including having a tantrum, can be attributed to that.

Jun. 12, 2016

How to cope when your child has a public meltdown