Hectic Life Of School Kids These Days

I think most kids in this generation (Z) are stressed out kids, unlike kids my era, aka the Generation Y kids. School-going kids these days have to wake up before 6am, leave the house at 6:30-6:45am for school and only to reach the door step of their home at 2ish pm... and finally having their lunch at close to 3pm. For the past 2 days ever since school reopened yesterday, Alycia and Sherilyn have been waking up at 5:45am, leaving the house at 6:30am and only reaching home at 2:15 - 2:30pm.

Yesterday Sherilyn's ballet class started at 6:30pm. By the time this Miss Dilly Dally finished her lunch, it was almost 4pm! Yup, she will sit, talk, walk around, whine a bit, fight a bit with her sisters or the maid, KPC here and there and after much threats from me and with me removing her unfinished food, it was already close to 4pm. After her shower and more dilly-dallying, it's time to leave the house for ballet. By the time she reached home after ballet class, it was almost 8pm... and that's when she ate her dinner. Even with dinner, I have to keep rushing her to finish her food, rushed her to shower again, rushed her to dry her hair, to wear her jammies and kick her to bed by 9:30pm, so that she has enough shut eye for her brain to function optimally the next day.

This year, Alycia who is in P3 is compelled to join at least 1 extra curricular activity in school and I have encouraged her to join Mental Arithmetic, albeit she is a tad reluctant as she wants to join the Robotics Class. Both classes are fees based, not free. She is already having swimming lessons, Mandarin tuition class twice a week and I am contemplating sending her for Art class. With the extra curricular class that will start soon, everyday of her week will be filled with activities. I wonder if she will have the time to complete her homework. I don't remember my primary school years being that hectic. I only have very fond memories of playing with my brothers and neighbors every evening from 5pm - 6pm, where we can cycle within 5km away from our house, buy snacks and sugared doughnuts from the 'ting ting roti man' on his bike, fly kites, climb tree, play marbles (oh this is a game that is slowly dying!), catch tadpoles in the drains and everything that we could think of that fun can be created outside of the house! I am indeed sad that my kids can never enjoy this outdoor fun now for the outside world is no longer safe like it used to be 30 years ago. Can't belive how my mum can have the peace of mind to allow me to cycle alone to a river located about 3km away from my house and I was just 9 years old then! And I was allowed to walk alone to the nearby sundry shop to help her buy groceries when I was just 8 or 9 years old! Life then was just so peaceful and serene.


Lunch at almost 3pm and Alycia told me that she had left her purse in her classroom and dared not enter the class. So she did not eat anything yesterday. She only had a mug of milk at 6am to last her until 2:30pm! I gave her a looooooong lecture and told her what she should have done.