A knack for children

MOST people think that a diploma in Early Child Education (ECE) is easy, and for some who pursue it, it is considered a last resort, career-wise.
However, for 27-year-old Adeline Leong Qi Tyng, ECE turns out to be her calling in life. When her studies in the sciences did not work out, she took up a different challenge, and with the help and encouragement of her family, found a new calling.
On top of that, she took up a degree in mass communications, and combined her two skills to write about parenting and create education plans, all in her mission to better the world, one child at a time.
What made you take up Early Childhood Education?
“I wanted to change the world. One way to do it this is to educate kids. Also, at that time my A-levels did not work out. It was my aunt who advised me to take up ECE. She said it is a booming industry.
“When I took up her suggestion, I found out that I am good with kids. It was quite nice to find something that I am passionate about, especially something that I never knew.
“It took me about two to three years to finish the course, and I liked it. My teachers cared about the subject, and they were very encouraging.
“A lot of students take up ECE because they do not know what else to do. Some people think that it does not take much to be a teacher, you teach. But, they soon realise that it takes a lot more than what they think.”
How did you start writing as well?
“Being a teacher [in] Malaysia, there is not much of a career progression, and I have always liked writing. So I thought, Why not do a degree in mass communications as well.
“People always need someone to write good stories and market it. If I can do this, why don’t I write about kids and parenting?
“I was a kindergarten teacher for a while, and as a teacher, I used my skills to design lesson plans. Right now I like to write about science for kids such as science games and experiments.”
How did your parents feel about your career path?
“My parents were very supportive. It was my dad who got me into sciences, but when I asked him if I could change my course, he said okay. Both of my parents were very supportive. They are not your stereotypical Asian parents.
“My dad saw me suffering through the science courses. It’s not that I did not put effort into it, it just did not work out. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else other than writing about ECE.
“Most of my family have science backgrounds. I saw their workload, and I don’t think I can do that. Although it would be nice to tell someone that you are a doctor, the workload and to be on call all the time is not for me.”
How do you get your ideas and inspiration?
“I plan everything. Since I am not a parent, sometimes what I do is think back about my childhood and see if I encountered any problems and what parents can do about it. I think it would help other parents as well because it is from a child’s point of view.
“For example, most Asian parents would want their children to take up science, but what if the child does not like it.
“It’s understandable that the parents want their child to take up sciences because it gives better job opportunities and commands a better pay. But ... your child is the one that goes through the whole course.”
What is the biggest challenge in parenting today?
“Parenting today is different from our parents’ time, because parents today have to deal with technology and in turn malicious parties that target children.
“It is a different kind of danger, but at the same time, you cannot block kids from using the internet.
“Parents also need to think one step ahead because they can’t protect the kids all the time. All they can do is teach their kids the best that they can and hope for the best.
“You can’t completely take gadgets away from the kids, because kids do need to learn how to use it, but at the same time, you can’t let them use too much of it.
“There are a lot of studies that say if a child spends to much time on these screens they will have a short attention span and maybe would have problems with relating to people. They don’t learn and can’t recognise expressions and body language.”