Wong's Tips
Miss Fu
Play Therapy & Counselling
Certified play therapist and counsellor with a postgraduate diploma in Play Therapy and an MSc in Counselling from HKU. Left private practice to become a full-time stay-at-home mum. Mother of two boys (ages 1 and 2), with a third boy on the way. Writes from the chaos of the living room floor — all the training, all the theory, and still completely outnumbered.
New Year Resolutions for Parents (Not Students)
The most impactful changes for your child's learning don't come from your child. They come from you. Five parent resolutions that actually work.
Teenage Anxiety Doesn't Look Like Crying. Here's What It Actually Looks Like.
Miss Fu's clinical breakdown of how anxiety manifests in Hong Kong teenagers — the physical symptoms, the social withdrawal, the perfectionism, and what a parent actually says when they notice.
The Government Just Extended the Suicide Emergency Mechanism to Primary Schools. This Is Not Normal.
Miss Fu on what it means that the three-tier suicide prevention mechanism has been expanded to upper primary schools — and what parents of primary children should watch for.
HK Has the World's Highest Myopia Rate. Screen Time Is Part of the Story — But Only Part.
A school counsellor explains the actual research linking screen time and myopia in Hong Kong children — including the outdoor light mechanism, the anxiety feedback loop, and what parents can do.
The After-School Meltdown: What It Means and What to Do
After-school meltdowns are a sign of trust, not bad behaviour. Miss Fu explains what's happening and how to respond.
Is Your Child a Perfectionist? How to Spot It Before P3
Perfectionism in children often looks like diligence. Miss Fu explains the warning signs and what to do before P3.
40% of DSE Students Are Showing Signs of Depression. Read That Number Again.
Miss Fu on the CUHK data, what depression actually looks like in teenagers, why 60% never seek help, and what parents can do right now.
The Comparison Culture Mental Health Crisis in HK Education: What I See in My Practice
Hong Kong's comparison culture in education is not just unpleasant — it is producing measurable mental health harm. As a psychologist and a parent, I can no longer write about this neutrally.
Post-COVID Learning Loss in Hong Kong: What the Research Shows Three Years On
Hong Kong experienced some of the world's longest school closures during COVID-19. Three years on, what does the research show about learning loss and what's helping recovery?
Motivation in Secondary School: Why Teenagers Disengage and What Parents Can Do
Academic motivation tends to decline in secondary school even in high-achieving students. Understanding why — neurologically and developmentally — is the first step to reversing it.
Reframing Failure: The Science of Why Getting Things Wrong Is Essential for Learning
Research in neuroscience and educational psychology converges on a counterintuitive finding: making errors and experiencing confusion are not obstacles to learning — they are the mechanism of it.
Gifted Children in Hong Kong Schools: What They Need That the System Doesn't Provide
Gifted children have specific developmental needs that Hong Kong's mainstream education system is poorly equipped to meet. Understanding those needs — and advocating for them — falls to parents.
How Parental Anxiety About School Transfers to Children (and How to Break the Cycle)
Parental anxiety about academic performance is one of the strongest predictors of child academic anxiety. The mechanism is not the words we say — it's the emotional atmosphere we create.
School Refusal in Hong Kong: The Growing Trend and What It Means for Your Family
School refusal is distinct from truancy and carries different causes and solutions. Hong Kong has seen a significant rise in cases, and most families navigate it without adequate support.
Back-to-School Anxiety: What's Normal, What's Not, and When to Seek Support
Some nervousness about a new school year is developmentally normal. Understanding where the line is — and how to respond on either side of it — helps parents support rather than alarm.
Post-DSE Mental Health: What Teenagers Need in the Weeks After Results Day
DSE results day is a defined ending for years of accumulating pressure. What happens to teenagers psychologically in the weeks that follow — and how families can support them.
The Psychology of Helping: Why Doing Homework for Your Child Damages Their Learning Identity
The line between supporting a child's learning and doing it for them is psychologically significant. Understanding why parents cross it — and what to do instead — changes the dynamic.
When Parents Have a Fixed Mindset: How Our Own Beliefs About Intelligence Limit Our Children
We talk a lot about growth mindset for children. But if the parent holding the conversation is operating from a fixed mindset, the child's development is constrained in ways that go beyond words.
Reducing Homework Arguments: The Psychology of Why Children Fight and How to Stop the Cycle
Nightly homework battles are one of the most common sources of family stress in Hong Kong. Understanding the psychology behind them reveals approaches that actually work.
Executive Function: The Hidden Skill That Determines Academic Success (and How to Build It)
Executive function predicts academic outcomes more reliably than IQ in many studies. Yet it's rarely taught directly and poorly understood by most parents. Here's what it is and how to develop it.
Social-Emotional Learning in Hong Kong Schools: What's Changing and Why It Matters
Hong Kong schools are increasingly integrating social-emotional learning into curricula, but the gap between policy intent and classroom practice remains significant. Here's what parents need to know.
AI Chatbots and Children: The Psychological Dependency Risks Parents Aren't Talking About
AI tools are reshaping how children approach learning tasks, but beyond the academic integrity debate lies a less-discussed psychological risk: cognitive and emotional dependency.
Sensory Play Is Not Just Mess. Here Is What It Is Actually Doing to Their Brain.
The neuroscience and developmental psychology of sensory exploration in toddlers — why mess matters, and what a psychologist with a tidy-home preference learned by observation.
Does Bilingualism Cause Language Delay? The Myth HK Parents Need to Stop Believing.
The persistent myth that bilingual input causes language delay in toddlers — what the research actually shows, and how to raise bilingual children confidently in Hong Kong.
What Actually Grows Your Baby's Brain (It's Not Flashcards)
The neuroscience of infant brain development — what experiences matter most, what's a waste of money, and what the research says about the key windows in the first two years.
Building Resilience After Academic Setbacks: What the Research Says and What Parents Do Wrong
Resilience isn't something children either have or don't — it's built in relationships and through experiences. But many well-meaning parental responses to failure actively undermine its development.
Perfectionism in Children: When High Standards Become Self-Sabotage
Not all perfectionism is the same, and not all of it is harmful. But the maladaptive kind is increasingly common in Hong Kong children, and it needs to be taken seriously.
Mindfulness for Stressed Children: What Works, What's Too Much, and Realistic Daily Practices
Mindfulness has solid evidence for children's stress and attention, but the way it's often presented in Hong Kong — as another achievement to pursue — misses the point entirely.
Sleep Training Methods: What the Research Actually Compares (Not What Instagram Tells You)
A rigorous comparison of the main sleep training approaches — Ferber, Weissbluth, gentle methods, no-cry solutions — with actual research, not anecdote.
Sibling Rivalry and Academic Pressure: When Comparison Does Lasting Damage
Academic comparison between siblings is commonplace in Hong Kong families, but the psychological research on what it does to children's identities and relationships should give us pause.
Your Toddler's Play IS Their Education. Stop Feeling Guilty About It.
Against structured baby classes — the research on unstructured play, exploratory learning, and child-led activity in the first three years, from a psychologist who lives this contradiction.
How You Praise Your Child Changes Their Brain: The Research on Effort vs Intelligence
The words we use when children succeed shape how they respond to challenge and failure. Research by Carol Dweck and others reveals a striking difference — and it's not what most parents expect.
Postpartum Depression in Hong Kong: We Don't Talk About It Enough
Prevalence, stigma, cultural pressures, and what actually helps — a psychologist and mother's honest account of postpartum mental health in Hong Kong.
Toddler Tantrums Are Not Manipulation. Here Is What Is Actually Happening in Their Brain.
The neuroscience of toddler emotional dysregulation — why reasoning with a tantruming 2-year-old doesn't work, and what actually does. Personal examples included.
Childhood Procrastination: What It's Really About and Strategies That Address the Root Cause
Children don't procrastinate because they're lazy. Understanding the emotional and cognitive roots of avoidance transforms how we respond to it.
Your Helper Is Raising Your Baby. The Psychology of That — and How to Make It Work.
What does it mean for attachment when your domestic helper is the primary caregiver? An honest, research-grounded answer for HK working mothers — without shame.
Talking to Your Baby: The Research on Early Language Development in Bilingual HK Families
The science of infant-directed speech and how it works in HK's trilingual environment — which language to use, what the research says, and what a psychologist-mum actually does.
Screen Time Under 2: What I Tell Parents — And What I Actually Do
The WHO says zero screen time under 2. A psychologist and mother of a 1-year-old gives an honest account of where she actually lands — and what the research does and doesn't show.
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation: Why Rewards Backfire and What to Do Instead
Sticker charts and cash rewards might produce short-term compliance, but the research on motivation tells a more complicated story — especially for academic learning.
ADHD in Hong Kong Schools: What Support Exists and What Parents Need to Advocate For
ADHD is frequently misunderstood in Hong Kong schools. Here's an honest look at what support exists, what's lacking, and how parents can effectively advocate for their children.
Secure Attachment in the First Two Years: What It Actually Looks Like Day to Day
Beyond Bowlby and Ainsworth — what secure attachment looks like in practice for Hong Kong families with helpers, grandparents, and working parents.
Test Anxiety in Primary School Children: Symptoms, Causes, and What Actually Helps
Test anxiety is more than nervousness — it's a real clinical phenomenon that affects learning and wellbeing. Here's what the research says and what parents can do.
Growth Mindset in Hong Kong: Why Carol Dweck's Research Hits Different Here
Carol Dweck's growth mindset framework is widely cited in parenting circles, but applying it in Hong Kong's high-stakes education culture requires honest reckoning.
I Know All the Research on Infant Sleep. My Baby Did Not Read It.
A child psychologist and new mother confronts the gap between sleep science and surviving actual nights with a newborn.
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