Wong's Tips
Tiger Ma
The Honest Parent Column
Anonymous HK parent. Self-described reformed tiger mum. Two kids in local primary in Sha Tin. Works in finance. Writes what other parents think but won't say out loud.
When Your Child Says 'Everyone Else Gets Better Marks'
What to say (and not say) when your child has internalised comparison culture. Practical scripts for Hong Kong parents.
I Stopped Comparing My Kids to Each Other (It Took 6 Months)
A Hong Kong parent's honest account of breaking the sibling comparison habit — and what happened when she finally did.
The Grandparent Factor: When Ah Ma Does Homework Differently
When grandparents help with homework using different methods, it can cause confusion — or become a hidden advantage. Here's how to navigate it without family conflict.
Christmas Holiday Homework: To Do It Early or Spread It Out?
An honest comparison of the two main strategies for holiday homework — from a parent who has tried both and lived to tell the tale.
The Report Card Night: A Survival Guide for the Whole Family
A funny, honest guide to surviving report card day in Hong Kong — from the car park to the family WhatsApp group.
We Spent HK$286,000 on International School Last Year. Was It Worth It?
Tiger Ma does the honest audit: what international school fees actually bought, what they didn't, and the specific moment she started questioning whether the fees were paying for education or a lifestyle.
My Kid's Best Friend Goes to 7 Tutorial Centres (Should I Worry?)
The tutorial centre arms race is real. Tiger Ma digs into the data on diminishing returns and what actually matters.
My Daughter Told Me She Didn't Want to Be Here Anymore. This Is What Happened Next.
Tiger Ma at her most personal — a first-person account of the conversation no parent wants to have, what she said wrong, what she eventually did right, and what she wishes other parents knew.
I Took My Daughter's Phone Away for 30 Days. Here's What Actually Happened.
A Hong Kong parent's honest record of taking her daughter's phone away for a month — including what she expected, what surprised her, and how it ended.
I Let My Kids Skip Homework for a Week (Here's What Happened)
One Hong Kong mum stopped enforcing homework for 7 days. The results were not what she expected.
I've Spent HK$480,000 on Tutoring. Here's the Honest Audit.
Tiger Ma applies a finance-brain spreadsheet to six years of tutoring spend — which tutors moved grades, which were expensive placebos, and the hidden costs nobody calculates.
I Know Three Parents Who Paid to Have Their Child's Project Built. I Said Nothing.
A Hong Kong parent examines her own complicity in the culture of ghost-building student competition projects — and what it actually costs the children involved.
IB vs DSE: the decision that has Hong Kong parents in camps (I've been in both)
An honest comparison of the IB and HKDSE from a Hong Kong parent who has looked hard at both — and what the choice actually means.
When academic pressure shows up as stomach aches: the physical signs we ignored
How academic stress manifests physically in Hong Kong children — and the warning signs one parent missed for too long.
I still read aloud to my secondary school child. She pretends to hate it. She doesn't.
On the practice of reading aloud to older children in Hong Kong — why it works and why adolescents pretend not to want it.
Helicopter vs free-range parenting: where I've landed after 9 years of trying both
Nine years of oscillating between helicopter and free-range parenting in Hong Kong — and the more honest position in between.
Applying for private school scholarships in Hong Kong: what we learned the hard way
The private school scholarship process in Hong Kong — what it actually involves and what we'd do differently.
The class WhatsApp group is ruining my parenting: a confession
How the class WhatsApp group became the most anxiety-inducing feature of Hong Kong school parenting — and what to do about it.
We've been going to tutorial centres for 3 years. Honest review: is it working?
A Hong Kong parent conducts an honest review of three years of tutorial centre spending and asks the uncomfortable question.
What's actually changed in Hong Kong education in 2025 (from a parent who's paying attention)
A ground-level view of what has genuinely shifted in Hong Kong education by 2025 — and what hasn't changed at all.
The hardest parenting skill: letting go of control over your child's academic life
Why giving up control over your child's academic life is the hardest thing a Hong Kong tiger parent can do — and why it matters.
Every January I set academic expectations for my kids. This year I tried something different.
What happened when a Hong Kong tiger mum replaced her annual academic target-setting with a different kind of January conversation.
The male teacher shortage in HK primary schools: does it matter? My complicated answer.
Thinking through whether the shortage of male teachers in Hong Kong primary schools matters — and what the honest answer is.
My child wants to be a YouTuber. My reaction went through 5 stages.
When your Hong Kong primary school child announces they want to be a content creator, a parent goes through a very specific emotional journey.
Is spending HK$100,000 a year on my child's education a good investment? I ran the numbers.
A Hong Kong finance professional applies investment analysis to education spending — and confronts what the numbers actually say.
My son lost 18 months of learning during COVID. We're still catching up.
An honest account of the learning loss that COVID created for Hong Kong children and what recovery actually looks like.
Choosing subjects in S1: the conversation we wish someone had with us
Navigating S1 subject choices in Hong Kong without the benefit of knowing what you're actually deciding.
P6 secondary school application: the things no one tells you at the parent evening
What the P6 school allocation process actually looks like from the inside — the things the parent evening glosses over.
What to say when your child brings home a bad exam result (hint: not what I used to say)
How to respond to a bad exam result in a way that keeps your child talking to you — learned through repeated failures.
My kid started using ChatGPT for homework and I didn't know whether to be proud or horrified
When a Hong Kong primary school child discovers AI tools for homework, a parent is forced to confront what education is actually for.
Single parent homework help: making it work when you're doing it all alone
Practical strategies for single parents in Hong Kong managing homework supervision, tutoring, and the evening routine alone.
Grandparents and homework: the war I eventually stopped fighting
On grandparents who do the homework, ignore the rules, and love your children in ways that occasionally drive you to distraction.
Screen time rules: the 8 things we tried before finding what actually sticks
A Hong Kong family's honest record of every screen time rule they tried, why most failed, and what finally worked.
My son refused to go to tutorial centre and I think he was right
When a Hong Kong child refuses to go to tutorial centre, it might be rebellion — or it might be information worth hearing.
Stop comparing your kids to their cousins: a memo I wrote to myself (and my in-laws)
The family comparison trap in Hong Kong — cousins, siblings, and the WhatsApp updates nobody asked for.
Summer camp or more studying? The choice that shows what you really believe about education
Every July, Hong Kong parents face this choice — and how you answer it reveals more about your values than you might want to admit.
The nightly homework battle: how we stopped fighting and started working (mostly)
The nightly homework war in a Hong Kong household — what caused it, what we tried, and what finally made evenings bearable.
Our helper was doing my son's homework for 3 months before I found out
What happened when I discovered our domestic helper had been completing my son's homework — and what it said about our whole system.
The Band 1 school obsession: why I finally stopped caring and what I care about instead
A Hong Kong mum examines the Band 1 secondary school obsession and the moment she stopped letting it run her family's life.
We spend HK$12,000 a month on my children's education. Is it worth it?
A Hong Kong finance professional breaks down the real cost of supplementary education and asks the uncomfortable question.
The year I stopped being a tiger mum: what happened to my kids' grades (it's not what you expect)
What actually happened when one Hong Kong tiger mum stepped back from controlling her children's academic lives for a year.
The playdate guilt: why I used to feel bad when my kids weren't studying
On the peculiar Hong Kong guilt of letting your child play when other children are studying — and why it's worth fighting.
My daughter cried before every piano lesson for a year before I stopped the ABRSM madness
How ABRSM grade chasing turned a child who loved music into a child who dreaded Sundays — and what we did about it.
DSS schools in Hong Kong: the honest guide nobody writes for normal families
What DSS schools actually are, who they suit, and the things the open day presentations won't tell you.
My child does 6 extracurriculars — and I finally admitted it was for me, not her
A Hong Kong mum confronts the truth behind her daughter's packed schedule: whose ambitions are really being served?
P1 application season: a survival guide for parents losing their minds
P1 application in Hong Kong is a full-contact sport. A reformed tiger mum shares what she'd do differently second time around.
Local vs international school: the decision that consumed 6 months of my marriage
One Hong Kong mum's honest account of the local vs international school debate and what it nearly cost her family.
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