Survey on parenting practices among Chinese in Singapore

Poon WB, Ho WLC, Yeo CL
Correspondence: Dr Poon Woei Bing, woeibingpoon@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Introduction Cultural, religious and personal factors impact greatly on parenting. This survey aims to identify gaps in knowledge and perception about common parenting issues, with respect to mandarin-speaking Chinese in Singapore. There is an emphasis on first-time parents, who the authors feel may be the group which will require additional education and support on these issues.
Methods A 37-item written survey was conducted before a public mandarin-language forum. Our response rate was 67 percent.
Results Only 44 percent felt that paediatricians allocated sufficient time to discuss parenting issues. 99 percent of parents believed that breast milk was better than formula milk and that 93 percent intended to breastfeed. However, the vast majority of respondents thought that breastfeeding should be stopped if jaundice developed, and that sunning was effective in preventing jaundice. Moreover, the majority did not recognise the seriousness of jaundice, prolonged or otherwise. Widespread misconceptions existed about milk formulas, with half of the respondents thinking that it was necessary to change to lactose-free formula once a child developed diarrhoea. The majority also thought that certain milk formulas could help improve IQ.
Conclusion We hope that more comprehensive and accessible parental education will be available to aid in raising awareness of parental practices, and to dispel misconceptions regarding neonatal care.

Keywords: breastfeeding, neonatal jaundice, parent education, parenting
Singapore Med J 2007; 48(11): 1006–1011