TODAY

23/07/2025

Voices: "When people talk about families of children with special needs, the spotlight often shines on the parents or the child with the diagnosis. But siblings of children with special needs need support too," Ms Isabelle Lee said.

As a child, Ms Isabelle Lee felt resentful about having to care for her younger brother due to his disabilities. She shares why she is now pursuing a career path in special-needs education.

23/07/2025

Ground Up: In a nation obsessed with eating, what happens when danger may lurk in a mouthful of food? From trips to the emergency room to a lack of sympathy, Singaporeans reveal how allergies have affected their lives.

Doctors said adults can develop allergies to foods and other substances that they have tolerated for years.

23/07/2025

Big Read: “It’s not a shopping experience, it feels like a factory." That was how one resident described malls in Singapore, where stores are “packed like sardines”. Do you agree?

As malls in other Southeast Asian cities are evolving into vibrant lifestyle destinations, Singapore's retail scene is grappling with space constraints, cautious landlords and shifting shopper behaviour, prompting a rethink of what makes a mall worth visiting.

22/07/2025

What would you do if you were told your newborn might not make it past her first few weeks?

For Chua Sze Hwei and her husband Immanuel Goh, their daughter Laura was born at just 29 weeks — tiny, fragile, and diagnosed with severe cystic chronic lung disease.

The couple open up about their harrowing journey of spending over a year by their daughter’s bedside, watching her fight to breathe, grow and live. https://cna.asia/3GIcoTD

(Photos: Chua Sze Hwei & Immanuel Goh)

18/07/2025

Voices: Learned helplessness doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s cultivated, usually by a combination of systemic patterns that wear us down over time. One of the biggest culprits is micromanagement, says writer Maelyn Lagman.

"There's no point" or "They won't let us". If these phrases sound familiar, it could be learned helplessness, a phenomenon where people stop trying after repeated rejections, writer Maelyn Lagman says.

18/07/2025

Up Close: Singaporean Jerene Yang joined Google as a software engineer in 2020 and in 2024, she moved to work for OpenAI.

She makes ChatGPT faster, cheaper and better, and helped to launch Operator, the AI agent that orders your groceries and plans your parties.

17/07/2025

Big Read: Sweet flavours, deadly risks. “Kpods” – vapes laced with drugs such as the anaesthetic etomidate – are trending among youths in Singapore. But experts warn: even one hit could be life-threatening.

Drug-laced vapes known as "Kpods" are gaining ground among the young in Singapore, luring users with sweet flavours and false claims. Beneath the high fix is an insidious mix of addictive sedatives, legal grey zones and rising public health concerns.

17/07/2025

Voices: "In the very first week of Laura’s life, there was no mincing of words – we were told that she was 'very sick and might not overcome'." Ms Chua Sze Hwei recalled how she and her husband dealt with caring for their baby who was born at just 29 weeks.

In 2021, Ms Chua Sze Hwei and her husband Immanuel Goh welcomed baby Laura far earlier than expected, only to spend the next 14 months not knowing if their daughter would live.

16/07/2025

Adulting: If parents fall too far into the friend zone, they may fail to assert their authority. "It’s important to recognise that being warm towards a child does not mean permissive parenting," an expert who studies parenting styles said.

It may be tempting to want to be a "cool" parent, but parenting experts advised that it is better to strike a balance between warmth and authority to help children feel secure without losing respect for your role.

16/07/2025

Ground Up: Experts said that Singapore’s hiring landscape is becoming more nuanced. Employers now prize hands-on skills, while postgraduate qualifications remain critical largely in specialised fields such as consulting, finance and technology.

From six-figure costs to uncertain job prospects, some Singapore professionals question whether their master's degree will pay off career-wise. Experts said that it depends on the intention of doing the extra study, the industry in question and what one hopes to gain.

16/07/2025

Big Read: It's nearly impossible to avoid lithium-ion products due to their widespread use, but experts said consumers can still take some steps to reduce the risk of fire.

Lithium-ion batteries are in most consumer electronics, from power banks and smartphones to active mobility devices. Although fires arising from the use of these batteries are not commonplace, experts warned that people should take precautions.

11/07/2025

Voices: "With each of our five children, we’ve learnt to observe and listen before deciding how involved or helpful we aim to be with their academic journey," Ms Kelly Ang said.

Ms Kelly Ang has always leaned towards a hands-off approach with her five children's studies. She explains how she is helping her oldest child prepare for the Primary School Leaving Examination without taking over completely.