Our interest
The topic of mental health caught our attention when we were researching children’s education for lower income families in Singapore.
We realised that more and more young children are experiencing mental health issues in Singapore. While there are many different causes of stress, one of the key contributors is the pressure to score well in national exams.
We hope to design a solution for parents that encourages them to be mindful of their child’s mental wellness and be equipped to give appropriate support to their child in their education. We are exploring a solution that can help parents navigate a national examination like the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) with their child.
What is the problem we want to solve
1. Academic stress could lead to young children developing mental health issues when they are not given appropriate care and support from their parents.
2. Key source of pressure to perform well in national exams comes mainly from parents who equate academic excellence with their child’s happiness and as a result often neglect their children’s mental wellbeing and emotional needs.
Why Lemons?
“When life gives you lemons” is a proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. Lemons suggest sourness or difficulty in life; making lemonade is turning them into something positive or desirable.
There will be difficulties in our lives. Instead of running away from them, we want to be part of the solution. We hope our design can help our users turn their lemons into something positive and come out of it happier.
Who are we solving it for
1. Working parents who are busy and have very little time for their children and even less time for themselves.
2. They are frustrated when their children do not seem to do well academically.
3. They are not equipped to guide their child and motivate them.
Our process
1. Gain understanding of the topic of mental and emotional wellness of both parent and child through interviews and desktop research
2. Ideation and quick prototyping
3. Conducting usability tests and refining the solution
How you can play a part
Parents
To ensure our solution is effective for parents, we would like to speak with working parents with kids who have experienced the PSLE before, or are going to experience PSLE, within the time period of 1-2 years.
If you are open to share with us your parenting journey regarding your child’s exam, we’d like to connect with you through an interview session which usually takes 1 hour.
Children aged 11 to 14
To get a more complete picture of the PSLE experience, the child’s needs are key. Our interest is to ensure they are heard and their needs are met. We’d love to get in touch with you if you’d allow your child to participate in an interview with us. All the information will be kept private and confidential. See more of our privacy policy.
Mental health professionals
Domain experts in the field of mental health, we want you! Your work is important and we’d love to understand the work you do, gain insights to the challenges you face, as well as to partner with you to provide suitable solutions to parents and their children. It is important that our design encompasses the best practices to protect all the parties interacting with our solution. If you’d like to be part of the design process by contributing your expertise, please contact us.
