Parenting Circle: Beyond intelligence – Why Some Kids Struggle in School – with Michelle Choy
Parenting Circle @ The OTR Academy Club
There is no registration fee for this event. However, if you’d love to support our charitable initiatives, a suggested donation of $30 would be deeply appreciated. Donate here 💜
Parenting Circle @ The OTR Academy Club
The purpose of Parenting Circle @ The OTR Academy Club is to empower our community of parents to share and learn new coping skills, develop new resources and tools, reframe challenges and create a safe space to come together in small group settings – to connect with other parents, share parenting challenges, support each other by sharing experiences, resources, and practices, to exercise self-care and wellbeing practices together.
This is a space where a community is forged – together we co-create solutions and celebrate positive change no matter how small. Each participant is responsible for their own learning through active participation and sharing: to explore solutions together and help each other deal with parenting challenges in the digital age – supporting each other to better prepare our children/child to meet an increasingly uncertain New Future.
Our goal is to integrate child-centred conversations, self-awareness and inner work into these circles, while staying true to our mission of fostering genuine family wellbeing beyond mere parenting techniques. This is a space for the community by the community – facilitated by wellbeing practitioners, parenting coaches and professionals – those who are passionate about nurturing healthy, positive parent–child relationships and the development of future-ready children.
Season Theme: Executive Function - helping your child build skills for school and home life
Session 1: Understanding Executive Function - Why your child struggles to “just do it”
Date: Friday, 2 October 2026
Time: 12PM - 1PM
Mode: Online via Zoom
Understanding the 10 executive function skills, why they matter, and how they develop throughout childhood. Exploring factors that can strengthen or interfere with executive functioning, and what parents can do to support development at home.
Session Goals:
Parents will gain a clear understanding of executive function and the 10 key skills, recognise how executive function affects everyday behaviours such as attention, organisation and impulsivity, and understand why children may struggle with skills they appear capable of doing. This session will focus on Attention, including common challenges and strategies parents can use to support their child.
Session 2: Task Initiation - How to manage procrastination
Date: Friday, 9 October 2026
Time: 12PM - 1PM
Mode: Online via Zoom
Understanding why children procrastinate, avoid tasks or seem to need constant reminders to get started. Exploring the difference between unwillingness and difficulty initiating a task, and learning practical strategies to help children move to take action.
Session Goals:
Parents will understand what task initiation is and why starting a task can be particularly challenging for some children. They will explore the different reasons behind procrastination and avoidance, identify common patterns in their own child, and learn practical strategies to reduce the mental load of getting started. Parents will practise ways to scaffold task initiation without nagging or doing the task for their child, helping them gradually develop greater independence.
Session 3: Impulse Control - Helping your child pause, think and choose
Date: Friday, 16 October 2026
Time: 12PM - 1PM
Mode: Online via Zoom
Understanding impulse control and why children can know the “right thing to do” but still struggle to stop themselves in the moment. Exploring how impulse control develops and how parents can create opportunities for children to practise self-regulation through everyday interactions and play.
Session Goals:
Michelle Choy
Occupational Therapist | Parent Coach | International Certified Professional Trainer, IPMA (U.K)
Michelle Choy is a mum of 6 kids aged 10-24, an Occupational Therapist, Parent Coach and International Certified Professional Trainer, IPMA (U.K.). She was honoured to be one of Singapore’s 40-over-40 inspiring women 2021, with the award presented by Ms Sun Xue Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social and Family Development.
She is a firm believer in giving children a happy and stress-free childhood, eschewing the academic rat race, and is Founder of The Little Executive , equipping children with resilience and executive function skills. She is one of Singapore’s Top Parenting Experts and is a sought-after speaker specialising in Parenting and Education talks.
About the OTR Academy Club
The OTR Academy Club is created as a branded community space of the OTR Academy where wellbeing practitioners, volunteers and the public can continue personal and professional growth with holistic wellbeing as the overarching theme — through ongoing events, peer support circles, and workshops. The structure is flexible, allowing for multiple thematic circles (e.g., for parents, teachers, career, etc), and emphasizes shared learning, applications, and the development of practical wellbeing skills. We want to create an environment where each group has a clear structure and a safe space for both practice and peer learning.
Our circles revolve around four main themes:
DEVELOP: Personal development through understanding ourselves — our strengths and blind spots — in order to continue growing with clarity and purpose.
CONNECT: Mastering the science and art of communicating with compassion so that we thrive in the relationships that matter.
LEAD: Level up leadership skill sets with focus on leading with purpose and connection in the age of AI.
BELONG: Bringing community and collaboration to the forefront by sharing access to a large network of professional mentors, social impact leaders, mental health practitioners and experts.
Our purpose is to inspire individuals in their personal and professional development journeys and foster deeper connections. Through deep sharing and guided reflections, attendees will learn how to thrive through stories, tools and strategies, as we work together and support each other as a community in our move towards a holistic transformation.