Jane Yumiko Ittogi is a mother of four children, and wife to the former Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
A lawyer by training, she was also the Chair of the Board of Directors at the Singapore Art Museum for 10 years.
Born in Japan to a Japanese father and Chinese mother, Mrs Ittogi grew up in Singapore after coming to the country with her parents at the age of six.
However, it was her educational stint in the United Kingdom that led her to meet Mr Tharman.
Mrs Jane Yumiko Ittogi is an advocate who champions the introduction of professional art courses in prisons. Her efforts started as early as 2006.
The Shanmugaratnam family is a rather private family who prefers to stay low profile in their private lives.
However, Mamahood found that the couple has some sound parenting philosophies when it comes to raising their children.
I’m sure we can all glean some good insights from what they share on their take on raising children in today’s environment.
Parenting Philosophies of Mrs Jane Yumiko Ittogi and Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Here are some take-away points we have learned on how the couple bring up their own children.
1. Let the children find and develop their own interest
Children should be left to decide their own interest rather than being forced into something by parents.
Let them find their own way, and support them in what they have chosen to do. Help them to develop by teaching them to take what they have chosen to do seriously.
Teach them to give it all they’ve got and do the best that they can.
2. Always keeping together as a family
Some of their grown children are based overseas. However, the family still keeps in close contact through WhatsApp constantly and share messages and jokes often.
No matter how busy each of their lives are, they make it a point to spend time together whenever they can.
3. Respect the things that the children choose to do
They believe that being parents, the signals that they send to their children are extremely important.
As such, they treat their children with respect and that also includes showing respect to the things that the children enjoy and choose to do.
This encourages the children to be imaginative and has the courage to try new things.
4. Let the children find their own way through life
Not spoon feeding the children is a gift to them to learn how to find their own way in life.
Trust them that they are able to do so, and let them grow through their experiences. Stay by them and encourage them in what they are doing.
5. Adopt life-long learning
Instil in them that learning is a life-long process. Along the journey of life, everyone is bound to have the need to learn new skills and refresh themselves to stay updated.
Make it as convenient as can be for the children to adapt to their life-long learning, whether it’s when they need to take a break from work to pursue further education or a break from their job to upgrade themselves.
6. Let children have their childhood, and learn through play
Encourage children to adopt a broad-based learning experience by learning not only within classrooms but also outside of it.
Have them learn through diversity and indulge in play, and learn through play, too. In today’s competitive world, it’s also important that they enjoy their childhood time.
7. Teach them to think for themselves
Teach children to think for themselves by encouraging them to question things, think in different ways, and read up or do their own research, and have discussions to listen to alternative thoughts.
This will help them in finding their own way through what they want to do.
Consciously Making It Work For Our Children
These are great parenting advice from Mrs Jane Yumiko Ittogi and Mr Tharman. We may have heard of some of them, but knowing and putting them into practice are two different things.
For them to work, we have to put them to use on our children too.
Let’s take the lead of this couple and follow their parenting footsteps to help our children grow in an all-rounded way.
I especially value the part about a family making it a point to spend time together, no matter where they are in life.