I was watching a Korean programme the other day called “Hello Counselor” in which people would raise various concerns and the selected concerns get aired on TV. In turn, the audience would vote, and the concern with the highest vote, wins a prize.

I came across a young girl (a fourth grader) whose mother is sending her to too many academies to study subjects such as politics, military regimes, economics, english, mathematics and history. As a result, the little girl only sleeps after midnight and can barely keep up with her school assignments. Koreans send their children to various academies after school for extra curricular activities in order to increase their marks in school and in turn, become competitive candidates in the job market.

This got me thinking how great it would be if our children in the UAE engaged in similar activities. By doing so, our children would get a sense of various areas to study, and in turn, it will enrich them and help them determine which field of study that interests them the most. As a recent graduate, I still remember how I suffered while trying to decide on a major, and this dilemma was something that most of my friends and acquaintances faced as well.

Therefore, incorporating the Koreans culture will encourage our children to understand the basics of disciplines and in turn, it will help them determine their area of interest more confidently. The importance is to let your children know about the various topics available at a young age as it will widen their sphere of knowledge. I am not saying that every child should become an expert economist at the age of nine but let your child draw more if he or she wants to (they could be the next Vincent Van Gogh), write more if he or she wants to.

Let your children learn the basic concept of supply and demand, but also at the same time, let them live their age. Hopefully by the time your children are old enough they will have a sense of what they want to be, and what profession they want to pursue.

- The reader is an Emirati project coordinator based in Dubai