Nearly 40% of the working population in Macau are shift workers; among which 85% of employees in the gaming industry work shifts.  These parents are at a higher risk of engaging in poor parental practices since they work irregular hours and therefore find it difficult to regularly spend quality time with their children, especially when their adolescent children.

With a newly-developed training module catered for parents of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, instructors from YMCA Macau, our collaborator for the GEG Parenting Education Scheme, demonstrated effective skills to communicate with teenage children, suggesting ways for participants to engage their children, and to strengthen their family bonds.  Through 4 weekly training sessions, participants reported that their parent-child relationships were enhanced, and they valued the quality “chat time” with their adolescent children.

The parenting training course had proven to be effective as evidenced in a randomised control trial conducted by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Department of Applied Social Sciences, results of which were published in a peer-reviewed journal.  The specially developed training was also unique that it targets parents who work shifts.  It is the Foundation’s wish that this training will eventually be promoted to a wider community.