The Kids Getting Top Grades Are Secretly Struggling

Every parent in Singapore thinks about it. Not everyone says it out loud. The pressure our kids are under to perform, to get the grade, to stay ahead, starts earlier than most of us realise and shows up in ways we don't always recognise. A child reaching for the eraser to hide a mistake. A kid who looks fine on paper but is quietly falling apart inside. Greg Wilde is Head of Primary at Sir Manasseh Meyer International School in Singapore, and before that led schools across China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the UK. He's spent his career watching how pressure builds in children, and what actually helps. In this conversation he gets specific: the language that quietly destroys confidence, why failure is a skill, and what you can change at home this week. This one is for the parent who wants their child to do well but isn't sure where encouragement ends and pressure begins. Practical, honest, and genuinely useful. Press play. #### **About Greg Wilde** Greg Wilde is Head of Primary at Sir Manasseh Meyer International School (SMMIS) in Singapore. He has led schools across the UK, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines and has spent his career building learning environments where mistakes are part of the process, not something to hide. - Sir Manasseh Meyer International School:https://www.smmis.edu.sgsmmis.edu.sg #### **What You'll Take Away** - Why the kids who look like they're coping are sometimes the ones who aren't - The age pressure starts showing up in classrooms (it's younger than you think) - Green for growth, pink for think: why Greg's school replaced red pen entirely - The Power of Yet - What to say when your child comes home with a bad grade (and what not to say) - Why "you didn't try hard enough" quietly destroys confidence - The one thing Greg would tell every Singapore parent to do this week #### **Chapters** - 00:00 — Cold open - 01:00 — Welcome to Growing Pains - 02:00 — What fear of failure actually looks like in primary school - 04:00 — The telltale signs parents should watch for at home - 06:30 — Where the pressure is really coming from - 09:00 — When pressure helps and when it starts doing damage - 12:00 — The Power of Yet - 14:30 — Green for growth, pink for think - 17:30 — Participation awards: helpful or harmful? - 20:00 — Is Singapore more high-pressure than other countries? - 23:00 — How schools support anxious kids - 26:00 — Social media and academic pressure - 29:30 — AI in schools: where the line is - 34:00 — The language that helps and the language that hurts - 37:00 — Teaching failure as a skill - 39:30 — Actionable things parents can do this week - 42:00 — Quick fire - 46:00 — Steph's three takeaways #### **Connect with Growing Pains** Growing Pains is HoneyKids Asia's podcast for the conversations you want to have after the kids go to bed. - YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@growingpains.honeykids@growingpains.honeykids - Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/honeykidsasia@honeykidsasia - Website:https://honeykidsasia.comhoneykidsasia.com Hit subscribe so you don't miss an episode. If this one hit a nerve, send it to a parent who needs to hear it. *Growing Pains is produced in partnership withhttps://www.poddster.sgPoddster, Singapore's podcast studio.*