Like many working parents in Singapore, Stomper Anthony Yeong knows the frustration of asking his children about their school day, only to receive the same brief replies.
“How was school? Fine. What did you learn today? Nothing,” the 45-year-old father of three told Stomp.
His children, who are in Primary 3, Primary 6 and Secondary 2, finish school at around 1.45pm, but Yeong only knocks off work after 6pm.
“By the time we sit down for dinner, I’ve missed their whole afternoon, and all I get is ‘Fine’,” he said.
Hoping to help his children learn independently while keeping himself involved in their education, Yeong spent his nights building an artificial intelligence (AI) tutor called myKx.
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The prototype features a virtual study buddy named Kix, a cartoon star that guides children through lessons, offers hints and keeps parents updated on their progress.
Yeong joked that if such tools could ease the pressures of parenting, they might even help Singapore’s birth rate.
“Half joking, but maybe this is why our birth rate is so low: no time, no money, no baby,” he said.
“If myKx gives parents a bit of time and headspace back, maybe it’ll even help the birth rate a little.”
‘Try relearning PSLE maths as a parent’
Yeong, who works in technology at a blockchain startup, has been teaching himself to code since he was about nine years old.
He is currently serving his notice period after resigning and plans to spend more time with his family during the coming holidays.
At home, Yeong is the family’s unofficial tutor, helping his children with mathematics, science and English.
His wife keeps track of their homework, spelling tests and examinations, while he goes through their answers whenever he has time.
But despite his technical background, teaching his children has not always been easy.
Originally from Malaysia, Yeong, who is now a Singapore citizen, did not go through the local education system and often has to familiarise himself with the syllabus before explaining concepts to his children.
“PSLE was the toughest, with both of my older kids,” he said.
“Going through past-year papers was torture, because getting the right answer isn’t enough. You also have to show it the way the markers expect.
“If anyone wonders why our birth rate is so low, try relearning PSLE maths as a parent.”
His daughter recently completed her PSLE, while his youngest son finished his Primary 3 examinations.
Yeong admitted that he sometimes struggled to adapt his teaching methods to his children’s different learning styles.
“Honestly, my temper sometimes got the better of me, especially with my eldest during his PSLE two years ago,” he said.
“I knew it was never their fault. They’re curious kids by nature, and my way of teaching was just too dry. I still feel bad about it.”
When he came across the Meta Global AI Developer Hackathon, Yeong decided to turn those frustrations into something useful.
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