How to Support Children to Build Self-Management Capacity with Xiaolei Lu
Parenting Circle @ The OTR Academy Club
Parenting Circle @ The OTR Academy Club
The purpose of Parenting Circle @ The OTR Academy Club is to empower our community of parents to share and learn new coping skills, develop new resources and tools, reframe challenges and create a safe space to come together in small group settings – to connect with other parents, share parenting challenges, support each other by sharing experiences, resources, and practices, to exercise self-care and wellbeing practices together.
This is a space where a community is forged – together we co-create solutions and celebrate positive change no matter how small. Each participant is responsible for their own learning through active participation and sharing: to explore solutions together and help each other deal with parenting challenges in the digital age – supporting each other to better prepare our children/child to meet an increasingly uncertain New Future.
Our goal is to integrate child-centred conversations, self-awareness and inner work into these circles, while staying true to our mission of fostering genuine family wellbeing beyond mere parenting techniques. This is a space for the community by the community – facilitated by wellbeing practitioners, parenting coaches and professionals – those who are passionate about nurturing healthy, positive parent–child relationships and the development of future-ready children.
Series Theme: How to Support Children to Build Self-Management Capacity
Session 1: Seeing is Believing through Mindfulness Training
Date: Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Time: 8PM - 9PM
Mode: Online via Zoom
Guiding Questions:
• How do parents learn to notice what is happening within their children before reacting?
• How can parents model calm observation and emotional awareness in daily life by walking the talk?
Parenting Tools:
• Seeing emotions
• Sensing body sensations
• Seeing key strengths
Hands-on Practice:
• Parents explore simple mindfulness-based strategies to help children recognise emotions, body signals, and personal strengths in everyday situations.
Take-home Practice:
• Daily awareness practices to strengthen emotional recognition, self-regulation, and confidence.
Session 2: Interconnectedness of Body, Speech and Mind Guiding Questions
Date: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Time: 8PM - 9PM
Mode: Online via Zoom
Guiding Questions:
• What is the anatomy of communication a la Schulz von Thun?
• How does compassionate communication work and what powerful impact it has?
Parenting Tools:
• 4-sided communication model a la Schulz von Thun
• Rice Seedling Practice
Hands-on Practice:
• Role play of compassionate communication
• Connection over Correction
Take-home Practice:
• Reflection sheet for the parents
Session 3: Strength-Based Transformation & Acceleration
Date: Tuesday, 28 July 2026
Time: 8PM - 9PM
Mode: Online via Zoom
Guiding Questions:
• What are the superpowers of me and my child?
• What are the secret ingredients of effective parenting?
Parenting Tools:
• Reminder of Superpowers
• Independency built on Trust in oneself and others
Hands-on Practice:
• Post-in, remember it
• My co-pilot plan for our colourful journeys
Take-home Practice:
• Things we don't track we don't manage
Xiaolei Lu
Founder | Former Executive in Strategy & Leadership | Special Educator | Advocate for the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Xiaolei Lu is the founder of Colourful Journeys Education Centre, a Singapore-based practice working with parents, caregivers, families, schools, and NGOs to support emotional wellbeing and resilience. With a background in corporate strategy and leadership coaching, she brings a data-informed, systems-oriented approach to parenting and human development.
Her work integrates ancient insights into human physiology and mind–body regulation with contemporary, evidence-based parenting intervention strategies, alongside mindfulness and compassion, to support sustainable change across personal, family, and professional contexts.
About the OTR Academy Club
The OTR Academy Club is created as a branded community space of the OTR Academy where wellbeing practitioners, volunteers and the public can continue personal and professional growth with holistic wellbeing as the overarching theme — through ongoing events, peer support circles, and workshops. The structure is flexible, allowing for multiple thematic circles (e.g., for parents, teachers, career, etc), and emphasizes shared learning, applications, and the development of practical wellbeing skills. We want to create an environment where each group has a clear structure and a safe space for both practice and peer learning.
Our circles revolve around four main themes:
DEVELOP: Personal development through understanding ourselves — our strengths and blind spots — in order to continue growing with clarity and purpose.
CONNECT: Mastering the science and art of communicating with compassion so that we thrive in the relationships that matter.
LEAD: Level up leadership skill sets with focus on leading with purpose and connection in the age of AI.
BELONG: Bringing community and collaboration to the forefront by sharing access to a large network of professional mentors, social impact leaders, mental health practitioners and experts.
Our purpose is to inspire individuals in their personal and professional development journeys and foster deeper connections. Through deep sharing and guided reflections, attendees will learn how to thrive through stories, tools and strategies, as we work together and support each other as a community in our move towards a holistic transformation.