Are We Raising Top Scorers and Losing Innovators in an Urban Cage?
- Faye Sim
- Jan 26
- 5 min read
By Faye Sim, Thomas Toh, and Dr Pey Peixuan
Singapore’s education system is often lauded as one of the best in the world. Our students consistently top global benchmarks in literacy, mathematics and science. Parents can take pride in an infrastructure that ensures every child has access to quality schools, trained teachers and a meritocratic pathway to higher education.
But beneath these achievements lies a troubling undercurrent. Rising rates of anxiety, stress and depression among children are sounding an alarm: Could the very structure that built our success also be limiting the qualities that matter most in the 21st century — creativity, flexibility and the ability to innovate?
Academic Success, Emotional Strain
A recent National University of Singapore study found that one in ten teenagers here lives with a diagnosable mental health disorder. Another survey by the Institute of Mental Health revealed that about one in three youths reports severe symptoms of anxiety, depression or stress.
Parents have voiced their concerns too. In a CNA Voices essay, one mother reflected on the emotional toll of being a first-time PSLE parent, admitting that exam season made her rethink what true success means. Another parent shared why she is now easing up on pushing her children academically, emphasising wellbeing over grades.
Such stories highlight the growing tension between an education system that produces high achievers and a generation of children grappling with mounting psychological strain.
The Urban Cage
Living in one of the most urbanised nations in the world comes with trade-offs. High-rise blocks, limited backyards, heavily managed playgrounds and tightly packed timetables mean children spend much of their lives in built environments and structured activities.
This lack of breathing space has consequences. Research shows that exposure to nature improves attention, memory and emotional regulation. A landmark study in PNAS following over 2,500 children found that greener school environments led to better working memory and reduced inattentiveness. Another review in Educational Psychology Review found that time spent in green spaces can boost creativity and problem-solving skills.
Yet many Singaporean children have little unstructured access to green environments. Their days are filled with schoolwork, CCAs, tuition, and screen time. The urban cage and rigid routine can inadvertently suppress the very qualities — curiosity, risk-taking, social collaboration — that innovation thrives on.
Innovation Needs Space to Breathe
Creativity is not simply taught in a classroom. It emerges when children have space to explore, to fail safely, to imagine alternative outcomes, and to collaborate with peers. Over-structuring erodes these opportunities.
A recent commentary on teen suicide and loneliness warned that highly scheduled lives leave little room for deep friendships or meaningful peer support. Similarly, CNA’s Talking Point on why youths feel lonely revealed that more than half of respondents described themselves as lonely — despite being surrounded by peers.
This suggests that our system, while academically strong, may be stifling the social and emotional foundations of creativity. Without downtime, play, and green space, children lose opportunities for spontaneous collaboration, imaginative play, and exploration — all critical drivers of innovation.
The impact of over-structured education isn’t just psychological — it’s physiological too. Studies have shown that chronic academic stress in children is linked to sleep deprivation, weakened immunity, and increased risk of anxiety and depression. A World Health Organization report estimates that one in seven adolescents globally lives with a mental disorder, often triggered or exacerbated by performance pressure and lack of recreation.
In fact, the 2022 National Youth Survey shows that burnout ranked among the top five mental well-being issues affecting Singaporean youth, with commentators noting that it often emerges cumulatively from over-programming and hyper-competition in school.
When children’s daily lives are filled from dawn to dusk with classes, homework, and enrichment, their bodies rarely enter states of rest and recovery. Without adequate play, sunlight, and movement, even physical development and attention spans suffer — a phenomenon psychologists term “nature-deficit disorder,” which has been associated with higher risks of obesity, emotional dysregulation, and poor stress resilience.
Nature: A Science-Backed Reset for the Adolescent Mind
Exposure to nature offers a powerful antidote to the growing mental health pressures of urban life. Studies show that time in green spaces not only lowers stress but also boosts cognitive flexibility — the mental agility that helps us
adapt to new challenges and think creatively. This flexibility is crucial during adolescence, a crucial period marked by a higher vulnerability to mental health disorders when the brain is still wiring itself for emotional regulation and decision-making.
Yet, in highly structured urban settings, young minds often become trapped in cycles of overthinking and self-criticism — patterns linked to anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Nature helps reverse this. A Stanford University study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans found that even a short walk in a natural setting reduced activity in brain regions tied to rumination, unlike walks in built environments. Physiological and neurochemical benefits follow too: lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduced cortisol, and higher levels of serotonin and dopamine — the brain’s mood stabilisers.
Far from being a luxury, accessible green spaces are a public health necessity. For adolescents especially, nature provides not just respite, but the cognitive reset needed to learn, adapt and thrive.
Nurturing Curiosity and Connection with Nature
Parents and educators can create everyday opportunities for children to learn through curiosity, play, and nature, such as:
Encourage unstructured outdoor time — through family walks, park visits, or simple garden exploration — to let children observe, imagine, and problem-solve freely.
Bring nature into daily environments with hardy plants or small green corners that invite curiosity and calm.
Use home or community spaces for simple experiments, nature observation journals, or creative projects that foster mindfulness and systems thinking.
Value curiosity and creativity over grades or rigid outcomes — celebrate questions, mistakes, and discoveries as part of learning.
Recognise that giving children time and space to explore both the natural world and their own ideas nurtures focus, emotional balance, and intrinsic motivation to learn.
Conclusion: From Rote to Roam
Singapore has excelled at building a structured education system that delivers measurable results. But as global challenges demand innovation and resilience, the question is whether our current model leaves enough space for children to roam — in both imagination and environment.
The research is clear: access to nature, unstructured play, and flexible learning environments enhance creativity, wellbeing and cognitive growth. The stories from parents and youths show that structure without breathing space can come at a high cost.
So here’s the challenge for us as a society: Can we recalibrate structure so it scaffolds creativity instead of suffocating it?
Because if innovation is the engine of our future, our children will need more than high test scores — they will need the freedom to imagine new possibilities.
About the Authors
Faye Sim is a mental health professional with a background in psychological research, counselling and psychotherapy. She is a published researcher with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), with clinical experience in the UK’s National Health Service and holds a Master’s in Mental Health Studies from King’s College London. Her work focuses on supporting children, youth, and families in building emotional resilience and adaptive coping.
Thomas Toh is a registered counsellor under the Singapore Association for Counselling and the National Guild of Hypnotists and holds a Master’s in Counselling from Monash University. He has worked with the Ministry of Education’s Special Educational Needs Branch and is a registered MOE instructor. Thomas is also an active volunteer and a sought-after speaker and trainer on mental health and resilience.
Dr Pey Peixuan holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Mental Health from Imperial College London, where her doctoral research focused on neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, with a specialization in the role of brain inflammation. She is the CEO and Founder of AEIR LAB, a company committed to translating rigorous, science-based insights into solutions for enhancing health and well-being.
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