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Roxy Square incident: Have the rules changed on patting a child's head?

September 3, 2026 · 25 min

Show notes

A pat on a child's head by an elderly man at Roxy Square, which led to a shoving incident, has ignited debate about how a gesture can be seen as friendly affection by one person but viewed as an unwanted touch by another. As social norms shift, how should adults respond when they feel that children's boundaries are crossed? Steven Chia and Tiffany Ang speak with Tey Beng Huan, psychologist at Temasek Polytechnic Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, and Kelly Tay, CEO of Juicy Parenting (@juicy.parenting), parent educator and author.

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