How Christopher Lee disciplines his son with the phrase 'Cancel everything' and nagging
The veteran actor shared how he and his wife Fann Wong are like as parents, as well as his own thoughts on what makes a marriage successful.
Weâre all familiar with the old adage âSpare the rod, spoil the childâ. Yet, Malaysian-born Singapore actor Christopher Lee confessed that he, and his wife Fann Wong, arenât too hard on their son.
Lee, 52, has been married to Wong for 14 years, and they have nine-year-old Zed.
During an interview on 18 Jan for the local M18 drama series Kill Sera Sera, the veteran actor said, âHeâs not naughty. When he does something wrong, we donât discipline him in a very tough manner, because I know he is already very scared. He knows he did something wrong.â
What Zed is most afraid of, though, might surprise you.
âIf I tell him, âOh, you did this wrong and that wrong? Tomorrow, all the plans cancelled,â then heâll be very scared. We often use this phrase, âCancel everythingâ,â Lee shared, with a laugh.
Lee considers himself to be lenient towards Zed in general, but will be stern when the situation calls for it.
âIf he hasnât done anything wrong, he has his freedom. He can do what he wants, as long as itâs nothing wrong or bad. But if he does something wrong, then thatâs it. Iâll have a serious talk with him about it,â he said.
Lee added, âPerhaps Iâll be naggy, and will nag, and nag, and nag. This is my method. When he hears me nag in the future, heâll be scared and wonât do dare to do it again. I remember the first time he acted up (at three years old), I used this method. I put him in the room, was face-to-face with him, and I nagged at him. Later, he became scared of the room.â
Christopher Leeâs secret to a successful marriage
In the show, Lee plays the husband of Hsuan's character, May Shaw. Their relationship deteriorates as Shaw throws herself into solving the mystery of their teenage daughter's death on the night of a leap day.
The show also stars Taiwanese actor James Wen, and local actors such as Chantalle Ng, Damien Teo, and Xu Bin.
Unlike the show, though, Leeâs marriage to Wong is going strong and theyâre living their happily ever after. Just last year, Wong shared her secret to a successful marriage - be independent. When we asked Lee about his perspective, he concurred.
âI think itâs absolutely correct. I think both men and women cannot expect to rely on their partner to take care of them. Slowly, youâll be too dependent on them. You wonât have a goal in life,â he said.
âFor me, people should have life goals, whether youâre a man or a woman. Thatâs why from the beginning, when I married my wife, I didnât want for her to become a housewife.â
He also felt that times have changed since his parentsâ and grandparentsâ generation, and hence, the relationship dynamics have to change accordingly.
Lee explained that for the older generation, the mother would be the homemaker while the father was the breadwinner. In his case, he barely saw his father because the latter would return after the children were asleep, and left before they woke up.
âSo basically, the role of the father was to earn money and it wasnât to take care [of the kids]. I donât want it to be this way. Now, there are a lot of dads and mums who are hands-on. I like it that way,â he said, adding that he was taking of his son, alongside his wife, from the day he was born.
Looking forward to his teenage years
Another thing that is unlike the show? Well, raising a rebellious teenager. Although, the rebellious part remains to be seen.
âWhen I see other peopleâs kids being well-behaved, I hope my kid will turn out like that,â he remarked.
Nevertheless, Lee is âlooking forwardâ to Zedâs teenage years. He said, âSeeing Zed grow up, Iâm curious. Iâm curious how heâll be at Primary Four. Iâll also think about what heâll be like at Primary Five.
âI do think about what heâs like as a teenager. How should I communicate with him? How will I live together with him? Iâm anticipating it.â
And, of course, heâs thought about Zed taking his Primary School Leaving Examination.
âI think in Singapore, before your child is of the age to take his PSLE, other people will talk to you about it,â Lee commented.
âFor my wife and I, our mentality is that exams are important, but we wonât put pressure on him before itâs time. Instead, Iâll use a gentle approach to ease him into it. Of course, weâll do what needs to be done. But, I wonât use academic results to pressure him.
âIâll tell him, âYou do your best. I just want you to be happy.â We want studying to be a happy thing, and not a stressful thing.â
He added with a laugh, âThatâs my aim. Whether we can achieve it, I donât know.â
All 12 episodes of Kill Sera Sera will be available for free on meWATCH. There will be three new episodes released every Monday.
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