Lina Ng’s Son Is A Doctor-To-Be; Shares Her Parenting Secrets With Us

When actress Lina Ng shared the exciting news of her 19-year-old son Joel’s acceptance into the prestigious Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Instagram, comments and reactions came pouring in — congratulations, awe, and of course, the burning question at the back of our heads: Is there something Lina Ng is doing in parenting that we aren’t?

On Aug 15, Lina celebrated the milestone with a sweet family moment, posting photos with her husband, former national bowler Mike Lam, at Joel’s White Coat Ceremony. “Joys beyond,” she captioned the heartfelt post.

In a touching video that followed, Joel draped his white coat over his mum’s shoulders, letting Lina play “Dr Ng” for a few precious moments.

Said Lina with a laugh: “Wow, I always wanted to be a doctor, but it never came to pass. I have never been a doctor in my shows [either].”

She added in the caption: “It was once my childhood dream to be a doctor. For a few precious minutes, [Joel] made my dream come true. So sweet of him.”

Besides Joel, her eldest son Jeriel, 21, also made Lina beam with pride in March 2024 during his OCS commissioning day. He’s currently studying business at NUS and working as a financial advisor.

Meanwhile, Lina’s youngest son, 14-year-old Samuel, is in Secondary Two and definitely one to watch — still carving out his own path with plenty of untapped potential.

“Samuel is doing alright so far,” Lina shared. “I’m hoping he can continue to do well so he can opt to upgrade to the IB (International Baccalaureate) stream instead of remaining in the Express stream. But we’re very mindful that every child is different, and we are still learning how to strike a balance when it comes to urging him on his studies.”

One thing’s for sure: the successes of her elder sons so far has got everyone talking.

Yes, parenting success comes in many forms. There’s more to life than academic achievements — we know that. Yet we can’t help but wonder, what does it take to raise children who achieve their dreams? How does Lina Ng do it?

We got Lina in a heart-to-heart chat about parenting, and the star let on that it has always been a mix of steady discipline, gentle encouragement, and letting her boys grow in their own time.

“Lion mum” no more

In case you’re wondering, she doesn’t seem to see herself as a “lion mum” — not these days, at least.

Lina had previously admitted to being a real-life lion mum in a 2019 interview for Lion Mums 3, a Mediacorp English drama that she starred in. “Yes, every mother would be a lion mum to her kids at a certain point. And also to their husbands sometimes, ’cos they can act like kids too. I was a lion mum to my kids when they were much younger ’cos they were unable to make the right decisions by themselves,” she shared back then.

She explained there are stages to her parenting style: “The first one would be the lion mum stage, where I just tell them what to do. You have to be the lion mum to guide them. Now that they’re growing up, we’ve come to the second stage where I will suggest and lead them. The last stage would be me suggesting and then they make their own choices. Of course, I will explain to them the reason behind my suggestions lah.”

Fast forward to 2025, Lina’s parenting feels more relaxed — less roar, more heart.

The role of the older sibling matters

When we spoke to Lina, she was quick to clarify: “I did not influence him [Joel] to become a doctor! He showed interest in secondary school probably because many of his schoolmates were keen to study medicine as well. So he studied and worked very hard to achieve this goal.”

Turns out, Joel’s academic journey wasn’t always smooth-sailing. In fact, Lina openly shared that he “didn’t do well” in the earlier years of primary school and she often had to “force/discipline” him to sit down and revise.

The turning point? Primary Five. That was when Joel suddenly decided to wake up his idea — all because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his elder brother, Jeriel. From then on, he stayed laser-focused, worked hard, and consistently did well in school.

“Because Gor Gor (elder brother) did well and he aspired to be like him. And since then, he focused all the way and did exceedingly well,” Lina beamed. 

Sounds familiar, parents? Sometimes, sibling inspiration works better than nagging.

Lina’s early childhood education background helped

Lina admits that when her boys were younger, she was “mostly authoritative” — but now that her older kids are in university, she takes on a “permissive” approach.

The 51-year-old’s background in early childhood education also gave her an edge. Before her acting career took off, she was a professionally trained preschool teacher and worked in an international preschool for three years.

“I learnt a great deal on how to teach my boys through play. The school uses the Reggio Emilia approach. I guess it all started from there,” she said.

For the uninitiated, the Reggio Emilia approach is an Italian educational philosophy that emphasises child-led, inquiry-based learning. It’s all about encouraging kids to explore, ask questions, and learn through play and hands-on activities.

That means some structure, but also freedom. And one big non-negotiable for Lina? Sleep.

Sleep is for the strong

“Some strict routines were built since young,” Lina revealed. “Afternoon naps are a must for them. I believe in getting enough sleep. It helps them to grow healthily and stay focused.”

Additionally, Lina shared that her boys didn’t receive any tuition from Primary 1 to Primary 3. They only started tuition classes in Primary 4, when Lina felt that she couldn’t help them in tougher subjects like Math and Chinese. For Science, she attended school-run “workshops” for parents to learn how to teach her kids.

Meanwhile, her husband Mike, currently a deputy director of administrative operations at Hwa Chong International School, took charge of getting the boys active through team sports.

“We believe that team sports foster camaraderie, teach teamwork, and build resilience,” Lina let on. Jeriel picked up water polo, while Joel played soccer.

Here’s a sneak peek at what her boys’ days used to look like:

After school: Nap for 1 to 2 hours
Post-nap: Snacks, then homework
Rest time: Play or screen time is only allowed after revisions and homework are done

Here’s a fun fact: Lina’s two older boys were also “into Minecraft” during primary school. 

“That’s okay, ’cos it helped with their creativity,” Lina shared. “They didn’t watch much TV, thanks to their active involvement in sports!”

On top of that, she made sure they clocked eight to nine hours of sleep daily, lights out by 9.30pm and up at 5.30am. Even in secondary school, the routine continued — though with one more rule added in.

“The boys have to surrender their phones to me once they are back home. They would shower, take a short nap, then do their homework. I try to schedule their tuition on Fridays or Sundays, so weekdays will not be too overwhelming for them with CCA commitments,” she said.

And on Saturdays? The family, who is Christian, attends church. 

“It’s always a must for me to make sure the boys get enough rest with time to relax!”