--- title: "‘No time, no money, no baby’: Dad builds AI tutor after struggling to teach kids, jokes it might help S’pore’s birth rate" url: "/singapore-seen/no-time-no-money-no-baby-dad-builds-ai-tutor-after-struggling-teach-kids-jokes-it-might-help-spores" published: "2026-11-04T10:24:46.000Z" updated: "2026-11-04T10:24:46.000Z" section: "Singapore Seen" authors: ["Farah Daley"] tags: ["AI","tutor","tuition","parenting","father","Singapore Seen"] --- # ‘No time, no money, no baby’: Dad builds AI tutor after struggling to teach kids, jokes it might help S’pore’s birth rate Like many working parents in Singapore, Stomper Anthony Yeong knows the frustration of asking his children about their school day, only to receive the same brief replies. “How was school? Fine. What did you learn today? Nothing,” the 45-year-old father of three told Stomp. His children, who are in Primary 3, Primary 6 and Secondary 2, finish school at around 1.45pm, but Yeong only knocks off work after 6pm. “By the time we sit down for dinner, I’ve missed their whole afternoon, and all I get is ‘Fine’,” he said. Hoping to help his children learn independently while keeping himself involved in their education, Yeong spent his nights building an artificial intelligence (AI) tutor called myKx. The prototype features a virtual study buddy named Kix, a cartoon star that guides children through lessons, offers hints and keeps parents updated on their progress. Yeong joked that if such tools could ease the pressures of parenting, they might even help Singapore’s birth rate. “Half joking, but maybe this is why our birth rate is so low: no time, no money, no baby,” he said. “If myKx gives parents a bit of time and headspace back, maybe it’ll even help the birth rate a little.” ## ‘Try relearning PSLE maths as a parent’ Yeong, who works in technology at a blockchain startup, has been teaching himself to code since he was about nine years old. He is currently serving his notice period after resigning and plans to spend more time with his family during the coming holidays. At home, Yeong is the family’s unofficial tutor, helping his children with mathematics, science and English. His wife keeps track of their homework, spelling tests and examinations, while he goes through their answers whenever he has time. But despite his technical background, teaching his children has not always been easy. Originally from Malaysia, Yeong, who is now a Singapore citizen, did not go through the local education system and often has to familiarise himself with the syllabus before explaining concepts to his children. “PSLE was the toughest, with both of my older kids,” he said. “Going through past-year papers was torture, because getting the right answer isn’t enough. You also have to show it the way the markers expect. “If anyone wonders why our birth rate is so low, try relearning PSLE maths as a parent.” His daughter recently completed her PSLE, while his youngest son finished his Primary 3 examinations. Yeong admitted that he sometimes struggled to adapt his teaching methods to his children’s different learning styles. “Honestly, my temper sometimes got the better of me, especially with my eldest during his PSLE two years ago,” he said. “I knew it was never their fault. They’re curious kids by nature, and my way of teaching was just too dry. I still feel bad about it.” When he came across the Meta Global AI Developer Hackathon, Yeong decided to turn those frustrations into something useful. “Those past tortures and regrets are really what made me sign up,” he said. ## Built in three nights, with help from his ‘product team’ Yeong said it took about three nights to get the first version of myKx working. During the day, he would ask his children for feedback on its design and features before using AI coding agents to help build them. He has since spent about a week refining the lessons, games and safety features. “The most challenging part? Staying awake at night,” he joked. More seriously, he said the challenge was creating something children would enjoy using without encouraging excessive screen time. Unlike general-purpose AI chatbots, myKx is designed around the Singapore school syllabus and each child’s learning progress. Yeong said the tutor uses methods familiar to local students, including model drawing for mathematics and Claim, Evidence, Reasoning for science. Instead of immediately providing answers, Kix offers hints and explains concepts conversationally. The platform also incorporates games and activities tailored to each child’s interests. ![AI tutor, PSLE maths, parenting challenges](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/stomp/7c5ea8ceee3ff0e888ca7987cbe186ed43af1a352b14160d8fe44cded2cea9f2) *Anthony Yeong with his wife and three children during a family holiday in South Korea in 2025.* For example, Yeong’s youngest son can raise a virtual tadpole that develops as he learns about animal life cycles. “My youngest got hooked on the Critter Lab,” Yeong said. “He kept wanting to touch them, so I made it such that you can tap the critter and its habitat, and they react.” His children have tried some questions and explored the main features, though they have not yet used the platform extensively. Yeong said they have also been helping him think of ways to promote the project, as the hackathon includes a prize for the most viral entry. “My kids have basically become my product team and my marketing team,” he quipped. ## Children can correct the AI tutor One feature Yeong is particularly proud of allows children to flag mistakes made by Kix. A separate AI system, called Kix Synapse, checks the reported error and tests proposed corrections. Yeong said he deliberately planted a typo in a question to test the feature. Under its default settings, corrections are made automatically only when the system meets its highest confidence threshold. Otherwise, they require his approval. Changes affecting marks also undergo additional checks. However, his children have yet to catch Kix making a mistake themselves. “Part of me can’t wait for them to catch Kix out, though,” he said. ## Keeping parents in the loop Besides helping children revise, myKx is designed to send parents daily summaries of what their children have learnt, where they struggled and how they might be feeling. “So instead of ‘How was school?’, I can ask, ‘Eh, I heard you finally got that bar model question?’” Yeong said. The prototype also includes child-safety features. According to Yeong, if a child enters a worrying message, Kix is designed to respond supportively, display information about helplines such as Tinkle Friend and SOS, and alert a parent. Other proposed features include notifying parents when their children arrive home and identifying possible concerns through home cameras. However, Yeong clarified that the mobile phone application and full home-camera integration have not yet been built. For the hackathon, he uses simulated location information and AI-generated camera images to demonstrate how these features could work. The system is still a prototype, and its safety features have not been independently verified by Stomp. Yeong estimated that the AI component costs about 12 Singapore cents per child on a typical school day. However, this does not include hosting, database expenses, his development time or additional home-safety features. ## ‘If myKx makes a few parents smile, that’s already a win’ Yeong developed myKx independently for the Meta Global AI Developer Hackathon, which ends on Nov 4. The project is open-source, and a free guest version is available for members of the public to try without signing up. The demonstration uses a fictional family to protect the identities of Yeong’s children. While he hopes the platform could eventually help other Singaporean families, particularly those who struggle with tuition costs, he acknowledged that more work is needed before it could become a commercial product. “Because it’s for children, there’s a lot more work to do on privacy, security and compliance first,” he said. For now, his priority is getting his own children to use it and improving the platform based on their feedback. “It’s always a proud feeling to show what our little red dot can do on a global stage,” Yeong said. “And if myKx makes a few parents smile, that’s already a win for me.” Members of the public can try the guest version here.