Thanh Van: Teaching children to be independent even though they attend a billion-dollar school

Actress Oc Thanh Van and her husband, businessman Chi Rua, are famous for their scientific method of raising their three children of the Alpha generation, focusing on comprehensive development. Although she invests heavily in her children's education at international schools, she still focuses on training them to be independent and respecting their individual personalities.

Invest in education but do not neglect life skills

Oc Thanh Van's three children, Coca (born in 2011), Cola (born in 2013) and Cacao (born in 2015), have all attended a prestigious international school since childhood. According to the tuition fees for the 2025-2026 school year, the cost for each child ranges from 515 to 844 million VND/year, depending on the level of study. In total, her family can spend from 1.6 to 2.6 billion VND per year on the education of all three children.

In 2024, the family took a period of time to send their children to study abroad in Australia to experience the international environment. However, after a year, Oc Thanh Van decided to bring her children back to Vietnam to be closer to her family. She shared that this experience was very valuable and her children quickly reintegrated into the old learning environment. The actress also revealed an interesting thing: "It really costs more for my children to live in Vietnam than in Australia."

Respect your child's personality and feelings

One of the core principles in Thanh Van's parenting style is to respect the child's preferences and feelings. Instead of using corporal punishment, she and her husband choose to communicate gently to help their child adjust their behavior. This point of view is clearly shown by the fact that she supported her youngest son Cacao to grow his hair to waist length for a long time because that is his preference.

When her daughter showed signs of boredom and did not want to go to school, Oc Thanh Van did not force or scold her. Instead, she allowed her to have a "lazy" day, while sharing her sympathy: "We also have our own boredom... Don't be quick to scold your child for 'going to a good school but still being a whiner'."

Practice independence from the smallest things

To encourage her children to do housework and develop a habit of independence, Oc Thanh Van has created an interesting "price list" of chores. Accordingly, each activity has a symbolic "remuneration" such as: mopping the floor 15,000 VND/floor, vacuuming 12,000 VND/floor, or fetching water 4,000 VND/time. This method helps children have more motivation and understand the value of labor.

The actress said she has trained her children to be independent in their personal activities since they were 3 years old. Thanks to that, Coca, Cola and Cacao are all very self-conscious in taking care of themselves and helping their parents with tasks such as cooking, washing dishes, and cleaning the house. Currently, after returning to Vietnam, Oc Thanh Van's family has stabilized their lives and she has gradually returned to her artistic activities, with great support from her husband and children.