We are at my sister-in-law's house almost every Sunday. One of our favourite activities is kite flying. When I was small, my sister used to make kites out of broom sticks and paper/plastic bags. They didn't fly that well, I remembered. Children these days are so, so, so lucky with ready-make kites available, with printing of Ben 10, Spiderman, Spongebob SquarePants, you name it, they have it.....and best of all, they are very lasting and can fly very well!
There is a very wide open space opposite my sister-in-law's house that caters for the morning markets and therefore it is left empty from afternoon onwards. Big space with tar-covered ground, it is perfect for for kite-flying.
Great time to fly kites is about 6 to 7pm during the transition of weather when the wind would blow especially stronger. My husband and I would normally start flying the kites into the sky and then when it is stable up there, we'll let our children hold onto the thread reel. See how much we enjoyed ourselves!
2 brothers, same mother, same father, same factory, 2 different hair colours! Look at how amazing our genes are working!
Every where we go with the children, everybody seem to ask us the same question over and over again. Is your son (Karson, at right) ang moh/mat salleh/mixed/kacukan? 'How come both of them look so different?'.
The funniest thing happened when I was out alone with the children, someone asked me 'Where's your husband, is he ang moh/mat salleh/mixed/kacukan?' Another time when my husband was alone with the children, someone asked him 'Where's your wife, is she ang moh/mat salleh/mixed/kacukan?'
Looking at fountains @ The Gardens
Almost every morning, me and my husband struggle to wake our children up and be on time to school. They would have their bottles of milk, then lie down, stretch, then lie down again and my younger son would still be sucking his little thumb...eyes still closed. This morning, I used a method that works everytime, maybe you should try it!!..
The following was my conversation with my husband: (spoken in clear and loud voice, to let the children hear of course)
Me : Let's get to work now, because we want to be early to office!
Hubby: Okay, be right there!
Me : Okay! Timmy, will you please take care of your little brother at home today? If you children are hungry, you may make your own milk and there are some cookies on the table, help yourself, ya!
Timmy and Karson woke up immediately and both said that they prefer to go to school and went to brush teeth right away. Worked like magic...haha...
Additional Tips : Never ever mention the word 'late' when talking to children.
Example : Say 'Let's be early to school', instead of 'Don't be late to school!'. Makes a lot of different in their lives.
I use this column to share with you books that have inspired me and have grown inside me throughout the years. I love reading true stories, not so into fictions....especially like autobiographies...one of my favourite books is 'Life and Death in Shanghai'.
It gave me chills and shivers of what one brave lady went through the Mao's cultural revolution. True story from the author herself. Quite an old title, I read it 11 years ago and couldn't put it down after I started reading it.
Posted by
Kan Hong Hong
5:09 PM
I have always loved libraries. I did lepaking in my college library a lot...alone most of the time, without my friends....I loved the quiet atmosphere there, the temperature and the smell of book...oh no, I'm a bookworm!!! Eversince internet technology was invented, libraries have not been fully utilized.
So to bring back the experience into our lives, my husband and I brought our children to a community library recently. It's located in Bandar Puteri Puchong, called Hypermedia Library, opened by Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ). Click here for News from TheStar.com.my
We took some National Geographic books for the children to flip as they are filled with great and very expensive pictures...gotta thank those photographers who risk their lives taking the never-seen-before pictures...
Try bringing your children to libraries to promote their love in books!
One of my favourite authors is John Gray. He's a relationship coach who wrote 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus'. I read this book of his and found the weird in-born characteristics that men have, which is their tendency to hide in the caves whenever they feel disturbed/there's something in their minds. It made me understand men more.
He also wrote another book called 'Children are From Heaven' which my husband ended up buying the last copy in one of the MPH outlets in a quite a bad condition...We were in need of the great book to learn how to be great dad and mom, so to speak..ahem. We bought it in 2005, before our first boy was born, kiasu parents...
In this book, it teaches us parents to let our children make whatever mistakes, as long as they admit it, and at the end of the day let the children know that parents are still the bosses. I highly recommend this book to all parents....though you would find that the points presented were quite repetitive.....but I found it useful until now coz, whenever I flip it open at whichever chapter, it helps to remind me about the emotional intelligence that we should be having in dealing with children who are sometimes difficult.
Here's a sneak peek into the book:
'It's okay to be different.
It's okay to make mistakes.
It's okay to express negative emotions.
It's okay to want more.
It's okay to say no, but remember Mom and Dad are the bosses.'
Children represent ourselves in many ways. The way they talk, the way they look at things, the way they behave and the way they perceive things. They are what they are exposed to. They are angels when we parents are angels. They are monsters when we parents are monster.
The rule is simple. If parents read, children read. If parents sleep, though most of the times, they are still jumping on the bed, somehow or rather, they would sleep. Whatever we do reflects in their upbringing.
Here in this blog, I will be sharing things to do with kids these days...they certainly are not totally from heaven...probably from outer space (with their sometimes cute questions demanding sophisticated answers from their parents). I also hope to share with you ways to handle, not stubborn children, but rather our own emotions before dealing with them.
Healthy activities for children
