Good start for the day....

Today is bright and beautiful. Little K woke up to find Mommy sitting up on the bed though she didn't put her to sleep last night. As usual, Daddy said she kept calling 'Ma ma' before her bedtime. So touching ya...and especially when the first thing you heard from her in the morning is 'Ma' when she got up from the dreamland.

Giving Up Seats on the Bus
Mommy took the usual bus ride to work and this morning it was fully packed. Mommy was practically standing at the entrance door. This bus is usually packed with Indian foreign workers. Interestingly, two Indian workers actually gave up their seats to me, seeing me with a big tummy while a student from a reputated school carried on staring in a daze after seeing me. I remembered another time on this same bus ride, the bus driver actually got off from his seat and asked a well-dressed gentleman to let me have his seat. There are still people around with that heart. Heehee...actually I had been telling my male friends to remember to give up seats to preggies as most of the time it's the women that give up their seats. Man being man won't understand going through the 9 mths and thereafter, only those who had seen their wives will understand some. They just need a gentle reminder on that that equality does not exist and women are in a way a more "tender" gender. (Sorry gals, I know I sound rather anti-feminist but I believe women do need more TLC.)

Parenting
Had this lunch time conversation with my Indian admin support staff in the pantry and I was really inspired by the discussion. Essentially, their family is earning relatively low income with 3 boys ranging from P6 - S3. This staff also isn't very highly educated. She actually stayed home for 10 years to take care of the kids when young. She was sharing that it is rather tiring to have to work and cook at the same time, but when you hear your kids complimenting you for the food you serve on the table, rather eat your food (even simple fried rice) than hawker fare, it really spurs you on to do the cooking. Her boys also do housework for her, like hanging clothes, eldest could do some simple cooking. I was like: "How did your kids learn to tell you that they love your food? How did you train them?" Here's what she pointed out:

1. Appreciate the food: Her hubby could have been the one that role modelled it. Telling her that he loves her food.
2. Housework: Early training by simple putting the plates to the sink, next to washing them and having them sharing out the chores. Don't put them down when they don't do it well but help them out. Encourage them and help them to learn independence.

So two key things:
Role modelling, starting from ourselves as parents.

Seriously I only started appreciating my mom's cooking after I came back from UK and got married out. I had taken her for granted for many years and always complain eating the same things some times. True that when you have it too good, you never realise that you have it. Now that she takes care of my gal, she also cook the good stuff for her eventhough she is tutoring like 8-10 kids at home at the same time. People may think hey my mom stays home of coz can take care of grandchildren but the fact, she works from home, cleans the house, cook and care for K. May be K is also picking up her love for housework like mopping, sweeping around and cooking as well as carrying little bags of grocery from seeing my mom do it coz kids at this stage rapidly learns by immitating what they see. Wow, actually I think my mom is quite capable in this way and wonder when I become a SAHM, would I be able to do it?

Daddy plays an important role too. If Daddy don't SHOW appreciation for Mommy's job well done and vice versa, the kids won't SHOW appreciation the parents. I know it's really not very much a Chinese practice, but why not? heehee....

Just like how the bible in Deut 6:5-9 writes:
"5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

As much as we relate to parent-child upbringing, it's even more important as spiritual role models that they may know God. Tell them what to do is not as effective as showing them that you do it. I got to watch myself too, to start doing it if I haven't. Remind Daddy too! Oooooo....what great responsibility we have as parents. It's not about providing good enrichment classes, the best tutor, the best school coz all teaching start from the home.

In teaching we always use this quote: "Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I might remember, Involve me and I will understand!". I think this relate to many things in life. This goes too for parenting kids to save the after consequence that they don't do housework, don't clean up their mess, don't behave the way they should and get themselves into trouble.

This really doesn't have much to do with the educational background of one person looking from the example of my support staff.