Bringing up Independant Children

Mr MG is always telling me that I should encourage the children to do things for themselves ie to be independant. However, I'm lazy and impatient. I have no patience to sit around for hours showing them how to wear their shoes again and again and watching them do it ever so slowly and having them ask me countless questions while they are at it.

Mr MG has the patience to show them and thats because IMHO patience levels goes down according to the number of hours spent with the children. Lol! He is patient because he doesn't have to do things for them all day long, everyday.

So I usually end up doing things for them. Things get done much faster that way, whether its eating, wearing shoes, clothes or whatever. Mr MG always tells me that I should "invest for the future". "If you keep on doing things for them without showing them how to do it themselves, you will still be complaining about having to do things for them a few years from now", said he (the one who does not have to do it everyday).

So last night, in my bid to encourage independance (or rather the real reason was because I was lazy and had other things to do) I threw the pyjama trousers and my three year old boy and said "Nah (Here), wear it yourself." After a while he came running to see me with a pleased smile on his face and said "I did it!"

This morning to my amusement I found that he had worn his pyjama pants over his shorts! Hahaha. But yes, he did it anyway. Lol! The moral of the story: When encouraging independance, give specific or clear instructions or teach first. I had forgotten to tell him to remove his shorts first.

My boy and girl are so different. My boy is always telling me "I wanna do myself." and pushes me away whereas my girl is always telling me "Mummy, please do for me." And they both have the same mother. So sometimes I think independance is a little bit inborn. What do you think?

Science and Art Craft for Kids

I call this the Science and Art Craft because its really a two in one fun for the little ones.

First we did a science experiment by mixing primary colours to get secondary colours. We did this in little plastic cups in the bathroom (for easier cleanup). Haha. Thats the "science" part.

Tip: Use white to mix. They make lovely colours. Avoid black!

Then we used the leftover paints, an old toothbrush and some straws for the "art" part.

We dipped the old toothbrush into the watercolours, then flicked the toothbrush bristles all over the art paper. After that we used the straw to blow on the extra patches of paint into different directions and tadaa... we have our batik.

It doesn't look that nice but thats ok. I got a big hug and a "Thank you mummy for doing this with us." and thats a lot better than any batik design anywhere. Thats my gal. She always does this whenever I do something together with her that she likes. She's very appreciative.

That remark kept me going when I had to wipe out the stained wall and mat afterwards. The bathroom was easy to clean. Just spray! The stained wall was because I left them alone at it for a while so they could really have a go at it without my supervision and the little clingy one ran out to find me and left his handprints on my walls and footprints on my bathroom mat. Ouch!

Quality Time Vs Quantity Time

I wasn't sure whether to call this post Quality Time vs Quantiy Time or Their Time vs My Time.

Anyway, most days, I have many things that I want to do such as:

• Blog
• Learn Piano (Its never too late to learn)
• Do my Cross Stitch (which I've neglected)
• Do my exercises
• Practise some Yoga
• Teach the Kids
• Play with the Kids

This is in addition to the normal daily things like bathing and feeding the kids and getting them to nap. I am fortunate in that I have a part time helper to help me with the cooking and cleaning, otherwise it would be even worse.

I have no time to watch TV or chat on the phone so I don't do those. Now, even with domestic help, I struggle each day to do some of the above and .....

When I spend more time doing MY own things then I feel guilty for neglecting the kids. I feel guilty for being home but not being there for them. When they come to me, I tell them "Go and play on your own, Mummy is busy." So basically I am spending Quantity Time and not Quality Time with them.

On the other hand when I spend all my time doing THEIR things with them, then I feel frustrated for neglecting myself.

Thats my daily dilemma as a SAHM. Its really very easy to say, why don't you do both and have a good balance but its not easy in practise. THERE REALLY ISN'T ENOUGH TIME!

To make myself from feeling stressed, guilty and unhappy or frustrated, I have to think about how fun it is to be a mother.

Read my poem: Me Time

Origami Ice Cream Craft

Nikkie wanted to know how to fold the origami ice cream which I posted in my old post on The Best Toys. She thought It would be an enjoyable craft to do with the kids during their soda fountain theme day at their local museum.

I am excited to be able to help Nikkie and the other kids out so I quickly got to work with my kids. This post is for you Nikkie. I hope you understand the instructions. :)

Here's what you need:

Step 1. Fold in half obliguely from bottom to top

Step 2. Fold the left corner to top

Step 3. Fold the right corner backwards

Step 4. Fold the left corner backwards

Step 5. Fold the right corner forward to the left

Step 6. Cut the upper edges round to form the ice cream shape

And Tadaaa! Here's the ice cream. I used a stapler in the middle to hold it together.

In case you didn't understand the pictures, here's a drawing of the instructions. Sorry its very dark as my camera ran out of batteries. I hope the kids enjoy the craft!

MG Recommends Top 3 Kids Sites

In my as well as my kids opinion, the following are the top 3 kids sites for their educational benefits as well as fun rating. This is not a sponsored post folks. I just think that a good thing ought to be shared. I have reviewed some Educational Sites for Young Children before on my Mothering Times Blog but I will now narrow down that longer list to 3.

1. BBC- CBeebies - We just love the stories and rhymes section of this site. The stories used to be organised as books that can be pulled out from shelves which was easier for the kids but now its organised alphabetically probably due to the very wide selection of stories. The stories are interactive and wonderfully animated making the familiar characters come alive from the storybooks. Almost all the stories I can remember from childhood are here and more. It certainly gets a thumbs up from MG.

2. Starfall - This is a wonderful educational site to teach a child to read. It is very well structured starting from ABC right up to more advanced reading. The games that comes along with each section really helps keep the child's insterest. It is interactive and fun. My girl who is 5 is at the I'm reading Stage Now (Stage 4). My boy who is 3 is at the Lets Get Ready to Read Stage (Stage 1). I can really see them making progress while having fun. Another thumbs up from MG.

3. Kindersite - I just found this site but I like it. I like the way the games, stories and songs links are organised in the Children's Directory which can be found at the site. Click on the"Children's Directory" button to get to the links. The selection is really wide and its easy for a child to choose and navigate to the games or stories they like. Some of the links come from 1 and 2 above but thats ok, theres lots more. Thumbs up from MG's kids.

I recommend the above sites to all parents of toddlers and preschoolers. Do visit the sites together with your kids if you have the time. You and your kids will enjoy them I am sure. Better still, bookmark this post so you can have easy access to all three sites at one go. :)