Trusting Our Children To Do The Right Thing

Recently my son came home with a couple of seeds and told me that he was going to give them to his teacher for Teacher's Day.

Bad mummy's reaction was:

"What?! Where did you get that? From the school field?! You can't give teacher that! It's dirty. What will she do with it? She will just throw it away."

In the back of my mind I was thinking of all the lovely teacher's day gifts that mums had lovingly prepared. I hadn't prepared any.

The 12 year old replied:

"Come on, mum. I know what I'm doing. Besides teacher said not to give her anything that costs money."

So bad mummy decided to trust him and said, "Ok, I trust you. Go ahead and give if you like."

A few weeks later when the spouse met the teacher, she told him about the seeds. Your son told me they are "Seeds of Hope". I don't know what else my son told the teacher but she had touched his heart. She told my spouse that she had gone home and told her husband about it and she took a picture of the seeds and shared it with her friends saying "Look, I have this student who......." 

She was just teaching him for 3 months. On her last day, she printed out the picture of the seeds and her sharing which was a page long, read it aloud in class to all the other students and gave it to him to keep.

When I sent her a message to thank her for the time she spent teaching  him, she replied "He is the perfect child in my heart." 

I am glad I chose to trust him instead of insisting he threw the seeds away.

Raising Boys

The day before yesterday the boy came home with 3 seeds and told me he was going to give them to teacher for Teacher's Day.

Me: Where did you get them?

Boy: In the school field

Me: Oh. No. You can't give that to teacher. She's just going to throw them away. (thinking of all the other lovely gifts prepared and presented by moms)

Boy: They are seeds of hope (translated from Chinese). From Chapter 4 of my Chinese book.

Me: Don't give them to teacher. Its so dirty. What is she going to do with it?

Boy: Teacher said not to give her anything that will cost money.

Me: Hmm...

Next day...

Boy: Mom, I gave teacher the seeds.

Me: What did she do with it?

Boy: She put it in her pencil box. She also spoke to me for some time.

Me: What did she say to you?

Boy: She praised me.

Me: What did she praise you about?

Boy: I can't remember.

Me: So she was happy with the seeds?

Boy: Yes, I told her it was from Chapter 4 of our lesson.

Boy: See mom, I told you it was okay to give them.

Me: Ok. Ok. I trust you. That is why I didn't INSIST that you don't give them.

Few things on my mind:

• Should I have prepared some special nice gift for teacher?
• What did the teacher really think? Did she really like it or was she just being nice? Did she throw it in the bin right after?
• Should I have said something more to the boy or allow him to be himself? 
• Did I kill his joy by saying "No, it's dirty. Don't. Teacher won't like it. She'll throw it. etc.

Bringing up kids is full of crazies....

12 Things You Need To Know Before Fixing Braces For Your Child - A Parent's View

Getting braces for your child is quite an involved process that takes a lot of time and money. Before you do so, it may be a good idea to shop around for a good orthodontist that is not too expensive and near your house.... because you're going to need to take your child to see the orthodontist at least once a month after the braces are on to have it adjusted. So make sure you find an orthodontist that is near enough and one that you will feel comfortable visiting eg. no transportation or parking issues may help.

Teeth Extracted For Braces

12 Things You Need To Know Before Fixing Braces For Your Child. 

Do note that this is not an expert view from an orthodontist but merely a parent's observation.

1. It is not cheap in terms of time and money.
2. There may be hidden cost eg cost of tooth extraction which may not be included in the pricing
3. It is a very involved process that may require you to visit the orthodontist every 4 to 6 weeks.
4. Your child may have to extract teeth before the braces are put on.
5. You may be charged for consultation before you decide whether to get the braces. However, sometimes this fee is deducted if you decide to continue your treatment at the orthodontist you consulted.
6. The initial preparation involves taking an x-ray and mold of the teeth 
7. After the braces are put on, your child's teeth may hurt and he or she may have to be on a soft food diet for several days
8. The initial part - teeth extraction and the first time the braces are put on, may cause a lot of discomfort for your child
9. The process may take up to 2 years with monthly adjustments to the braces
10. While the braces are on, your child may be required to brush his or her teeth after every meal including meals at school to prevent stains on the teeth. 
11. Your child will need a special orthodontic toothbrush for brushing teeth
12. After the braces are removed, your child will be required to wear retainers for life. 

This is not a professional opinion. Only a parents viewpoint. Please consult your orthodontist for expert opinion.

Nature Math And Science Activity For Kids

One of the easiest activities to teach kids math and science is planting activities. Recently, my boy has taken to planting. He is fascinated by collecting seeds, planting them and then checking his plants daily to see what he gets.

One day he came home with a red bean that he picked up from the floor in his school canteen. He immediately planted it. It grew very quickly and soon we could see some light yellow flowers. When the flowers dropped off, the beans appeared.

Slowly the beans turned yellow and we plucked them and popped them open to reveal more red beans! He was very excited and wanted to pluck some more red beans for his friends.

"We won't pluck the dried ones mom", he said. So he plucked the nice green ones and they turned out unripe and slimy inside.
From this activity, he learned so many things. He learned the life cycle of a plant. He also learned math and counting. How amazing it is to see one bean turn into five!

We recommend planting red beans as a fun, easy and quick nature math and science activity for kids. It only takes a few weeks to see the results.

The Second Half Of First Term

The kids have started their second half of the first term at school. At last, I have settled into our new routine. The girl has settled into her new secondary school. She has selected her compulsory club, sports and uniform group memberships in school. We have finally settled in to the new times of schooling. Afternoon session school for the girl with days of going in early on co-curriculum days. Morning session for the boy and staying back when there are activities.

The girl has sat for her first term school exams before the school holidays while the boy will be sitting for his soon. 

We didn't go anywhere for the recent one week school holidays because dad was in hospital for that one week. Fortunately it was the school holidays so I could visit dad often. 

During the school holidays, the boy invited some of his friends over to do a school project together. It was not easy to coordinate and get everyone to come at the same time but in the end we managed it. So I got to play hostess to 3 boys and 1 girl plus my boy and girl and  hubs who was on leave and myself, that meant cooking for 8. I think I did ok. :)

The kids also sat for their Grade 5 Music Theory exams on the first day of the term break. After the exam they said "Yay! Freedom!" because they had been preparing very hard for it. I'm also really glad that it is over. 

It seems like our lives revolves around school, exams and activities. There is always something going on. The next thing on our calendar is the boy's term exam and his birthday. We are thinking of getting him a new badminton racquet and perhaps some minecraft books for him. I'm looking forward to his birthday but not the exams. :)

Back To School 2015

I have been neglecting my blogs. It is like this every year. Around November and December, I usually don't blog so that I can spend more time with the kids who are home for the school holidays. After that I lose my momentum and it is hard to get back on track.

As usual, so much has happened and so much to write about but they're all in my head at the moment.

For now, just a quick update.

This year 2015 sees a change for us with one kid attending afternoon session school and another in the morning session. There is a lot more coordinating and scheduling involved. They haven't started their school extra curricular activities yet. Once that starts there will be even more scheduling as one has to go to school early for activities while the other has to stay back in school.

The boy is lucky to have a proactive teacher this year. However, he appears to be having a small problem getting everyone to cooperate in a project he is leading. This is his first time leading a project in a class which he has just recently joined. The others know each other from a few years so I think that is the problem. He has to learn a lot of things all at once, leadership skills, how to get everyone to submit research work to him on the pen drive and how to put everything together in powerpoint and later to present it with his group of 11 members. A real challenge for him.

The girl did not get off to a good start. According to her she was the first person to be scolded in front of the whole class on the first day of secondary school. However, everyday when she gets home she excitedly tells me about different things they are doing in school. Secondary school is a whole new experience for her, learning new ways of learning, taking more responsibilities and getting more involved in various things, not only studying as what she had been doing in primary school.

Its only been 1 1/2 weeks to the school new year. I hope they both have a good school year in 2015.

How To Apply For MyKad Or IC For 12 Year Old In Malaysia

In the blink of an eye my child is 12 years old. Time really flies. My girl turned 12 in May but we didn't have time to apply for her IC then so we left it till now. Anyway, here is the procedure. It is very simple especially if you are the parent accompanying the child.

Go to the nearest JPN (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara) with your child. You will need to bring along original copies of your own IC and the birth certificate of your child. You do not need to photocopy these documents. The original copy is all that is required.

Collect the application form at the counter and fill it up and take a number. Once your number is called, proceed to the counter with your original documents. Digital thumbprints will be taken for both you and your child. The photograph for the IC or MyKad is taken right there and then on the spot at the counter itself.

That's it. You're done. You can collect your IC in 3 working days. The picture below shows the flowchart of the process which I took from the JPN at Jalan Duta.

As for the fee, you will not have to pay any fee if you apply for the IC within 30 days from the date your child turns 12. Otherwise, you will need to pay a processing fee of RM10 and a compound of RM1 for the first year and higher for subsequent years but not much. You have up to age 16 to apply for the IC.

This post is only for parents applying for IC. If you are a guardian, one who is related like a grandparent or sibling, or an unrelated guardian, or if you are living overseas, you may need extra documentation.

Here is the JPN website for Permohonan MyKad Bagi Kanak-Kanak 12 Tahun or the procedure on how to apply for MyKad For 12 Year olds. You can read up the details or any changes from this link.

Flowchart for MyKad Application

New School Year Resolutions

In another 3 days, school will be over for 2014. Time flies. Next year will be full of changes for us with one going to secondary school in the afternoon session and another promoted to a higher class in Std 5 which translates to more work and pressure from teachers.

Just as we make resolutions for the new year, I think it is a good idea to make new resolutions for the new school year. So for next year 2015, my new school year resolutions are...

For the girl:

1. To encourage her to continue to do well in her studies. It makes her feel proud of herself which increases her confidence
2. To help her foster meaningful friendships. She has been unfortunate to be the subject of bullying and being shun by peers for most of her primary school years from Std 3 to Std 6. This has damaging effects on her self esteem and self worth. She feels sad most of the time, says sorry and hopes everyone will forgive her and be friends with her again even though she did not do anything wrong. Being shun by a few who encourage others to avoid her made her into a loner which then makes her an even easier target for bullying. It pains me to see her affected like that. I will try my best to get her out of this. I don't know why they started to pick on her in the first place but it has an escalating effect with everyone joining in the "fun" of socially excluding her from everything. Despite several attempts by the teacher to stop this, it only stops for a while and then they are back at it again.
3. Help her improve her English now that she is out of Chinese school and less focused on Chinese subject. 
4. Teach her to be more well mannered at home.
5. Encourage her to smile more.
6. Allow her to develop in other areas eg, her piano etc

For the boy:

1. Help him improve his Chinese so he can catch up with all his subjects
2. Remind him not to be sloppy in everything that he does
3. Teach him to be more mindful and less forgetful
4. Remind him to eat well and choose nutritious food over junk food
5. Make sure he stays happy always like he is

I hope our New School Resolutions come true. Will come back in a year to see if there has been improvement in these areas.

These are my New School Resolutions for my children. What are yours? If you haven't made any before, now is a good time to take stock and think about what you would like for them in the coming school year. 

A Beautiful Green Butterfly Chrysalis Or Pupa From Our Garden

Beautiful Green Butterfly Chrysalis Or Pupa

We've got ourselves a beautiful green chrysalis or pupa from our garden. My girl had been asking me to catch caterpillars again. She wanted to bring one to school to watch the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly with her classmates.

So when we saw the caterpillar droppings, we quickly took out our plastic container and kept them. We got quite a few. They had been attracted to our lime trees from Chinese New Year because they love the tangy smelling leaves.

We fed it everyday with fresh leaves. Oh my, they can really eat and poop! We managed to watch a few nibbling away happily. They turned from their original black brown to bright green and they grew and grew and grew big and fat. 

Then one morning we looked and we saw this beautiful green butterfly chrysalis or pupa. It is really beautiful. It looks like some kind of green gem. We've got another about to turn into a pupa. Can't wait for them to turn into a butterfly. Then we will let it go and watch it fly away freely. 

I didn't take step by step pictures this time because we've done it before. The pupa looks different from the one we had before. I wonder what species of butterfly we got this time. If you are interested to do this at home, you can go here to read our Life Cycle Of Butterfly Experiment. Recommended to be done with kids. It is the best way to learn science.

According to this site Obession With Butterflies, ours may be a Monarch Butterfly. What a lovely name and how exciting!

School's Out!

It's really fast how time flies. School's Out again and the first half of the schooling year is over. This year is a hard year for my girl, for all of us in fact. The girl has to sit for her UPSR tests in September this year and she is being pushed hard at school to prepare for the test. Even with school out, she has to attend extra classes in school. Fortunately, it is only for a couple of days and not more than a week. At least, she can still have a holiday before she goes back to school to face tests in July, August and September. 

As for the boy, he will be having tests in July and October. Ouch!  Tests for every month! Anyway, school's out, so I'm not going to be thinking about tests for now. Happy School Holidays to everyone.

What Is Suku Kata Terbuka And Suku Kata Tertutup

Recently a parent from my facebook parent's group asked this question "What is suku kata terbuka and suku kata tertutup?" It is sometimes hard for us parents to guide the children in their Bahasa Malaysia because they are now teaching things we did not learn in the past. Not that it is a bad thing, it is just harder for us to teach, that is all. Back then, we didn't have to learn to differentiate between suku kata terbuka and suku kata tertutup. We just learned suku kata. End of story.

We also didn't learn about diftong, digraf, vokal berganding and konsonan bergabung.

Anyway, this post is about suku kata terbuka and suku kata tertutup and how to differentiate them. The difference is suku kata terbuka ends with the vocals "a, e, i, o or u" whereas suku kata tertutup ends with a consonant. Easy?

The video below sums it up very well and gives some examples of suku kata terbuka and suku kata tertutup.

Suku kata (Terbuka & Tertutup) from Siti Fironika Hj Abd Rahman

Kids Project - How To Make Your Own Recycled Paper At Home

My children wanted to make their own recycled paper at home during the school holidays. So we got to work. We got the instructions from my daughter's text book. 

Here's what you need to make your own recycled paper:

1. Newspaper or any other recyclable paper

2. A container

3. A fork

4. A sieve

5. A rolling pin or bottle

6. A piece of cloth

7. An iron

Here are the steps on how to make your own recycled paper at home. It is very easy. Kids can do it with some supervision.

Step 1: Tear your newspaper into strips and soak it for several days. 

If you are wondering what the other spare container in the picture is for. We used it for pouring water into the container filled with paper.

Step 2: After a few days, use the fork to mash the paper into tiny bits.

Step 3: Use the strainer to get rid of access water from the mashed up paper. Note that you are not supposed to push the paper through the strainer. It is only for separating water from the paper or drying your mashed up paper.

Step 4: Use a rolling pin or glass bottle to roll out the mashed paper into a flat piece. We didn't have a rolling pin or bottle so we tried to improvise with an empty cylinder shaped biscuit can. It didn't work. In the end, we found it a lot easier to just shape the paper with our hands. After this you should put the paper away to dry for a day.

Step 5: Put another cloth over the recyled paper and iron it to flatten it nicely.

Step 6: Tadaaa... you've got yourself a homemade recycled paper. My daughter cut hers into four pieces. She wanted to make a card with it and decorate it.

This homemade project for kids on How To Make Your Own Recycled Paper At Home is an excellent way to teach kids that waste products can be recycled and reused. 

Life Cycle Of A Butterfly Experiment For Kids

We often have a lot of caterpillars in our garden. However, I never thought of doing this little science experiment before till someone in my Facebook group suggested it. This is a fun and easy science experiment you can do at home with your kids to teach them about the life cycle of a butterfly. The butterfly goes through 4 stages to become an adult. They are egg, lava, pupa and adult.

This wonderful little science experiment is so easy to do and is an excellent way to teach young kids about the life cycle of a butterfly. This is what you will need for your experiment..

1. A see through container
2. Plastic cling wrap and rubber band
3. A caterpillar

First, you will have to catch a caterpillar. What type of host plants are butterflies attracted to? From our experience the Butterflies usually lay their eggs on host plants with leaves that give out a strong odor like lime leaves or curry leaves. They have also laid their eggs on a large fern like plant we have in our garden. Look for caterpillar droppings. This is a sure sign that the caterpillar is somewhere hidden among the leaves. Check for newly nibbled leaves. Then look for the caterpillars either on top or just under the leaves.

Once you find your caterpillar, pluck the leaf where your caterpillar is attached on and place it together with some other leaves in a see through glass or plastic container. Place cling wrap to cover the container and secure it with a band. Then poke some holes to let in air. The young caterpillar is brown and black in color.

Change or add new leaves every day and watch the caterpillar grow. My kids were surprised to see our brownish black caterpillar turn a bright green as it grows. 

As the caterpillar gets ready for the next stage in its life cycle which is the pupa stage, it will cling onto the side of the container and curl up a little. During the pupa stage, the caterpillar will be encased in a  silk like chrysalis. It is fascinating to watch the life cycle happening in real life. My kids and I check our caterpillar daily. 

Soon the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, then you wait for your butterfly to emerge. We waited for one and a half weeks. 

Finally the caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly. Here is a view of our butterfly from the side.

While, here is a view of our butterfly with its beautiful wings spread open. It is amazing to note and watch the changes unfolding. 

Finally here is the empty chrysalis. As soon as we removed the cling wrap, the butterfly took off and flew high up in the sky. We couldn't even have a chance to take a little picture of it. 

Pin the following image if you like this experiment. You can show them the butterfly quote too. "Just When The Caterpillar Thought The World Was Over, It Became A Butterfly" to teach kids to persevere and not give up just like how this experiment requires patience and waiting for the butterfly to emerge from its pupa.

Life Cycle Of A Butterfly Experiment

Your kids can still do the life cycle of a butterfly experiment even if you do not have a garden. You can do so with the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden. With this butterfly growing kit, you will receive a pop up mesh basket, 5 live caterpillars and food for the caterpillars so kids can have their own live butterfly garden of Painted Lady Butterflies. 

A Little Boy's Imagination

Last night my boy showed me a BM Karangan that he wrote for school. I had a good laugh when I read it. He is one imaginative little boy. I'm posting it here for keepsakes so I can show it to him when he grows older. :)

It says...

Kasut Terbang

Saya mempunyai sepasang kasut terbang. Kasut terbang itu berjenama Nike. Kasut terbang itu menggunakan graviti dan api yang tidak mengeluarkan asap. Kasut terbang itu pula boleh menjadi telefon bimbit, rumah, iPad atau komputer riba.

Kasut terbang itu terbang dengan cepat. Oleh itu, saya hanya menggunakan satu minit untuk pergi ke luar negara. Setiap Isnin, Selasa, Rabu, Khamis dan Jumaat, saya menggunakan kasut terbang itu untuk pergi ke sekolah. Saya sangat gembira kerana dapat datang ke sekolah dengan awal. Saya berasa amat sayang dengan kasut terbang itu. Saya menjaga kasut terbang itu dengan baik.

Translation..

Flying shoes

I have a pair of flying shoes. Its brand is Nike (lol). The flying shoes works on graviti and fire that does not produce smoke (wow, environmental friendly. haha). The flying shoes can turn into a hand phone, house, iPad or laptop computer. (rotfl. That's my boy! That is really very like him.)

The flying shoes flies very fast. That is why it only takes a minute to go overseas. Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (According to him, he could not remember what 'weekday' is called in Malay), I use the flying shoes to go to school. I am very happy to be able to go to school early. I love my flying shoes very much. I take good care of it.

Banana Mom Helps Her Child With Homework

This is how a banana mom helps her child with KSSR Homework. The std 3 boy takes out his Chinese homework and says "Mom, I have to go on the internet and search for P.Ramlee and then write something about him."

Great! No website was given. So what do we do now? If you search for "P.Ramlee" you will be rendered search results in English and Malay. Very good. Very good, indeed.

Here are the steps we have to take to complete that homework.

1. We check P.Ramlee in Chinese. It is "Bi Nan Li" Wonderful!
2. So use an online Chinese Character to find each of the characters "bi", "nan" and "li"
3. Then we put them all together (by copy and pasting one by one) and do a google search for "Bi Nan Li" (比南利) in Chinese.
4. Aha! We're getting somewhere. We get search results in Chinese BUT we have no idea what it says.
5. We take a random paragraph and do a google translate and some were talking about unpaid taxes, some were about some fruit whatever!
6. Finally we found one that talked about his career. Excellent!
7. The boy settles down to copy and says "Mom, that is in traditional Chinese"
8. So we get a Traditional Chinese to Simplified Chinese converter and converts the paragraph.
9. Homework is completed at last and mom pulls out her hair!

Feeling annoyed. What a waste of time!

Encouraging Creative Thinking In Kids

Each night before we go to sleep, we will have a little game.

We call the game "3 sentences". Each person will make 3 sentences. The first person will make 3 sentences to start the story, then the next person will make 3 sentences to continue it until it is time for bed in which mummy will make the last 3 sentences and end with "and now it is time to go to bed. The End."

Sometimes the story we make up is about us and current events that affect us. Sometimes it is about something that we read. Sometimes it is about something totally fictional and nonsensical. Whatever it is, it always ends in fits of laughter.

Bed time is always a fun time. Previously, I always stressed over how little sleep the children are getting and how they should go to sleep as soon as possible so when I turn off the lights I always just tell them to "shut up, no talking".

Now, I find that chatting or playing our 3 sentences game is the best time and it doesn't take more than just 10 minutes. So why stress over 10 minutes? The children go to bed much happier and easily after that.

Planting Activity For Kids - Planting Flowers Part 2

I finally found out what is the name of the pink flowers we planted in our Planting Activity For Kids - Planting Flowers Part 1

We were delighted to watch this flower grow from one to a bunch earlier.

Over the next few days, we saw a new bunch. To our delight, it was a different colour, white this time.

Next, we got a darker shade of pink flowers

Then we had several shades of pink

We were so delighted, we ran out and bought more seeds. We found out the flowers are called PHLOX. We hope to see purple and red flowers in our bunch.

We bought several other seedlings to try out too.

Here is our next planting flowers from seedlings project. Our Sunflower seeds have sprouted! Can't wait to meet our English Daisies and Petunia too.

She Thinks In Chinese, He Thinks In English

Both my children are attending Chinese school but it is clear to me that my daughter has taken to Chinese more than my son. Whenever she struggles for a term to use, she would revert to Chinese and try to explain it to me in Chinese. She enjoys reading English story books but I can see that she really loves her Chinese novels. She even started writing one. She wrote several chapters of it but we reformatted the PC and forgot to save it for her. Poor child.

On the other hand, my boy is still enjoying learning English words.

Yesterday, he called me "Mama, Honey" and his sister retorted that "small people cannot call big people honey."

One day, everything was "fascinating", the toy was "fascinating", the book was "fascinating", his homework was "fascinating", why even he was "fascinating". "I'm so fascinating, mom". Sometimes he also tells me "I'm such a creative person" or "I'm a joker." all of which he is.

Recently, he fell and hurt his knee in school. A few days later, he fell and cut his lip in the classroom. "I'm so accident prone, mom". When I asked him where he learned the word "accident prone" he said it was from our Archie comics.

Talking To Children About The Haze

Teaching children is a ongoing daily thing. It is not just sending them to school to learn the ABCs. Children have a lot of questions on just about everything and instead of seeing this as an annoying thing, we should take this as an opportunity to teach them about life.

We are currently facing a bad spell of haze and smog. As a parent, this leads to lots of questions and opportunities to teach.

We should...

1. Explain to the children about the haze, how it happens, why it happens, who is responsible (not to play a blame game) but to educate the children about how important it is to take care of our environment and show them that this is a good example of what bad things can happen when we do not
2. Explain to them the health issues and teach them how to wear a mask the right way. This may lead to more questions. Some children will love the mask while others, like my daughter gets embarrassed and is afraid to wear it because she is afraid she will be laughed at. I had to tell her not to worry because everyone will be wearing it too and health and safety is very important. I also told her that if anyone teases her she can pretend to be a doctor or a dentist and ask if they would like to have a health check or have their teeth removed, then she can laugh with them instead of having them laugh at her. She soon discovered that it was not so bad after all as even her teacher was wearing a mask and they laughed at the teacher instead because they thought she looked very funny. 

Here is a good site to explain to kids about haze and the Air Quality Index.

Every day, many situations are an opportunity to teach, even a bad haze. 

Teaching Kids To Express Themselves

I do not know if it is possible to teach kids to express themselves. I have one boy at home who is very expressive and a girl who is not. It appears to be an inborn thing.

When I wear a dress or put on makeup, the boy would come and gaze at me and say "Wow! Mom, you look so pretty!" He is also the kind to touch my face and give me lots of hugs. He tries to give his sister hugs too but she usually pushes him away. It is an inborn thing. I did not teach him to be so expressive. I guess he will some lucky girl a happy wife next time.

His sister on the other hand, is not the type to show her feelings so openly. Recently, the boy was sent to sick bay at school because he fell. When I asked him whether his sister came to see him, he said "Yes, but you know cheh cheh (sister) lah. She no feeling one."

The girl just shows love and emotions differently. She is the type who likes me to do things together with her. That makes her more happy than a hug.

Although I think that whether a person is expressive or not is an inborn thing and it is not easy to teach someone to be more expressive if they are not, I think that understanding our children better and  how they tick and relate to others will make it a lot easier for us to show love to them... their way.