Should We Really Be So Kiasu?

How many of us flash cards to our babies before age 1? Or bring them to extra classes by age 2? I'm sure many parents in Singapore do. It's become second nature to us to be kiasu for our children, trying to give them what we perceived as advantage.

I'm guilty of this myself. So when a friend linked this blog post call What Should a 4 Year Old Know? by A Magical Childhood on Facebook recently, it felt like someone hitting my head on the back saying, "What the hell were you thinking?".

I have re-posted it as it such a good read for parents, especially Singapore parents. We live in this society that is so competitive that it consumes us. It seem inevitable that we as parents behave this way. So sometimes its good to just take a step back, take a deep breath and have a look at what's going on.

I believe that every kid has their own learning pace and it is important to let do them do things or learn at their own speed. Right now I'm just concentrating on teaching him the rights values. Just today when Lilian was trying to apply moisturizer to his feet, he used my name to reject Lilian. He actually said, "My daddy say cannot put cream." I was right outside and came in after hearing it, gave him a very hard stare and told him off.

Anyway if you are a parent of a young kid, I strongly encourage you to have a read at the blog post.

Chopsticks

Lilian decides to let Xavier try the new training chopsticks today. Naturally Xavier was very excited as the training chopsticks had Percy the green train from the Thomas and Friends series.

The training chopstick has one end that is attached and three loops where the thumb, index and middle fingers go through. This guides and helps the kids get a better grip on the chopsticks. What is left now is for the kid to open and close his fingers to "use" the chopstick.

I'm quite amazed how fast Xavier grab the concept of using the chopstick. Good job Xavier.

Sharks, Tango Yankee. Out...

Ever look forward to something and when you actually have it, you have a tinge of sadness? I'm experiencing that now and it's a strange feeling.

Today marks the stand-down of 650 SIR (Singapore Infantry Regiment) and more importantly my status change to MINDEF Reserve (MR). I would no longer be called back for In-Camp Training (ICT) and Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) but am still liable for NS (till age 40, the current statutory age for non-officers). Almost every Singaporean males look forward to this day, except for some like my platoon commander (PC) who have volunteered to continue his NS tour of duty for another 10 years or so.

On the flip side, we would not be able to go through the ups and lows that we have experienced together as a platoon, for over a decade, unless the unlikely button is really pressed. What we do have are bitter-sweet memories to savour. As age catches on, I hope we could still meet at least once a year to refresh each other of these bittersweet memories.

This is the final march of 650SIR. As our Platoon Sergeant Danny says, "The last march out was sweet but sad."


If you are wondering what the title is about, it's coded message which just means "Scouts, thank you. Out.".

Lucas: Sumo baby in the making

Just pass one month and Lucas have shown signs of following his brother footsteps, to be a Sumo-Baby. Check out his progress: Michelin arms, thunder thighs and double chin forming...

And he also have the potential to be future parade commander for NDP (National Day Parade). His crying is so bright and forceful that I had to use these.

And I never thought I would need to dig these out other for use at the range during my reservist.

Boys and their jungle hats

I was packing my army stuff for the upcoming reservist next week when curious Xavier came to "supervise" my packing. He was armed with all kinds of questions like "Why you wear this?" while pointing to the pair of army boots. Think he was having fun rumbling through my army stuff.

Then he found my old jungle hat (aka condom hat) and he asked, "Can I wear hat?". "Sure." I replied and it was photo time.

While he was having fun smiling to the camera, I was wondering how would he view the greens when his time comes??

Xavier's Mandarin Has "kang tang" Slang

We been trying to speak more Mandarin to Xavier. He can repeat after us but he has this "kang tang" slang, like an Ang Mo speaking Mandarin. ಠ_ಠ

Grilling it up...

I have always resisted installing window grilles. The sight of grilles makes the house looked caged. Plus my living room has almost full length windows, so it seems down right ugly to install grilles on them.

But alas the time have come to sacrifice for our boys, again. While it was manageable for two of us to watch over Xavier like a hawk to make sure he doesn't do silly things like attempting to climb onto a chair and look out of the window, its impossible to keep an eye on two boys 24/7. So I reluctantly agreed to Grill It Up, for safety reason and Lilian's piece of mind.

I got quotations from three companies. One of the companies, Legate, offers a "invisible grille" concept. Its actually very thin stainless steel wires which looks almost invincible thus you still get the view and the protection. However it's alot more expensive compared to the traditional grilles. I would definitely consider them if its for our new place next time.

The quotes from other two companies were similar and we settled for Pang Giap since I seen good reviews from the forums. And it so happen our shower screen glass doors of both toilets broke down and we got them to install new shower screens as well.

The installation was surprisingly fast and alot quieter than we had anticipated. And there you have it, Grilles...