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Earning Pocket Money

Earning Pocket Money

It all started one day when 宝贝 lamented that she’s taking forever to save up for something she wanted. Holding her head between her hands, she was poring over her daily accounts book to see where she could squeeze out more money.

“Well, if you can’t do away with the necessities and save more money, then you will have to make more money. Do you want to make money?”

“YESSSS!”

“Ok. I need someone to distribute flyers. Do you want to do it?”

“You mean stand on the square and give out paper to the passerbys?”

“Yep. I will pay $2 per hour. So, do you want to do it?”

She nodded eagerly. She probably didn’t realise that it’s harder than it seemed. Having done road shows, exhibitions, flag donations, school building donations and even kart kiosks, I know how difficult it was, even for an adult.

“But I want you to do it with me! And Di Di too!”

“Ok fine! I will distribute flyers right beside you!” Walk the talk right?! No sweat. I have thick skin anyway. Di Di aka 小小宝贝 also agreed. Not knowing what he was in for.

So I grabbed some flyers for the tuition centre (Check out Master Class for English tuition for P5-JC2. No point wasting a chance to advertise! Don’t worry, I’m not the one teaching. We have fully qualified MOE teachers hailing from top schools holding the fort.). And we decided to give out flyers outside Parkway Centre, after her dance class.

The BIG Day arrived. Armed with a small stack of flyers, we stood around the basement, among other flyer distributors.

“You only gave me 5 flyers!” She flapped her sheets at me.

“I will give you more when you have used them up. Let’s just do it for 15 minutes first. How much would you  have earned by then?”

Frowning in deep thought, “50 cents? Does Didi get that too?”

“Of course!” Meanwhile, Didi was loitering near the ice cream shop display, ignoring us.

“Hokay! Let’s start!”

I did a few demonstrations and received many rejections, as usual. When I finally succeeded in giving out my first flyer, I smiled triumphantly at 宝贝. She was standing behind me, holding her flyers, looking at me doubtfully.

“There will always be rejections. It’s just part of it. It’s ok. Just persist!” Giving her the YOU-CAN-DO-IT sign.

She spent the next 5 minutes drawing circles on the ground with her shoe.

“Eh, hurry up leh!”

“I’m thinking of how to do it!”

“Ok, let me demonstrate again!”

Then the slew of excuses came. “It’s drizzling! I don’t want to stand in the rain!” “That’s my friend! I don’t want to give this to her!” “They don’t want to take it!”

She finally worked up her courage and walked boldly towards a parent, but one foot away, she suddenly turned around and strode back.

“What happened?!”

“I’m too shy! And why is Di di not doing it! He’s just looking at the ice creams!”

Ok fine! I called 小小宝贝over. “Eh! Are you here to distribute flyers or look at ice creams? Do you want to buy things?” He nodded eagerly. “Do you have money?” He shook his head. “So how?”

The little one said, “I must give out flyers to the uncles and aunties.”

“Ok Good! Tell you what, for every flyer you give out I give you 10 cents! Ok???”

“Yay!” Sigh… Expensive wages..

He looked at me wondering what to do next. Sigh. He was oogling at ice creams when I was doing my demonstrations. So, I gave out a few flyers to show him what to do. I pointed him to the parents sitting around the cafes and Macdonalds.

Without a word, he trotted up to a parent who was messaging on his phone, stood beside him and stared at him with his big round eyes, carrying his cute Eeyore bag and handed out a flyer to him. And… the scumbag waved him away!! Couldn’t he see that a little 4 year old was mustering up his courage to do that?!

Surprisingly, he wasn’t daunted. He walked up to another parent and handed the flyer to him. (Somehow he preferred to give out to Daddies). The daddy smiled and took it from him and patted his head.

He turned to me and gave me the brightest smile ever and hopped in glee. Then he went on to give out another one. The daddy walked past him (he was too small) and didn’t see him, then suddenly realised that the little kid was trying to give him something. He turned back and took the flyer from 小小宝贝.

Meanwhile, 宝贝 also tried to give out her flyers after watching her brother do it. Only to be waved away as though she was a pesky fly. (These parents will get their just desserts!!! Will it kill just to take a piece of paper from a child?!)

Then the hub’s call came. OK. Time to leave.

And so, 小小宝贝 made 20 cents.

Everyone agreed to do it again the next week. 宝贝decided that she would give out at least 1 flyer the next time. 小小宝贝 was looking forward to it as he had first tasted the joy of making money!

Some friends widened their eyes and exclaimed, “Waa! Zun Bo!?” Well, it’s a way to teach them the value of money, that it’s not easy to make money and to only spend the hard-earned money on things that they need. It’s also a way to build up courage and approach people. I find that our children are too soft and too dependent on us, parents, to do everything for them. We need to let them do things on their own, do the tough things, albeit in a safe environment. And definitely, facing up to rejections. It’s not easy to take rejections, but I always believe that, with every rejection, we will just emerge stronger and build thicker skins!

Taking the first step is always the hardest. But once, the step is taken, the rest will follow. For 宝贝, if her 4 year old brother can do it, there shouldn’t be a reason why she can’t do it as well.

So if you happen to be around Parkway Parade on Saturday morning, do come over and say hi to us and give some words of encouragement to the 宝贝s!

If you want your children receive free flyer distribution lesson, you are welcome too! But you pay them their wages ok!!

 

 

 

Car Rides with the Little Ones! I Love THEM!

Car Rides with the Little Ones! I Love THEM!

“How do you know whom she has recess with every day? And that she plays badminton during recess?!” the Hub asked in surprise.

“Of course! I asked her when I drove her to school.  Don’t you talk to her when you drive her to school every day?! You have already driven her for half a year!!” The hub is 宝贝’s regular chauffeur, aka taxi driver. I took over as the relief driver when he had to go overseas for a business trip.

“No leh… Both of us are very tired in the morning. So we just listen to the music on the radio… ”

Well, I LOVE car rides to bits!

I have been chauffeuring my 宝贝s to classes, because my job has more flexibility with regards to working hours. (However, that means that I can practically work round the clock! I often go back to the office at 6pm in the evenings, after dropping the kids home after classes.)

I have always believed in interacting with them even when they were babies. (Ok. I admit that I’m Miss Talkative!) Even before they started talking, I would carry on monologues with them in the car, while I drove. They would be able to reply in their own baby talk, even though they were not able to form words yet. Or we would sing nursery rhymes together (they chimed along in their baby language) as we sped down the expressways.

When they get older, they would tell me what happened in schools and what they have been doing at home.  Even my 小小宝贝 would actively participate with his limited vocabulary. It’s hilarious to hear his descriptions and he often surprises me with new words, which he’s probably picked up from here and there.

This is the best time for parent-child bonding, when we are enclosed within the space, when we are in “a world of our own”. In the car, she tells me who her BFFAE (for the uninitiated ones, it means Best Friend Forever And Ever) is, who her BFF (Best Friend Forever, yes… there IS a differentiation.) is, who the naughty kids in school are, what her aspirations are, how many times her little brother hit her, how proud she is of her small little achievements. It is also during these car rides, when she learns to ask me about others, how great-grandmother is, when she will be discharged from the hospital, what I did for assembly when I was in primary school and more.

So, if you think ferrying your children around is a waste of your time, think again. Time is never wasted if you know how to utilise it. We were on this topic during this morning’s car ride (yes… the Hub is on business trip again…).

She queued twice to get 2 plates of chicken rice because she was hungry after devouring one plate (I have no idea where all these extra food went on her skinny frame) and she didn’t have time to go to the library or play badminton because of that. So today, she’s just going to queue once and buy a bigger portion.

So, I tell her, during the car rides, that my aspiration is to be her BFFAEAE! (must be one up from the BFFAE!)


 

2 Ingredients Gluten free pancake

2 Ingredients Gluten free pancake

Oh great!! I ran out of gluten free pancake mix and the brand I usually use was out of stock on Iherb! After discovering Iherb I simply refused buy the gluten free or organic stuff from local shops anymore! It’s about 30% cheaper on Iherb, including shipping fees! I think I’ll write about Iherb when I’m free!

Anyway, I remembered vaguely that my cousin posted a link in our whatsapp group on some healthy easy-to-do recipes.

Ok… Time to test the pancake recipe. I was pretty skeptical about it because it only had 2 ingredients. Ya… Only 2… And you can find them in everybody’s home. Well… Almost! Maybe 90% of the people have them at home.

Easy peasy. Just egg and banana!!! Huh!! Do I hear you say “huh?!” My reaction exactly when I saw the recipe.

Aiya.. Even if 宝贝 doesn’t want to eat it, I will. I love bananas!

So the proportion is 1 banana (the big one. I use 2 small ones sometimes) : 1 egg

Mash up the banana. Add the egg. Beat them together. Drop a dollop of the mixture on a pan. Make sure your pan is not too hot. The banana burns easily. Once it solidifies, flip it over.

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Ta-da!! Here they are!! Not scoring high in the looks department but they certainly were yummy!!

These were the 2nd batch of my 1st attempt. The 1st batch ended up in my tummy. Too ugly to be seen! It took a few tries to get them reasonably decent looking. ?

But hey! They are gluten free, yummy and easy to make if I run out of breakfast food to serve up.

Have fun!

*Enter TFZ557 at Iherb.com to get $5 off your first purchase!*

1 July 2018

Finally got around to updating the recipe. The batter was too soft with just 2 ingredients and I had a hard time flipping them. I tweaked it a little by adding some coconut flour.

1 big banana (or 2 small ones)

1 egg

1 tablespoon coconut flour

Honesty is a Virtue

Honesty is a Virtue

Just before the music lesson ended, the teacher reminded the whole class,”Next week we will be having a term break. So remember not to come for class, ok?!”

A little voice piped up,”Hahaha! Yes! My Daddy always forgets! So many times!”

To the hub’s horror, the voice came from the 宝贝, who was sitting beside him.

Honesty should be rewarded. I allowed her to eat an extra biscuit – her favourite.

Hand in Hand

Hand in Hand

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Hand in hand, sibling bonding. A peaceful sight.

Before long… The mind starts to wander…

Hmmm… Jie jie’s fingers… Sausages…. Fingers… Sausages….

I wonder what they taste like…. Wonder wonder….

Why bother with wondering?? I’m a man of ACTION! *pops them into my mouth to savour….*

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Extremely loud shriek from Jie Jie “Di Di is eating my fingers!!!”

Facebook

Facebook

Hub : In a few years’ time I’ll get a Facebook account!

Me : Why “in a few years” and not “now”?! I thought you said social media is a waste of time and is bo Liao?! (He’s one of the extremely few persons I know who doesn’t have a Facebook account and he’s in the IT line! Heck! Even my dad who’s a retiree is my friend on fb!!)

Hub : Well, kids are so techy nowadays. When 宝贝 gets a Facebook account, I want to be her first friend. *beams*

Huh?! The mountains and seas couldn’t move him to register for a fb account. No wonder there’s a Chinese saying, “Daughters were their Daddies’ lovers in their previous lives!”

Hmm… That means my friend who has 3 daughters must have been quite a Casanova in his previous life. :p

Happy Father’s Day!

P.S. Darn! That means I can’t complain about him on Facebook anymore!!!! Never mind. There’s still twitter!!

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Silly Triangle

Silly Triangle

It’s the once a term teacher-parent session. I don’t think my parents had ever stepped foot into my schools in the entirety of my studying career. Because during my time, only parents of naughty children were summoned to school. I certainly weren’t an angel but didn’t justify for parent summoning.

Now, parents want to see the teachers, to keep track of their children’s progress. Even pre schools are doing it now! Once every term. Parenting has indeed evolved. From the hands off parents of the past to over zealous ones of the present.

For 宝贝, it’s the usual stuff. No red flag. Good enough for me. No news is good news! No more weird feedback like her lining up for 3-4 helpings of food when she was in nursery 1. (Her n1 teacher must think that I starve her at home…)

Something caught my eye as I was leaving.

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I almost burst out laughing. It’s so “her”. I call her Silly Sally whenever she does silly things at home. The rest of her friends were using the normal textbook adjectives. Maybe I should tone down on the “Silly Sally” usage… Hmmm…

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This is her BFF’s. It really looks like the child, right down to her cute bangs.

Children’s art – a reflection of reality.

Let Them Grow

Let Them Grow

“She doesn’t know how to take the bus.”
“You must be kidding!! Isn’t she in Sec 2 this year?! I went around on buses when I was in Primary 5!!”
“Well, she’s always been ferried around by her mother…”

Oh my goodness…

Overprotective parents. Are we helping or harming our children?? Sure, these youngsters are academically brilliant but completely inept in handling normal day to day stuff.

I even see it in 宝贝. She’s been ferried around so much that taking mrt and bus are treats. I recall that it was the other way round for me. Buses (mrts were only operational very much later) were the norms. Car rides were the treats!!

When I gossiped with my friends about these “lucky” kids, it made me more mindful that I need to stop mollycoddling my children. Sometimes, for the sake of convenience, we “help” them with their tasks. Are we really helping or over helping??

We sometimes underestimate the abilities of our children. They are in fact, very capable of performing many tasks. We, parents, should have confidence in them and let them do it.

宝贝 was able to feed herself at a very young age. Of course, we went through lots of cleaning up and soiled clothes before we reached that stage. It was so tempting to just take over the spoon and shovel the food into her mouth so that I could save myself the task of cleaning up the entire mess!! I shudder at seeing grown up children (even the ones in primary schools) being fed by their parents and maids at the restaurants or even at family functions. Ok, I’d rather go for the mess at home during training than to be caught dead with an academically brilliant imbecile who still requires feeding at an advanced age.

Sure, she wants me to help her with everything, if she has the choice. It’s the easy way out. i usually let her choose – either she does it herself or everything remains status quo. No coercion or begging. Her choice.

Definitely, if the tasks are dangerous to perform at her age, I’d definitely take over. Her grandmas and some friends of mine think I’m too brave. Their idea of “safe” differs from mine at times. :p

There’s no better time than now to let go and let them learn. In fact, I have to constantly remind myself to let go for I can’t take care of her forever.

At the age of 3.5, she can do the following things (which I think all children of her age should be able to do) :
– Use the toilet on her own with the help of the handy ikea stool. That stool is worth every single cent and a hundred times more!!
– Dress herself.
– Prepare her own breakfast. Simple one of course.
– Feed herself.
– Pack her schoolbag.
– Walk home after she alights from her school bus
– Set the table (cutlery and plates) for the whole family at mealtimes.
– Bring her own dirty plate and cutlery back to the kitchen.
– Return her toys and books back to their original places after use.
– Do her own laundry. (Just putting them into the laundry basket and then into the washing machine, turn on the washing machine at the right setting).
– Use the phone, dial the correct numbers and “buy” groceries, (She places her grocery orders with my Dad. Haha.) or simply chit chat. She remembers a few people’s numbers for this purpose.
– Send whatsapp messages with single words.

Quite a long list! Next one on the list – bathe herself adequately.

Of course she gets treats when she does her chores. I just have to take the risk of cleaning up the mess if she fouls up. But hey! It’s for the long term benefit. Think of the amount of time and money you can save when she can help out with the household chores??

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Meanwhile… Here’s my little housemaid in her Hello Kitty apron. That’s extra incentive. She likes to look good when she’s performing household chores. :p

Favouritism

Favouritism

“Eh! You are very 偏心 (show favoritism) leh! You flooded your Facebook with photos of no. 1 but we hardly see any photo of no. 2!!”

Huh?! Really? I checked my Facebook. She really had many more baby photos but then again he’s only 3 months old. However, it’s true that I’ve fewer photos of him in my phone. I used to snap her in every compromising position and laugh over it.

Maybe the novelty of snapping baby photos has worn off? Because we have been through it once and we kind of know or even expect it when he does certain things at the “right” age.

The bigger reason is probably because we used to have only 1 baby. Now we have a young child and a baby. The child demands attention from us and so does the baby. There’s simply no luxury of time for us to hold up the camera and patiently coax the baby into the positions that we want him to be in. Not with a little child hopping around us, demanding for her needs to be fulfilled.

At the same time, 宝贝 wants me and me alone to help her with her activities when she was previously contented to have her grandparents help her with it. She’s sensed that her attention from me has effectively been halved with the arrival of the baby and wants it back.

Do I love her more or the baby less? Love is something that can’t be quantified. Hah! This drives the statisticians mad. I love both of them. I love to cuddle with Ms chubby and the baby. Sometimes 3 of us just cuddle together.

But yes, I’ve only 24 hours a day. Time has to be shared. There’s no other way out of this. And while she is lucky enough to be first born, she had an extra 3 years’ worth of 100% love and attention from us. I refuse to agree that 小小宝贝 has been short changed, for now he has the attention and love from everyone plus his doting sister. She’s extremely gentle with him.

She showers him with love and kisses every day. She even holds conversations with him on her daily activities with him “oohing” and “aahing” in his baby talk. I’ve been trying to capture it on video but she clams up when she sees me sneak up with my phone. Sigh… I need to pick up some stealth skills for this paparazzi work.

Both my 宝贝s captured in a shot. *V*

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