Found this little poem online and thought it was worth sharing.
Children Learn What They Live
Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph. D.
If children live with hostility,
they learn to fight.
If children live with ridicule,
they learn to be shy.
If children live with tolerance,
they learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement,
they learn confidence.
If children live with praise,
they learn to appreciate.
If children live with fairness,
they learn justice.
If children live with security,
they learn faith.
If children live with approval,
they learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance, and friendship,
they learn to find love in the world.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Child Abuse or Leave Them Alone?
Recently I was at a midtown grocery store and the below scene unfolded before my eyes in the afternoon.
A mom & her son standing in line at the check out stand. The mom is relatively young, she looked to be in her mid-20's. Her son, maybe between 2 and 3 years old. Her son was crying and crying hard & loud. Mom was carrying her son on her hip trying to pay for their items. Mom was in a tank top, shorts, and flip-flops, body tattoos were visible.
A woman stood behind them witnessing the crying scenario. The woman was a stranger. A bit older , probably in her early 50's. She was dressed in a full length solid-color cotton-like short-sleeve dress with comfortable walking shoes. She was alone and also waiting to pay for her items.
The woman voiced her concerns to the mom for the child's stress (crying) during the line, some words were exchanged, and the mom took offense and created a scene by shouting "the boy bumped his head on the door knob, call the police!" and stormed out to get the store's security guard & manager.
The mom & son, who stopped crying now, spoke loudly to the security guard and manager (for all to hear), that she was basically being harrassed by the woman. That she [the mom] was accused of child abuse and was threatened to have Child Services called because her child was crying! Obviously the mom was angry!
The woman then came up to the mom and said "I am right here and can hear you" turns to the guard and manager and voiced the following in a calm quiet demeanor "I am concerned about the child because he was in distress and crying non-stop. I had been witnessing the child's crying throughout the store the entire time. It was continuous and did not stop."
The mom rubuted immediately that "he was crying because he wanted ice cream ma'am and I am not going to give him ice cream; what child wouldn't cry when he can't have ice cream?"
However without hearing the reasoning or excuse, the woman continued with the manager and pleaded for "...somebody to step in and help that child..."
So question(s) of the day:
Do you feel that that woman had the right to step in as an advocate for the child? OR Do you feel the mom had the right to discipline her child by letting him "cry it out" in public?
A mom & her son standing in line at the check out stand. The mom is relatively young, she looked to be in her mid-20's. Her son, maybe between 2 and 3 years old. Her son was crying and crying hard & loud. Mom was carrying her son on her hip trying to pay for their items. Mom was in a tank top, shorts, and flip-flops, body tattoos were visible.
A woman stood behind them witnessing the crying scenario. The woman was a stranger. A bit older , probably in her early 50's. She was dressed in a full length solid-color cotton-like short-sleeve dress with comfortable walking shoes. She was alone and also waiting to pay for her items.
The woman voiced her concerns to the mom for the child's stress (crying) during the line, some words were exchanged, and the mom took offense and created a scene by shouting "the boy bumped his head on the door knob, call the police!" and stormed out to get the store's security guard & manager.
The mom & son, who stopped crying now, spoke loudly to the security guard and manager (for all to hear), that she was basically being harrassed by the woman. That she [the mom] was accused of child abuse and was threatened to have Child Services called because her child was crying! Obviously the mom was angry!
The woman then came up to the mom and said "I am right here and can hear you" turns to the guard and manager and voiced the following in a calm quiet demeanor "I am concerned about the child because he was in distress and crying non-stop. I had been witnessing the child's crying throughout the store the entire time. It was continuous and did not stop."
The mom rubuted immediately that "he was crying because he wanted ice cream ma'am and I am not going to give him ice cream; what child wouldn't cry when he can't have ice cream?"
However without hearing the reasoning or excuse, the woman continued with the manager and pleaded for "...somebody to step in and help that child..."
So question(s) of the day:
Do you feel that that woman had the right to step in as an advocate for the child? OR Do you feel the mom had the right to discipline her child by letting him "cry it out" in public?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Weekend Meme: 5 Places You Want To Travel To With Your Child(ren)
Instructions:
- Those tagged will share 5 Places You Want To Travel To With Your Child(ren) before they turn 18!
- Those tagged will tag 5 additional people.
- Those tagged will leave their meme in the comments section (or a link) so everyone can keep track of what's being posted.
I was recently inspired by my co-worker who took her oldest son on a 1:1 trip to Japan! Her husband took the 2 younger children (2 years old and 10 month old) on a 1:2 trip to Hawaii during the same time and they met up afterwards in Hawaii!
5 Places I Want To Travel To With My Child(ren) Before They Turn 18
- Bhutan during Chinese New Year - where Daddy's big extended and loving family is!
- Paris, France in Christmas - so we can experience a different sort of Xmas celebration
- China (Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Beijing) - it will be a first for all of us to learn our heritage and culture first hand.
- Bangkok, Thailand - this is the 'easiest' common stop for our international family gatherings
- Australia & New Zealand - absolutely looks gorgeous on the Travel channel
I tag the usual suspects:
Allison
Lynette
Kristy
Lin
Miriam
Monday, May 5, 2008
Grease babies
This is slightly disturbing but cute at the same time. Too bad we can't edit it to put our kids' actual faces in there... 'cause we've got all kinds of free time for things like that, right?
http://members.shaw.ca/anabw/grease.htm
http://members.shaw.ca/anabw/grease.htm
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Girls Night Out!
A Much Deserved Girls' Night Out was held this past Saturday! YAY! What more can we say?! We love hanging out each other and getting to know each other better! Six of us moms decided to go and do something out of the ordinary. The original plan was opened to all the other moms in the gigantic playgroup; however, because of the special promotion deal going on, only 6 of us moms got it. SIGH! Next time!
However, the six of us "wild" moms left our own child behind with his/her daddy. We like to think of it as 'fostering some 1:1 time with Daddy'. Thanks to our better-halves for being indulgent and supportive on a much needed break away from the parenting routine. The boys had to options of doing their own thing with their own child OR head over to our good friends, Sherry & Oliver, for a "Daddy & Me Playgroup and Pizza Night". How nice is our playgroup?! That there is ALWAYS something going on for the kids no matter what!
So what did us girls do?
Day Spa
We met up at the local day spa for a fun "Margarita Night"! WhooHoo! Of course, we had TWO daddy's complaining "why were we NOT invited for spa, we could really use a facial?" (eh, you know you are: Oliver & Chhimi!) We started in the "Cat Lounge" for some simple gabbing and catch up as we await for our party to get started. Then we were led to our private 'Cabana Lounge' where the 6 of us got to sit in a tropical setting, served chips & salsa, non-alcoholic margaritas, and a lovely 30 minute foot soak while we gabbed some more!
For me being such a NON-girly girl, at first, I had NO idea about the foot soak and why even do it. It only seemed like a 'luke-warm' water and eh...not doing much. However, I must say, AFTER the soaking, my feet were just soooo soft and silky, I was like..."Aaah, okay, I get it now and I like it!"
Then one by one, our masseuse/facial therapist came in to begin our individual service. A couple of us got massages and the rest got facials! My experience was HEAVENLY...however, next time, I am definitely going for the 60 minute massage instead of the 30 minute teaser ;o). Totally LOVED IT and Relaxed!
Dinner & Game
Okay, found out one thing about a couple of our moms. TWO of them (Lynette & Kristy) are really into sports! Go Girls!! The Final Four for NCAA was going on...and Lynette had to...I mean really, HAD TO, watch the game no matter what, because her team is playing the "Heels", UNC-Chapel Hill vs Kansas. Kristy also had to watch it because well, UNC was part of her NCAA pool. LOL!
So off to a local "American Cooking" restaurant where they only had ONE TV in the place and it was at the bar. So the 6 roudy moms decided to disrupt the entire bar service and started pulling all 6 bar stools from every which corner so we can sit together! LOL!
We got to chat about lots of different topics including Sex, Money, Drugs...eh wait, that's an episode from "Real Housewives" NYC or Orange County ;o) HAHA! Let's just say we just talked and talked for the rest of the dinner, besides keeping scores of the NCAA game. We thoroughly enjoyed the company, the food, the atmosphere, and just being plain out and about with our girlfriends!
The night was really great. The only lowlight was the lost of UNC-Chapel Hill that totally bummed 2 of the moms! HUGS! They will do it NEXT YEAR!!!
Hopefully we'll get to do some more Girls Night Out in the future as well! Wanna join next time?!
However, the six of us "wild" moms left our own child behind with his/her daddy. We like to think of it as 'fostering some 1:1 time with Daddy'. Thanks to our better-halves for being indulgent and supportive on a much needed break away from the parenting routine. The boys had to options of doing their own thing with their own child OR head over to our good friends, Sherry & Oliver, for a "Daddy & Me Playgroup and Pizza Night". How nice is our playgroup?! That there is ALWAYS something going on for the kids no matter what!
So what did us girls do?
Day Spa
We met up at the local day spa for a fun "Margarita Night"! WhooHoo! Of course, we had TWO daddy's complaining "why were we NOT invited for spa, we could really use a facial?" (eh, you know you are: Oliver & Chhimi!) We started in the "Cat Lounge" for some simple gabbing and catch up as we await for our party to get started. Then we were led to our private 'Cabana Lounge' where the 6 of us got to sit in a tropical setting, served chips & salsa, non-alcoholic margaritas, and a lovely 30 minute foot soak while we gabbed some more!
For me being such a NON-girly girl, at first, I had NO idea about the foot soak and why even do it. It only seemed like a 'luke-warm' water and eh...not doing much. However, I must say, AFTER the soaking, my feet were just soooo soft and silky, I was like..."Aaah, okay, I get it now and I like it!"
Then one by one, our masseuse/facial therapist came in to begin our individual service. A couple of us got massages and the rest got facials! My experience was HEAVENLY...however, next time, I am definitely going for the 60 minute massage instead of the 30 minute teaser ;o). Totally LOVED IT and Relaxed!
Dinner & Game
Okay, found out one thing about a couple of our moms. TWO of them (Lynette & Kristy) are really into sports! Go Girls!! The Final Four for NCAA was going on...and Lynette had to...I mean really, HAD TO, watch the game no matter what, because her team is playing the "Heels", UNC-Chapel Hill vs Kansas. Kristy also had to watch it because well, UNC was part of her NCAA pool. LOL!
So off to a local "American Cooking" restaurant where they only had ONE TV in the place and it was at the bar. So the 6 roudy moms decided to disrupt the entire bar service and started pulling all 6 bar stools from every which corner so we can sit together! LOL!
We got to chat about lots of different topics including Sex, Money, Drugs...eh wait, that's an episode from "Real Housewives" NYC or Orange County ;o) HAHA! Let's just say we just talked and talked for the rest of the dinner, besides keeping scores of the NCAA game. We thoroughly enjoyed the company, the food, the atmosphere, and just being plain out and about with our girlfriends!
The night was really great. The only lowlight was the lost of UNC-Chapel Hill that totally bummed 2 of the moms! HUGS! They will do it NEXT YEAR!!!
Hopefully we'll get to do some more Girls Night Out in the future as well! Wanna join next time?!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Little Support Systems
Just a little reflection. It is so interesting to see that even at this young age, our toddlers, have built their own support system or found support buddies in their day-to-day environment. Our children are basically growing up with each other and as one (or two) moves on to the older classrooms or different classrooms, they have to find their environment again but it became crucial to have a friend to lean on. Not much different compared to the grown-up world where even as adults, we seek the familiarity to guide us in uncharted territory.
For Erik, he has not yet transferred to the older classroom if 2 and 3 year olds. However, as his older friends leave like Kelly, Jackson, and Gabriel, he regularly peeks over to the big kids' yard longing to be with them. At the same time, Erik also leans on his other buddies more, such as Karalyn, who became the classroom "mommie" after the steps of Miss Kelly.
Mondays are always a little hard for Erik and he can get clingy but not crying or whiny, just wanting extra hugs and kisses from Mommy or Daddy. Who wouldn't want those affections from their own mommy or daddy!?!. Usually we drop him off outside but this morning, it was inside since Mommy was a little early. Erik was a bit apprehensive in going into his classroom so a big squeeze and hug outside and into the room we go. He immediately looked around and got clingy, until Mommy pointed out, "Look there's Karalyn playing" and really, it was like a "sigh! of relief - good, my friends are here!" and he happily trotted over and got a Duck Puppet to play with. Then he saw Audrey in the next room, always grinning away, and Erik definitely got a lot more comfortable and even sat down by himself on the table with Luke.
Daddy Chhimi has also introduced a new 'pick-up routine' for Erik. He gets to go to the big kids yard at the end of the day and there Miss Kelly is one of his big support buddy and vice versa. Kelly would wait for Erik to cross the big wooden gate and give a big HUG for a friendly greeting. And OFF they go...to the xylophones, to the big sand pit, to the bikes, etc. These two even pretend to have 'picnics' together with the wood chips! One day when Kelly was picked up early, Erik literally searched high and low for his "Bid Kid" buddy. Jackson is another that loves to come and greet Erik as well. Last Friday, Jackson led prego Mommy Allison all the way across the yard just to play xylophone with Erik and those two shared so nicely and played quite a harmonious tune!
I am so glad that Erik is already building his network of support and hopefully also giving support to others as well! It's an added bonus when the parents actually like each other and want to hang out on the weekends too with the kids! It really gives them a lot more interaction opportunities with each other.
Who wouldn't want to befriend this little guy?
I'm already dreading the Kindergarten age when most of us will go our 'separate ways' via public school or private school! ARGH!
For Erik, he has not yet transferred to the older classroom if 2 and 3 year olds. However, as his older friends leave like Kelly, Jackson, and Gabriel, he regularly peeks over to the big kids' yard longing to be with them. At the same time, Erik also leans on his other buddies more, such as Karalyn, who became the classroom "mommie" after the steps of Miss Kelly.
Mondays are always a little hard for Erik and he can get clingy but not crying or whiny, just wanting extra hugs and kisses from Mommy or Daddy. Who wouldn't want those affections from their own mommy or daddy!?!. Usually we drop him off outside but this morning, it was inside since Mommy was a little early. Erik was a bit apprehensive in going into his classroom so a big squeeze and hug outside and into the room we go. He immediately looked around and got clingy, until Mommy pointed out, "Look there's Karalyn playing" and really, it was like a "sigh! of relief - good, my friends are here!" and he happily trotted over and got a Duck Puppet to play with. Then he saw Audrey in the next room, always grinning away, and Erik definitely got a lot more comfortable and even sat down by himself on the table with Luke.
Daddy Chhimi has also introduced a new 'pick-up routine' for Erik. He gets to go to the big kids yard at the end of the day and there Miss Kelly is one of his big support buddy and vice versa. Kelly would wait for Erik to cross the big wooden gate and give a big HUG for a friendly greeting. And OFF they go...to the xylophones, to the big sand pit, to the bikes, etc. These two even pretend to have 'picnics' together with the wood chips! One day when Kelly was picked up early, Erik literally searched high and low for his "Bid Kid" buddy. Jackson is another that loves to come and greet Erik as well. Last Friday, Jackson led prego Mommy Allison all the way across the yard just to play xylophone with Erik and those two shared so nicely and played quite a harmonious tune!
I am so glad that Erik is already building his network of support and hopefully also giving support to others as well! It's an added bonus when the parents actually like each other and want to hang out on the weekends too with the kids! It really gives them a lot more interaction opportunities with each other.
Who wouldn't want to befriend this little guy?
I'm already dreading the Kindergarten age when most of us will go our 'separate ways' via public school or private school! ARGH!
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