Focus on the Family

Meeting up with Santa

2011-12-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

Went to meet up with Santa (2011)

We went to Cougar Mountain Zoo in Issaquah (WA), about half-hour drive from Seattle.

The main attraction of this zoo is the reindeer. Being Christmas seasion, is popular with children. They will tell Santa what they wish for this Christmas and the parents, with listening ears, will try their best to make their children's wishes come true. These will be beautifully packed, together with other christmas presents, and place under the christmas tree next to the fire-place. Stockings were also hung by the chimney, one for each child and parents.

For make-believe, they even has a room for children to communicate with Santa and mail a letter to the North Pole. A post-box is in the room for the children to post their letters. How fun.

In this high tech world, you can even go into the official NORAD Santa Tracker via

http://www.noradsanta.org to see where Santa is, in the month of December, before Christmas.

May All The Joys of this Holiday Season be yours throughout the New Year.

Maxine in Winter Gear

2011-12-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

Maxine in Winter Gear

(Christmas - 2011)

Zach Gave Me a Note

2011-08-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

dear Grandpa, Thank you for the Cake

Love ...Zachary

Weekly, I bring Zach to a Language Class. One day, just before class, he said he was hungry. So I told the teacher I will bring him downstairs to get something to eat. After the lesson, maybe with the encouragement of the teacher, he wrote me a note. In life, there is more to just learning a language. We must also know how to apply the communication skills we have acquired from the teacher.

Arrival of Fredrick

2011-05-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

Fredrick with brother Curtis

Fredrick, born April 2011, is being carried by brother Curtis.

A Gift on our 25th Wedding Anniversary

2011-04-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

A Gift from our Children
(Click picture to view video - best view on original size)

Arrival of Maxine

2011-03-26T04:33:00.000-07:00

Maxine with sister Ruby

Maxine, born Jan 2011, is being carried by grandma.

Home Coming

2011-03-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

When you have one sibling coming home (for a short visit) with a newborn, one good way to introduce this newborn is by inviting all to gather at a common place. This not only meet the main objective of coming home but also allow the other children (and adults) to further reinforced their relationship among each other.

How A Child Learns

2011-01-11T03:59:00.000-08:00

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, she learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame, she learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement, she learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to apprecaite.

If a child lives with fairness, she learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval, she learns to like herself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

(Dorothy Law Nolte)

A Family Outing

2010-05-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

Children requires a lot of inputs in their childhood years. Positive inputs I mean. A family outing in whatever form is one of the best choice. It is especially valueable if this is their first experience. This is the first time Thaddeus is going to Universal Studio. Maybe he is still too young to remember anything now. But not for Ethan and Zach, the older brothers.

No Time - Find Time

2010-03-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

Zach & Ethan at the Zoo with Ruby

There is no such thing as No Time. We, adults, use our time differently - at work, with friends/relatives, with the family (children), in religious institutions, sleep/relax, etc. 24/7. Occasionally, organising an outing with the children is value family time. Memories are made of these.

Thaddeus Turned One

2009-08-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

Thaddeus celebrated his one year's birthday with brothers, sister, mom's friends & colleagues and grandpa & grandma.

3 Generations

2009-03-07T03:53:00.001-08:00

When you have the opportunity to have all your children coming home at the same time, why not take the opportunity to have a family shot taken by Professional. This is exactly what we did. Son/daughter-in laws, grandchildren all in one picture - not in the conventional 2-row syndrome.

Memories are made of this

2009-02-19T06:29:00.001-08:00

We are Cousins

It is a rare opportunity where Ruby & Curtis can sit in the same sofa in grandpa & grandma house in Singapore (bottom picture) together with their other Cousins Thaddeus, Sophie, Zachary & Ethan. The youngest (Thaddeus) is six months old and the oldest, (Ethan) is seven years old. Date: 19th Feb 2009.

Ethan K2 Graduation Concert

2008-12-07T03:53:00.000-08:00

Click picture to see movie in RealPlayer

The movie is not taken properly, quite jerky. To minimise the effect, you can reduce the screen size to, say 45%. Click and hold the mouse on the bottom right hand corner of the screen and diagonally push up to reduce the screen size. Ethan acted in the "Rocket" and "Good Neighbourliness". Sophie also acted. Look out for her in the red star fish costume. Enjoy.

Thaddeus Chia has arrived

2008-08-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

Thaddeus with brothers & sister

Thaddeus, born Aug 2008, is being carried by brother Zachary. Looking on is sister Sophie. Ethan is happy with joy.

Curtis turns One

2008-08-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

Curtis turns one in June 2008. A belated birthday wish to Curtis.

Ruby & Mom in Singapore

2008-06-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

Ruby in Singapore

In early June 2008, Ruby and mom came to Singapore for about two weeks. Together with her cousines, Ruby went to a chinese restaurant for dinner. Picture shows grandparents, Ethan, Zachary, Sophie and Ruby.

Sophie turns 2 today

2008-05-27T01:28:00.001-07:00

Sophie turns 2 today

Sophie celebrated her 2nd birthday in school. After mom & Sophie has blown the candles, the cake was shared among her classmates and teachers.

Ruby Coming to Town

2008-05-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Ruby will be in Singapore in June

Ruby will be coming over to Singapore, with mom, in June 2008. Hope she will enjoy her first flight.

Home Activities

2008-05-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

Zachary & Sophie - painting

Besides sleeping and eating, children at this age can never sit still. You either read them a story or provide some toys to engage them. After all this is done, you may want to provide some paint brushes for them to "create" their master pieces. What happens, if the TV is nearby and is turned on to their favourite Disneyland Channel? Oh, nothing happened, they still can enjoy two things at the same time.

Zachary turns 4

2008-04-01T22:32:00.001-07:00

Zachary turns 4 today

Zachary celebrated his 4th birthday in school. As his mother is on overseas business, grandpa took the birthday cake to the school. He and his classmates have a chance to taste the cake after their lunch break. Of course Zachary has the opportunity to keep the two cars that come together with the cake. Happy Birthday Zachary!

Ruby has arrived

2008-02-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

Born Feb-2008

Ethan, Zachary, Sophie and Curtis has a new cousin, called Ruby - daughter of Jay/Dorothy. She is getting on well in Seattle. A new beginning of parenthood for Jay and Dorothy.

Sophie Singing the National Anthem

2008-01-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sophie singing Majulah Singapura

In child development center, besides eating, playing and sleeping, a child do learn social skills that will prepare them to a smooth transition when they enter the normal school in Primary one. Some of the activities I am aware of are the standard learning of the english and chinese languages including story telling, singing, drawing, swimming, outings to farms, gardens and performing in the center's annual "graduation" concert (for the K2 Class).

For singing, there are a lot of materials available, even in "Youtube". Try this Sing Along Trailer with your children.

Growing Up

2008-01-13T03:24:00.001-08:00

A controlled Sleep & Play area

Curtis at 6-months (in Singapore)

As a child grows, his/her needs also grow. For a start after birth, a child only needs three things; to sleep, to eat and to feel secured. My last blog described the activities of a 16-month child.

What happens between the time a child knows how to roll-over to the time he/she can walk. We are talking about the period of a child from between 4-months to 12-months. My observation is, first the child will learn to roll-over, then to crawl (body touching or not touching ground), sit-up, walk (aided) then, the moment of truth, walk unaided.....run!

What is the best arrangement to provide for the above-mentioned development?
The simplest is just to allow the child to learn crawling on the floor (padded is recommended). The disadvantage of this simple arrangement is the fact that the child may pick up some small object and put it in the mouth.

A better arrangement is to have a controlled "development" or play area. What I have done is just to take two single beds, put them side by side to a corner (see picture above). These single beds are of low height and there is no problem in training a child to come down on his/her own (legs first) everytime they wake up on their own.

Sophie First Art Piece

2008-01-13T00:53:00.000-08:00

Sophie, now at 20 months, is quite an independent child, according to her childcare teachers. One of the means to nurture creative minds in children is to expose them to music and the art. See previous blog. For a start, a child will enjoy any colour markers he/she can get hold on. Give them a piece of paper (A3 size) and they will produce a master piece to you.

Other variations include finger printing, water colour with brushes, etc. Be prepared to clean up the mess if you believe in nurturing your child this way.

Curtis has arrived

2007-06-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Born on June-2007

Ethan, Zachary and Sophie has a new cousin, called Curtis - son of Kevin/Linda . He is getting on well in Bellevue. A new beginning of parenthood for Kevin and Linda.

I am One

2007-06-02T02:46:00.001-07:00

Birthday celebrated with my nursery friends (25-05-2007)

Birthday celebrated at home with my parents, brothers & friends
(26-05-2007)

Besides the birthday cake, my mum has ordered a buffet meal for a small group of friends. We, my brothers and I had a wonderful time, playing and eating whatever food my mum's friends gave to me.

I can walk now

2007-06-02T02:31:00.000-07:00

At about 10+ months, Sophie can stand and balance herself a short while. As days go by, she made her first step (unaided) and around her 0ne-year birthday, she can walk comfortably. This picture was taken when her mum celebrated her one-year birthday, on 26-05-2007, at their home. Some of mum's friends were invited for this occasion.

Zachary Needs his daily dose of Sensory Inputs

2007-06-02T01:57:00.000-07:00

Whenever there is an opportunity, we will let Zachary to explore the environment around him. We went to Vivo City one day and allow him to play a short while in an unique concept playground for children. You can see the joy in his face if you can find some sensory inputs which he has not experienced before.

One day as I was unpacking two cardboard boxes, one cube and the other rectangular shapes, he insisted to try his skill to "enclosed" himself inside these two boxes. He even wanted me to "close" the boxes temporarily - to give him the sense of total darkness in a confined space.

My Radio Flyer Tricycle

2007-06-02T01:38:00.000-07:00

Ethan is the first person to have the privilege to ride on this "Radio Flyer" tricycle. Zachary has to wait until his legs are long enough to reach at the pedals. This is a well designed tricycle for children of the age from 3 to 5 years. It is a US design but made in China. Ethan enjoyed riding around the playground in grandma's neighbourhood.

Sophie goes to the Nursery

2007-06-02T00:52:00.000-07:00

When I am about 10+ months, my mum has to look for a nursery to put me in while she is at work. The child development center my brothers are attending does not have a nursery section for children of my age, so I have to be put in another center. You can see the commitment my parents have in bringing us there (in two different centers) and bringing us back again after their work every day. Imagine, if one of those days, both our parents are tied up with their work and cannot be on time to bring us back - then my grandpa will be activated to save the situation (thanks to the invention of the mobile phone - my grandpa is contactable anytime of the day).

I have to go to the nursery at such an early age is because my grandma went for a major op and is advised not to carry any heavy thing for at least three to six months.

I have my first hair cut by professional!

2007-02-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year 2007 is only a few days away. Like everyone, I also want to look my best when visiting relatives and friends. So my grandma brought me to a hair salon. It is just less than 10-minutes job and it is done. Being only 8+ months, I don't really know what is going on, the hair stylist and grandma know how to keep me steady.

I can sit upright

2007-01-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

Look! Sophie can sit upright now (7+ months). She has also taken a full egg yoke (no egg white) during her lunch meal of Nestle brown rice (suitable for 6+ months baby). Sophie is also teething now.

Sophie's Development Update

2007-01-02T03:40:00.000-08:00

At around 6 months plus, Sophie started to craw. Sophie is sleeping on a low-level bed. We do not have railings placed around the edge of the bed. Instead we take care to place extra "foam" mattresses on the floor covering the full length of the bed edges.

At 7 months, Sophie has a first taste of solid food. We gave her a baby biscuit. She enjoyed it very much and finished the whole piece within about half an hour.

We are now training her on spoon feeding. We tried some fruit pastes. Sophie is not ready yet, don't seems to swallow well.

She has to learn fast before we can introduce more new tastes to her.

Updates

2006-12-12T05:53:00.000-08:00

It has been quite sometime since I last wrote in this blog. Ethan is now 4+, Zachary is 2+ and they have a little sister called Sophie who is now 6+ months old. Both Ethan and Zachary are still going to childcare centre and the little Sophie is looked after by her grandparents.

Growing Pains

2006-12-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

Ethan is four and Zachary is two now. Even the younger brother now knows how to say "No" and rejects the first offer of anything you give him to eat or things you encourage him to do. He wants to do things "his" way.The issue of sharing is difficult to teach to a four-years old. Instances of both brothers wanting to play the same toy or game is common. Shouting and yelling to show their displeasures is frequently heard. One solution to avoid a dispute on sharing is to select toys or games that can be played by two persons. Some examples, we found workable, are picture/letter card games, finger/brush painting where both can do it at the same time, puzzles or a tri-cycle for two.

Social Skills and Interactions

2006-12-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

Ethan and Zachary are both placed in the care of one Child Development Centre during the day. For Ethan, this stage of development is crucial. Ethan, not only can remember the names of all his friends in the centre, he is also at ease with all the friends around him in this interactive learning environment. With the guidance of his teacher, he learns to develop confidence, social skills in group playing/exploring, sharing, problem solving, communicating with his friends and build up his vocabulary in expressing himself to his teachers and friends.

Zachary is adapting well in a new environment of the Child Development Centre with unfamilar faces (friends and teachers) around him. With brother Ethan in the same centre does help a bit. We noticed he had learnt to feed himself, messy at times. For those with broadband Internet, you may download a movie clip of Zachary enjoying his peking duck sauce.

Activities of a 16-Months Child

2006-12-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

Besides eating, drinking milk, sleeping, bathing and toilet training, a 16-month baby has periods of time where he is active and running around. If no toy is available, he will improvise his own activity to further develop his motor skills and senses. As care givers, we must constantly find ways to provide opportunity for him to challenge his own senses of hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and touching.

At the same time, his brain is also capturing all the experiences of the day. The next day, he will request for a re-run (or repeat opportunity) for reinforcing his own preferences on one or more activities he has experienced the day before. At this stage of development, he will have more opportunity to experience the senses of touch, sight, hearing and taste (during meals). Smell is too early to introduce at this stage. One reason is the problem of possible allergy the child may have.

Creative Minds

2006-12-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

One of the means to nurture creative minds in children is to expose them to music and the art.

Expanding the Learning Space of a Child

2006-12-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

Through innovation, we can improvise any challenging real life concepts for the young minds. Knowledge like learning space of a child, has no boundary.

First Experience of Snowing in a Mountain Resort

2006-12-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

The mountain resort in BreckenRidge, Colorado USA is at altitude around 10,000 ft. It can snow at night and early morning and sunny in the late afternoon during summer.

When I Don't Sleep, Nobody Sleep!

2006-12-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

When a child has mastered sufficient motor skills, he will try all options to venture into every corner of the house. He will explore anything his hands can get hold on. He will attempt to climb up to any elevated level. At this 15+ months, he will create more dangers for the parents and the caregiver. Constant supervision is necessary during this stage of development. So when he don't sleep, nobody will.

First Taste of Solid Food

2006-12-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

Babies from six months onwards should start to experience "solid" food in addition to milk. As babies' teeth are not form yet and managing "solid" food in the mouth is a new experience, it is recommended that some form of preparation is required. One easy way is to get a mini food chopper and prepare the food to a "pasty" state - like those bottled baby food available in the supermarket. Next is to consider what to introduce to the baby. We can use rice or baby "brown" rice together with any combination of pre-cooked fish such as threadfin fillet, cod fillet or batang steak, sweet potatoes, vegetable, carrots, potatoes, etc and mashed them up with the chopper The water can come from the boiled rice or just boiled hot water. To experience new taste, baby bottled dessert can also be included in the menu.During this period and in between meals/milk, it is also good to introduce baby biscuits like Farley's Rusks. This will allow the baby to learn to coordinate with the hands and the biscuit and to enjoy eating solid food all by himself.

Equal Love

2006-12-11T06:20:00.000-08:00

The economics of planning for a family is to have the children relatively within the age range. This will allow the equipment & clothing purchased for the first child be reused for the second or even the third child - at least for most of the items. If both parents are working, external or grandparents help is the way to go about the situation. Other problems will surface as the children's logical & emotional brain start to question the events happening in front of them. One very common situation is the perception by the elder child thinking uneven love is bestowed to the younger brother or sister.

This kind of behavior is very easy to detect on the elder child if the parents pay a bit more attention to the situation. It is not easy to define or to practise equal love unless we are considering something "physical" like buying toys to every child during Christmas. Even talking too much to one child can be perceived as giving too much attention to one and neglecting the other.

Social Grace

2006-12-11T05:50:00.000-08:00

With a notice posted inside the lift cubicle, it's a message to tell the would-be-culprit that we mean business, but this also tell our visitors that this housing neighborhood has a social problem, i.e. someone (children and/or adults) is using the lift as a toilet! The message projects a wrong attitude to the would-be offender. He is not doing the anti-social habit not because it is wrong to do it, but because he is afraid of being caught by the authority.

How to reduce the occurrence of such unacceptable social behaviour? I believe good social habits start at home - during the early stage of child development we called it toilet training. The next stage is in the play centers and finally it must be reinforced in schools. Down the process of living & learning, something must have gone wrong with a small number of people staying in housing estates that have this kind of "urine in lift" problem. These people causing the problem does not know peeing in the lift is wrong. For those of us who have experienced intense need of a public toilet, occasionally, we definitely know the true meaning of "relieve" after the job is done in a proper environment - and definitely not in a public lift!

My Grandson at 6 Months

2006-12-11T05:34:00.000-08:00

Besides the normal developmental skills described in development charts, I noticed this is the time the baby is attempting to "venture out", that is to propel himself (by his own initiative/method) towards the toys he would like to get to put into the mouth. Three points are of relevance here and they are (1) any danger falling from height (e.g. from the bed), (2) any toy with small parts that may be detached and swallowed by the baby and (3) any hard surface (e.g. edge of bed) that the baby's head may bump onto; as his motor skills are not fully developed yet.

The First Three Years of Child Development

2006-12-11T01:41:00.000-08:00

These are the most challenging, demanding and also most satisfying years for the parents and the caregiver - almost 100% attention is required. These are the years where the child is too young to go to a child care center. At this age, the child only requires the basics and that is (1) proper milk/food, (2) living in a safe/quiet environment, (3) have plenty of suitable toys to see, touch, hear and to play with and (4) inter-acting with the child with lots of communication (by speaking/singing), inter-play and love.

Initially, the child can only communicate through crying or sounds of response, comfort/discomfort. It depends very much on the attention of the person looking after the child to pick up these signals. At later months, sounds or facial expressions of satisfaction/dis-satisfaction, happiness/unhappiness, shock, etc are also developed.

How well the parents and the caregiver master the skills of bringing up a child can be roughly gauged by the number of crying instances. It is alright if the child cries because he is hungry, wanting to sleep or feeling discomfort or sick. It is very important that the parents and the caregiver master the skill of understanding baby's cries (communication) to react to the child's needs appropriately. This will reinforce the bond and provide the child with security which is also needed by the child. The crying instances should gradually be less and less frequent as the child grows. One should avoid developing a child to communicate through crying in wanting something from you.

Joy of Parenthood

2006-12-11T00:52:00.000-08:00

Joy of Parenthood is in its memories

Ethan and younger brother Zachary

Bringing Up a Family

2006-12-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

Many research is done on this and also many books have been published on this topic. As no two individuals are the same, there won't be easy to find what is best for each individual of the family. We are very much influenced by the way we are brought up and as parents, we try to provide our children with the best. There is truth in this saying ... if a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

Every parent want their children to grow up normally and will nurture them along their life journey with proper guidance and encouragement. But, what if, in the course of their development, some "issues" arises, how do we as parents or caregiver react to the new challenges and take appropriate course of actions.