“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” It’s much the same way with babies and toddlers when it comes to sleeping through the night and going to the toilet. You just can’t force them. Still, there is no shortage of expert advice on the how-tos and the whens...
Mid-Week Links In my experience, people have generally been very supportive of breastfeeding in public here in Malaysia. Still we’ve heard stories from different parts of the world of mums being harassed when breastfeeding their babies in public places. Here is a collection of notes about attitudes towards public breastfeeding in different countries around...
Children are very much digital natives who tend to gravitate towards the computer and all things digital. What better way, then, to sneak in some learning than on the computer. There are many good software available that entertain and teach at the same time. Here are four that young children will love. My First...
Mid-Week Links Last month we broached the subject of why it’s not a good idea to hit your child. This week, Time Magazine reports on a new study that provides the strongest evidence yet that children’s short-term response to spanking may make them act out more in the long run. When it comes to...
Did you give your child a hug today just because…? Did you take the time to understand his need to go on the computer for another hour? Did you listen and look her in the eye when she was talking to you? Did you tell him that you still loved him when he told...
One day when Sophie and her mummy were having tea in their kitchen, there was a knock on the door. It was a big, furry, stripy tiger that happened to be famished. So Sophie’s mummy invited him to tea and he ended up eating everything that was edible in their house. He ate all...
Mid-Week Links Childcare expert Penelope Leach says that recent brain research proves that babies who are left to cry for prolonged periods are at risk of suffering damage to their developing brains, which reduces their capacity to learn. Young babies do not have the mental equipment to “learn” to go to sleep at the...
Too many parents still believe in corporal punishment as an effective way to ensure that their children are well-behaved and disciplined. Even though it is now illegal to hit children in 25 countries, the debate continues to rage, among parents, over whether or not to whack their kids. Parents want to know whether it...
Mid-Week Links Great news for homeschoolers this week. Not only do homeschoolers outperform their school-going peers, homeschooled adults are more socially-engaged, have higher incomes and are happier than their contemporaries who went to school, according to a new study titled Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults from the Canadian Centre for Home Education. The...
Balakrishna, 15, is a math and science prodigy. At age two, he was already a confident reader. When he turned four, he started reading National Geographic and Popular Science magazines. By the time he was seven, he was filling his days with textbooks on Trigonometry, Calculus and Algebra. Two months ago, we talked to...
Mid-Week Links Milk is the main source of nutrition for all babies, and the milk produced by mothers is tailored specially to the newborn’s needs. Here’s one more article explaining why all mothers should breastfeed. Mid-Week Smile. TRU-BREAST: Marketed here as a revolutionary new method of infant feeding that is ready in an instant...
Swimming clubs in the US and UK have taken to imposing rules on pushy parents that forbid them to put excessive pressure on their children to win. Their 10 commandments for parents—rules that could easily be applied to any other sport, activity or academic pursuit—go like this: • Thou shalt not impose thy ambitions...
Mid-Week Links Mothers will soon be able to legally breastfeed in public in Taipei, thanks to a new law that will be passed tomorrow. A fine of between NT$5,000 and NT$30,000 may be imposed on those who try to stop a mother from breastfeeding in a public place. Score one for breastfeeding families everywhere....
All children exhibit a potential for creativity, just as all children show a potential for intelligence. Unlike intelligence, however, not many children get to live up to their promise for being creative. This is primarily due to the fact that every child’s creativity is not properly nurtured, says Ashfaq Ishaq, executive director of the...
Mid-Week Links David Tan has a great post on how homeschoolers can find their way from homeschool curriculums to major exams like the O levels, SATs or the IGCSEs. Homeschooling mum Swee Bin tells her story. Attachment Parenting International last week launched its Feed with Love and Respect blog carnival, of which Parenting Works’...
When Anna Wong’s daughter, Nicole, was diagnosed with global delay syndrome, she made it her business to seek out therapies and practitioners who could help. With the characteristic determination of a mother on a mission, Anna also set up Senses at Play to market educational toys that help children—especially special needs children—enhance their development...
The next time you are about to throw out a used container or an old t-shirt or the cardboard roll that holds the paper towels, think again—your kids may find it useful. Children love fantasy. And they enjoy working with their hands, learning as they go along. With a little bit of imagination and...
Picture books are an engaging way to immerse children in the wonderful world of literature. Pick a compelling story with convincing illustrations and lovable characters and it is easy to send a child off into the great world of the imagination where everything is possible. Here are five picture books that my kids have...
As parents, we can’t help but worry about the effects that digital games have on our children. Will playing too many digital games affect their studies? Are these games too violent? Will they harm our children’s eyesight? Do they encourage thinking skills? For those of us who are digital immigrants, it can take a...
On 1 May 2008, Alison Murugesu-Ghani and Ghani Ishak set off with their three-year old son, Adrian, to see the world in a Nissan Patrol 4×4 that they have fondly dubbed Tuah. Together they covered more than 60,000 miles in 43 countries across four continents before their journey was prematurely cut short in August...
