Mom.Dad.Chat

Sometime this month, the class my son is in is required to do a presentation to parents. Each 4 to 5 year-old child has a different sentence to memorize and they are basically sentences that introduced China. They are pretty long sentences of more than 10 words each and all the kids are required to know their own lines by heart. During the presentation, they will step forward one by one to talk about China by saying the lines that they have memorized.

About a week prior to the presentation, the class teacher did ask the parents for help to get their kids to remember their own lines. After a few tries, my son did manage to say what is required out of him. But a classmate of his ended up crying during the rehersals because he couldn’t remember what he has to say.

I guess it amazes me because even at 4 years old, a child can put unnecessary pressure of himself to do as well as his classmates. His mom told me that he was a little unhappy at home and coming to school one morning because he knew he couldn’t blurt out what he needed to say during the class rehersal.  He just cannot recall the words.

In a way, to have a desire to be as good as the peers, can be a positive quality. It means a kid will strive to do his best because there is a certain amount of pride in himself. But I think it can also be tough because of the pressure he imposed on himself to do well.

As I have said, these are 4-year-olds I’m talking about. Even at 4, they are already so conscious of what they can and can’t achieve in relation to their peers and the adults’ expectations. Well, can anybody take a guess what will happen when they are 14?

I went to a men’s tailor shop with my husband the other day and the owner was showing my husband some tuxedos designs. Not that we were there to make a formal wear but after taking all the necessary orders, he was just trying to entice my husband to make another tuxedo.

The owner knows that my husband had made one before at his shop quite some time back. After noticing that the measurements have changed, he simply took advantage of the fact to do some selling being one shrewd businessman.

Anyway, we didn’t take the bait that day. But I guess when the occasion demands it, there would be a need to make another.

How many of you actually draws up a household budget? I was asked this question about budgeting for household expenses the other day and I said that I have never ever drew up a budget.

I don’t really have a fixed amount in mind about how much I should spend in a month. I don’t buy expensive and unnecessary stuff often and the rest, I would just buy them as needed.

I know some people go to the supermarket or fresh market with a budget and a list in hand. That is all they are going to spend on that trip and nothing more. Which is good in a way because you are restricting yourself to buy only what is necessary.

For me, with no budget in mind, I will just buy what I think I need rather what I actually need for that week or month. This means that, sometimes, I end up buying and over-stocking of some things on top of the many items that are impulse purchases. A packet of candies and a bottle of water here and there. Things that aren’t necessary but are bought anyway.  

I think if I actually list down all I have spent for the month, I will find I have lots of room to cut down on my expenses. But I just don’t have that financial discipline to do that. It’s hard to get into the habit of buying only what you need and stay within that budget when you have not done anything to curb your spending before.

For instance, if you have a budget for meals and are too lazy or tired to cook for a couple more days than anticipated, it will be tough, isn’t it? That means you will be forced to cook to keep within your budget, no matter how much you want to dine out. It seems incredibly tough to me. Which probably explains why I have never prepared any household budgets before. It would be pointless!

I was looking at some iPods the other day at an electronics store and it seems like we have certainly come a long way from those Walkman days. Now, you can store thousands of songs on a device so much smaller and with better sound quality too.

Not only that, you can also watch videos now on an iPod instead of just listening to songs. So, whether you are on a bus or waiting for someone, an iPod lets you pass your time quicker by watching and listening to your favorite song clips.

With various designs and colors, you can also buy accessories for them to make it a truly personal gadget to match your style and character. Cool, isn’t it?

When I see what my kid is learning in kindy these days, I find that time has really changed. In my time, I remember learning 123 and ABC at kindy. Of course, I also learned the different colors and did coloring as well.

Now, my son is in his second year at kindy. Today, he brought home his number writing book and I saw that he is already being taught the numbers 21 to 30. Whether he can actually count something up to 30 without losing concentration, I’m not too sure. But it is certainly hard, isn’t it, for a 4-year-old to count until 30?

I don’t know. Maybe I’m comparing it to my time which is 3 decades ago. For his class presentation to parents recently, the theme was Getting to Know China. So, he and his classmates were made to recite a sentence to introduce China. Of course, they were also taught some simple things about China as part of a project. When I was 4, what do I know about China? I didn’t know China even existed then!

Anyway, I also see my son learning how to copy words for his activity book. These are not only simple words like car and boy. Some of these words include astronaut, princess, pirate and yellow. I mean I would expect a 3-letter or at most 4-letter words to be copied or written by kindy pupils. But words like astronaut and princess seem a little too advanced for kindy to me.

Which brings me to this question. What are your kids learning at kindy? Is it the norm now to learn such ”advanced” stuff at kindy or is this only confined to this competitive city called Hong Kong??

In times of recession, jobs are naturally hard to come by. Many people who are made redundant have to wait for months before they can get another job or even to secure an interview. Even in big cities, the chances of landing a job is no better when a severe downturn happens.

However, sometimes, you can still get a job through job placement agencies. If you are looking for New York jobs for example, employment agencies around the area may be able to help you if you have the right skills and qualification that match with an employer’s requirements. It may be more competitive during a recession as more people will be competing for a limited number of vacancies, but you will still need to try if you want to land a job. At least if you continue trying, the chances will be there while if you don’t, you won’t have any chance of finding work at all!

I recall that when I was in kindy and primary school, I had to do all the homework myself. There was hardly any parent involvement required and back then, school project that needed a parent’s assistance was virtually non-existent.

Nowadays, I find myself having to get involved in my son’s kindy projects. These are usually those art and craft stuff that requires the kid to do the project together with a parent. Now, I’m not good at art, and it is something that I dreaded at school. I hated drawing and whatever I drew or painted just didn’t look at all appealing.

But these days, I have to do all these art and craft stuff with my son. With Christmas approaching, the kindy wanted the kids to make a Christmas card. How does a 4-year-old know how to design a Christmas card, right? So, this mommy has to search google on how to make a greeting card to get some ideas.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be really pretty and even a simple card will do. But from previous projects, I do see some of the parents do put in a lot of effort to come up with really nice designs of what were requested. From Easter eggs to lanterns for mid-autumn festival, some parents do help their kids to hand in really nice-looking designs of these items.

No doubt these projects provide an opportunity for the parents to work together with their children. But really, it’s hard for someone like me who is not into art and craft. My husband is also not an art person and I don’t see my son having any talent in this area as well. I suppose it must be part of the genes.