Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Child Sex Trafficking in Cambodia
Just wanted to share this youtube, even though it is already the end of the semester and maybe this blog will disappear soon. Such a sad sad reality. Made me feel like crying when I saw the kids at the counselling session. Some are as young as 4!
Anyway good luck to everyone for their finals.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Blog Representative
Can I have the full name list of all the class representatives for the blog updating? Since I don't receive all 5 form for blog participation, the least that I can do is to give extra 3 marks as an appreciation to all the representative (on presentation marks).
movie review~
A story about a boy who suffer from cancer writing letters to God~ and involve wif a postman who have complicated lifestyle, and he try 2help the boy~
Children of Cambodia
A trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia has opened my eyes to the reality of how children live in rural, under-developed countries like Cambodia. Children there are poor and unhygienic. Their faces and hands are dirty and clothes looks like they have never been washed.
Children are EVERYWHERE in Siem Reap. And often, kids as young as TWO YEARS OLD will work for their parents selling trinkets and souvenirs to tourist. The level of English command of these children is surprisingly good. I asked them where they learned English from, and they said from tourists. No wonder got American accent -_-‘’
Here are some of the pictures that I took.
Kids selling souvenirs to tourists. Oh and that’s my dad =]
My dad refused to buy anything from them and they kept reducing the price.
Girl: Sir, buy bracelet. 5 Dollar for 1.
Dad: No thanks, I don’t need it.
Girl: Buy for your daughter, Sir. 3 Dollar, 3 Dollar.
Dad: No thanks. *Smiles*
Girl: Sir, please. 1 Dollar for 1, Sir.
Dad: No thanks, really. * walks quickly trying to escape*
Girl: 50 cents, Sir.
Dad: Shakes head. *runs away*
Girl: FREE, SIR!
Funny lar. Haha!
Injured child
Cyber Café Cambodia style
This was our tour guide on the lake. He’s only 18
Floating houses on the lake
Children living on the lake
Floating basketball court
The 2 boys in the red circles are paralyzed. They put themselves in a basin like thing and float to tourists and ask them for money because they can’t afford to go to school.
Floating school
These children need donations from other people to be able to buy uniform, books and stationery.
The guy in white is the teacher
Education is seen as a privilege in Cambodia. Not every child gets the opportunity to study.
This trip to Siem Reap has been an eye opener to how poor and difficult life can be in an undeveloped country. The people there are very friendly. This place and its people have really touched my heart and helped me appreciate the things I do have. If you have the opportunity I would recommend you to visit this place. =]
Thursday, April 22, 2010
classic poem for children
Where did you come from, baby dear?
Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into here.
Out of the everywhere into here.
Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the sky as I came through.
Out of the sky as I came through.
What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?
Some of the starry spikes left in.
Some of the starry spikes left in.
Where did you get that little tear?
I found it waiting when I got here.
I found it waiting when I got here.
What makes your forehead so smooth and high?
A soft hand stroked it as I went by.
A soft hand stroked it as I went by.
What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?
I saw something better than anyone knows.
I saw something better than anyone knows.
Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.
Where did you get this pearly ear?
God spoke, and it came out to hear.
God spoke, and it came out to hear.
Where did you get those arms and hands?
Love made itself into hooks and bands.
Love made itself into hooks and bands.
Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?
From the same box as the cherubs' wings.
From the same box as the cherubs' wings.
How did they all just come to be you?
God thought about me, and so I grew.
God thought about me, and so I grew.
But how did you come to us, you dear?
God thought about you, and so I am here.
credits to Tang Tze Chiun, T4
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Last Lecture and Tutorials
There are some changes for this week's tutorials and lecture, please refer to the following timetable:
Week 14 Tutorial: to cover Chapter 13-14:
Thursday 1100-1230 (for Tutorial 2, 4 and 5) B110A
Thursday 1230-1400 (for Tutorial 1, 3, and 5) B110A
Students from T5 can choose to attend either one.
Extra tutorial (attendance will be taken but not compulsory)
Thursday 1700-1830 (for Tutorial 1, 2, 3 and 4) B101A
Last Lecture:
Friday 1200-1400 (for all)
Week 14 Tutorial: to cover Chapter 13-14:
Thursday 1100-1230 (for Tutorial 2, 4 and 5) B110A
Thursday 1230-1400 (for Tutorial 1, 3, and 5) B110A
Students from T5 can choose to attend either one.
Extra tutorial (attendance will be taken but not compulsory)
Thursday 1700-1830 (for Tutorial 1, 2, 3 and 4) B101A
Last Lecture:
Friday 1200-1400 (for all)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Characteristics of Gifted Children
Identifying The Gifted
1. Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read.
2. Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.
3. When Thomas Edison was a boy, his teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything.
4. F.W.Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21. But his employers would not let him wait on a customer because he "Didn't have enough sense."
5. A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had "No good ideas"
6. Caruso's music teacher told him "You can't sing, you have no voice at all."
7. Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college.
8. Verner Von Braun flunked 9th grade algebra.
9. Admiral Richard E. Byrd had been retired from the navy, as, "Unfit for service" Until he flew over both poles.
10. Louis Pasteur was rated as mediocre in chemistry when he attended the Royal College
11. Abraham Lincoln entered The Black Hawk War as a captain and came out a private
12. Fred Waring was once rejected from high school chorus.
13. Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade.
Recognizing the Characteristics of Gifted Children
ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children (1985) cites three types of characteristics of gifted children: general behavioral, learning, and creative characteristics.
General Behavior Characteristics
Gifted children's behavior differs from that of their age-mates in the following ways:
# Many gifted children learn to read early, with better comprehension of the nuances of language. As much as half the gifted and talented population has learned to read before entering school.
# Gifted children often read widely, quickly, and intensely and have large vocabularies.
# Gifted children commonly learn basic skills better, more quickly, and with less practice.
# They are better able to construct and handle abstractions.
# They often pick up and interpret nonverbal cues and can draw inferences that other children need to have spelled out for them.
# They take less for granted, seeking the "hows" and "whys."
# They can work independently at an earlier age and can concentrate for longer periods.
# Their interests are both wildly eclectic and intensely focused.
# They often have seemingly boundless energy, which sometimes leads to a misdiagnosis of hyperactivity.
# They usually respond and relate well to parents, teachers, and other adults. They may prefer the company of older children and adults to that of their peers.
# They like to learn new things, are willing to examine the unusual, and are highly inquisitive.
# They tackle tasks and problems in a well-organized, goal-directed, and efficient manner.
# They exhibit an intrinsic motivation to learn, find out, or explore and are often very persistent. "I'd rather do it myself" is a common attitude.
Learning Characteristics
Gifted children are natural learners who often show many of these characteristics:
# They may show keen powers of observation and a sense of the significant; they have an eye for important details.
# They may read a great deal on their own, preferring books and magazines written for children older than they are.
# They often take great pleasure in intellectual activity.
# They have well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis.
# They readily see cause-effect relationships.
# They often display a questioning attitude and seek information for its own sake as much as for its usefulness.
# They are often skeptical, critical, and evaluative. They are quick to spot inconsistencies.
# They often have a large storehouse of information about a variety of topics, which they can recall quickly.
# They readily grasp underlying principles and can often make valid generalizations about events, people, or objects.
# They quickly perceive similarities, differences, and anomalies.
# They often attack complicated material by separating it into components and analyzing it systematically.
Creative Characteristics
Gifted children's creative abilities often set them apart from their age-mates. These characteristics may take the following forms:
# Gifted children are fluent thinkers, able to generate possibilities, consequences, or related ideas.
# They are flexible thinkers, able to use many different alternatives and approaches to problem solving.
# They are original thinkers, seeking new, unusual, or unconventional associations and combinations among items of information.
# They can also see relationships among seemingly unrelated objects, ideas, or facts.
# They are elaborate thinkers, producing new steps, ideas, responses, or other embellishments to a basic idea, situation, or problems.
# They are willing to entertain complexity and seem to thrive on problem solving.
# They are good guessers and can readily construct hypotheses or "what if" questions.
# They often are aware of their own impulsiveness and irrationality, and they show emotional sensitivity.
# They are extremely curious about objects, ideas, situations, or events.
# They often display intellectual playfulness and like to fantasize and imagine.
# They can be less intellectually inhibited than their peers are in expressing opinions and ideas, and they often disagree spiritedly with others' statements.
# They are sensitive to beauty and are attracted to aesthetic values.
Who are the Highly Gifted?
Highly gifted children tend to be those who demonstrate asynchronous development. Due to their high cognitive abilities and high intensities they experience and relate to the world in unique ways. These children are often found as a result of extremely high scores on an individually scored IQ tests, generally above the 140 IQ range. Others may be prodigies in areas such as math, science, language and/or the arts. Profoundly gifted children can score in excess of 170 IQ.
Highly gifted children demonstrate characteristics such as the extreme need to:
1. Learn at a much faster pace.
2. Process material to a much greater depth.
3. Show incredible intensity in energy, imagination, intellectual prowess, sensitivity, and emotion which are not typical in the general population.
The child of 160+ is as different from the child of 130 IQ as that child is different from the child of average ability. Current research suggests that there may be higher incidence of children in this high range than previously thought. Due to their unique characteristics, these children are particularly vulnerable. Highly gifted children need a specialized advocacy because very little has been done to develop appropriate curriculum and non-traditional options for these children.
Some Myths About Gifted Children
Gifted Kids are like cream that rises to the top in a classroom:
Not necessarily. Gifted Children can have hidden learning disabilities that go undiscovered because they can easily compensate for them in the early years. As time goes on though, it becomes harder and harder for them to excel. Which can lead to behavior problems and depression.
Gifted Kids are so smart they do fine with or without special programs:
They may appear to do fine on their own. But without proper challenge they can become bored and unruly. As the years go by they may find it harder and harder as work does become more challenging, since they never faced challenge before.
Gifted and Talented means the same thing:
Again, not necessarily. There is no rule that states that a child who is capable of scoring to the high ninety percentiles on group achievement testing must be considered gifted. We must remember that achievement tests like the Metropolitan Achievement Tests are "Grade Level Testing". Such a child is most definitely Academically Talented. But further individualized IQ and out of level academic testing must be given before we can define that child as "Gifted". At the same time, there is no rule that states a child identified as gifted should be Achieving to high standards in the classroom. This type of stereotyping can do serious and irreversible damage to both groups. ANY child can benefit from enrichment. Academically Talented Children can benefit from Honors (Grade Level) Classes. Intellectually Gifted children need a differentiated curriculum and possibly even a different environment.
They need to go through school with their own age mates:
Where it's true that children need to play and interact socially with other children their age, they do not need to learn with them. Especially in the case of a highly gifted child who may have a chronological age of six and a mental age of 11 who has been reading since two. To put that child in a reading class with other six year olds who are just learning to read is sheer torture for that child.
Giftedness is something to be jealous about:
This is perhaps the most damaging myth. More often than not gifted children can feel isolated and misunderstood. They have more adult tastes in music, clothing, reading material and food. These differences to other children can cause them to be shunned and even abused verbally or physically by other children. Experts in the field of gifted education are beginning to address the higher incidences of ADHD and Spelling/Handwriting disabilities in the gifted population verses those in the much larger normal population.
Posted by Ong Si Li, T3
1. Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read.
2. Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.
3. When Thomas Edison was a boy, his teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything.
4. F.W.Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21. But his employers would not let him wait on a customer because he "Didn't have enough sense."
5. A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had "No good ideas"
6. Caruso's music teacher told him "You can't sing, you have no voice at all."
7. Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college.
8. Verner Von Braun flunked 9th grade algebra.
9. Admiral Richard E. Byrd had been retired from the navy, as, "Unfit for service" Until he flew over both poles.
10. Louis Pasteur was rated as mediocre in chemistry when he attended the Royal College
11. Abraham Lincoln entered The Black Hawk War as a captain and came out a private
12. Fred Waring was once rejected from high school chorus.
13. Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade.
Recognizing the Characteristics of Gifted Children
ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children (1985) cites three types of characteristics of gifted children: general behavioral, learning, and creative characteristics.
General Behavior Characteristics
Gifted children's behavior differs from that of their age-mates in the following ways:
# Many gifted children learn to read early, with better comprehension of the nuances of language. As much as half the gifted and talented population has learned to read before entering school.
# Gifted children often read widely, quickly, and intensely and have large vocabularies.
# Gifted children commonly learn basic skills better, more quickly, and with less practice.
# They are better able to construct and handle abstractions.
# They often pick up and interpret nonverbal cues and can draw inferences that other children need to have spelled out for them.
# They take less for granted, seeking the "hows" and "whys."
# They can work independently at an earlier age and can concentrate for longer periods.
# Their interests are both wildly eclectic and intensely focused.
# They often have seemingly boundless energy, which sometimes leads to a misdiagnosis of hyperactivity.
# They usually respond and relate well to parents, teachers, and other adults. They may prefer the company of older children and adults to that of their peers.
# They like to learn new things, are willing to examine the unusual, and are highly inquisitive.
# They tackle tasks and problems in a well-organized, goal-directed, and efficient manner.
# They exhibit an intrinsic motivation to learn, find out, or explore and are often very persistent. "I'd rather do it myself" is a common attitude.
Learning Characteristics
Gifted children are natural learners who often show many of these characteristics:
# They may show keen powers of observation and a sense of the significant; they have an eye for important details.
# They may read a great deal on their own, preferring books and magazines written for children older than they are.
# They often take great pleasure in intellectual activity.
# They have well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis.
# They readily see cause-effect relationships.
# They often display a questioning attitude and seek information for its own sake as much as for its usefulness.
# They are often skeptical, critical, and evaluative. They are quick to spot inconsistencies.
# They often have a large storehouse of information about a variety of topics, which they can recall quickly.
# They readily grasp underlying principles and can often make valid generalizations about events, people, or objects.
# They quickly perceive similarities, differences, and anomalies.
# They often attack complicated material by separating it into components and analyzing it systematically.
Creative Characteristics
Gifted children's creative abilities often set them apart from their age-mates. These characteristics may take the following forms:
# Gifted children are fluent thinkers, able to generate possibilities, consequences, or related ideas.
# They are flexible thinkers, able to use many different alternatives and approaches to problem solving.
# They are original thinkers, seeking new, unusual, or unconventional associations and combinations among items of information.
# They can also see relationships among seemingly unrelated objects, ideas, or facts.
# They are elaborate thinkers, producing new steps, ideas, responses, or other embellishments to a basic idea, situation, or problems.
# They are willing to entertain complexity and seem to thrive on problem solving.
# They are good guessers and can readily construct hypotheses or "what if" questions.
# They often are aware of their own impulsiveness and irrationality, and they show emotional sensitivity.
# They are extremely curious about objects, ideas, situations, or events.
# They often display intellectual playfulness and like to fantasize and imagine.
# They can be less intellectually inhibited than their peers are in expressing opinions and ideas, and they often disagree spiritedly with others' statements.
# They are sensitive to beauty and are attracted to aesthetic values.
Who are the Highly Gifted?
Highly gifted children tend to be those who demonstrate asynchronous development. Due to their high cognitive abilities and high intensities they experience and relate to the world in unique ways. These children are often found as a result of extremely high scores on an individually scored IQ tests, generally above the 140 IQ range. Others may be prodigies in areas such as math, science, language and/or the arts. Profoundly gifted children can score in excess of 170 IQ.
Highly gifted children demonstrate characteristics such as the extreme need to:
1. Learn at a much faster pace.
2. Process material to a much greater depth.
3. Show incredible intensity in energy, imagination, intellectual prowess, sensitivity, and emotion which are not typical in the general population.
The child of 160+ is as different from the child of 130 IQ as that child is different from the child of average ability. Current research suggests that there may be higher incidence of children in this high range than previously thought. Due to their unique characteristics, these children are particularly vulnerable. Highly gifted children need a specialized advocacy because very little has been done to develop appropriate curriculum and non-traditional options for these children.
Some Myths About Gifted Children
Gifted Kids are like cream that rises to the top in a classroom:
Not necessarily. Gifted Children can have hidden learning disabilities that go undiscovered because they can easily compensate for them in the early years. As time goes on though, it becomes harder and harder for them to excel. Which can lead to behavior problems and depression.
Gifted Kids are so smart they do fine with or without special programs:
They may appear to do fine on their own. But without proper challenge they can become bored and unruly. As the years go by they may find it harder and harder as work does become more challenging, since they never faced challenge before.
Gifted and Talented means the same thing:
Again, not necessarily. There is no rule that states that a child who is capable of scoring to the high ninety percentiles on group achievement testing must be considered gifted. We must remember that achievement tests like the Metropolitan Achievement Tests are "Grade Level Testing". Such a child is most definitely Academically Talented. But further individualized IQ and out of level academic testing must be given before we can define that child as "Gifted". At the same time, there is no rule that states a child identified as gifted should be Achieving to high standards in the classroom. This type of stereotyping can do serious and irreversible damage to both groups. ANY child can benefit from enrichment. Academically Talented Children can benefit from Honors (Grade Level) Classes. Intellectually Gifted children need a differentiated curriculum and possibly even a different environment.
They need to go through school with their own age mates:
Where it's true that children need to play and interact socially with other children their age, they do not need to learn with them. Especially in the case of a highly gifted child who may have a chronological age of six and a mental age of 11 who has been reading since two. To put that child in a reading class with other six year olds who are just learning to read is sheer torture for that child.
Giftedness is something to be jealous about:
This is perhaps the most damaging myth. More often than not gifted children can feel isolated and misunderstood. They have more adult tastes in music, clothing, reading material and food. These differences to other children can cause them to be shunned and even abused verbally or physically by other children. Experts in the field of gifted education are beginning to address the higher incidences of ADHD and Spelling/Handwriting disabilities in the gifted population verses those in the much larger normal population.
Posted by Ong Si Li, T3
The Learning Environment That's Best for Children
We feel the learning environment that best illustrates an atmosphere prepared for accelerated learning is a properly equipped Montessori classroom. Not only do they have properly proportioned furniture, they use some of the best hands-on equipment and lessons for children of any school we've found. To the right is a picture of a typical Montessori classroom.
What Makes the Best Learning Environment for Home or in School?
1. According to Maria Montessori, the learning environment at school or home should be sparse but housed with carefully chosen materials which encourage the child to work, stay concentrated and happy. A crowded or chaotic environment can cause stress and dissipate a child's energy. Too many materials, or inappropriate materials can be worse than too few. It's important to keep games and lessons fresh and interesting. Simple is better.
2. Bond with your children through love and closeness. Love is probably the most important element to the success of your child's ability to reap the full benefits of accelerated learning methods. Love makes your young children feel safe, comfortable and calm. Love itself can make almost any home or school the best learning environment for your children.
3. Try not to use colors in the learning environment that are harsh or too strong. Use soft cushy couches to relax on and a defined location like a 3 x 2 foot swatch of carpet on the floor to present lessons and games on and where your young child will use them. Older children would be playing accelerated learning games on computer or using accelerated learning right brain left brain card games, often with friends or classmates.
4. Keep unwanted odors out of this area as well as TV noise or other noises that can disturb attention and concentration.
Posted by Chung Winnie, T3
Healthy Eating
Whether you have a toddler or a teen, here are five of the best strategies to improve nutrition and encourage smart eating habits:
1. Have regular family meals.
2. Serve a variety of healthy foods and snacks.
3. Be a role model by eating healthy yourself.
4. Avoid battles over food.
5. Involve kids in the process.
But it's not easy when everyone is juggling busy schedules and convenience food, such as fast food, is so readily available.
Here are some ways to incorporate all five strategies into your routine.
Family Meals
Family meals are a comforting ritual for both parents and kids. Children like the predictability of family meals and parents get a chance to catch up with their kids. Kids who take part in regular family meals are also:
* more likely to eat fruits, vegetables, and grains
* less likely to snack on unhealthy foods
* less likely to smoke, use marijuana, or drink alcohol
In addition, family meals offer the chance to introduce kids to new foods and to act as a role model for healthy eating.
Teens may turn up their noses at the prospect of a family meal — not surprising because they're busy and want to be more independent. Yet studies find that teens still want their parents' advice and counsel, so use mealtime as a chance to reconnect. Also, consider trying these strategies:
* Allow your teen to invite a friend to dinner.
* Involve your teen in meal planning and preparation.
* Keep mealtime calm and congenial — no lectures or arguing.
What counts as a family meal? Any time you and your family eat together — whether it's takeout food or a home-cooked meal with all the trimmings. Strive for nutritious food and a time when everyone can be there. This may mean eating dinner a little later to accommodate a child who's at sports practice. It can also mean setting aside time on the weekends, such as Sunday brunch, when it may be more convenient to gather as a group.
Posted by Chung Winnie, T3
1. Have regular family meals.
2. Serve a variety of healthy foods and snacks.
3. Be a role model by eating healthy yourself.
4. Avoid battles over food.
5. Involve kids in the process.
But it's not easy when everyone is juggling busy schedules and convenience food, such as fast food, is so readily available.
Here are some ways to incorporate all five strategies into your routine.
Family Meals
Family meals are a comforting ritual for both parents and kids. Children like the predictability of family meals and parents get a chance to catch up with their kids. Kids who take part in regular family meals are also:
* more likely to eat fruits, vegetables, and grains
* less likely to snack on unhealthy foods
* less likely to smoke, use marijuana, or drink alcohol
In addition, family meals offer the chance to introduce kids to new foods and to act as a role model for healthy eating.
Teens may turn up their noses at the prospect of a family meal — not surprising because they're busy and want to be more independent. Yet studies find that teens still want their parents' advice and counsel, so use mealtime as a chance to reconnect. Also, consider trying these strategies:
* Allow your teen to invite a friend to dinner.
* Involve your teen in meal planning and preparation.
* Keep mealtime calm and congenial — no lectures or arguing.
What counts as a family meal? Any time you and your family eat together — whether it's takeout food or a home-cooked meal with all the trimmings. Strive for nutritious food and a time when everyone can be there. This may mean eating dinner a little later to accommodate a child who's at sports practice. It can also mean setting aside time on the weekends, such as Sunday brunch, when it may be more convenient to gather as a group.
Posted by Chung Winnie, T3
Excellence Begins Young
Active Children Become Healthy Adults
Your child has more energy packed away in that little body than you realize. In fact, children are naturally active and can’t sit still for long. If you can start and keep them active in their formative years, it can help form a lifetime of active living. For what is wealth without health?
What are the benefits of exercise?
Children instinctively like to play, run, skip and jump around. To them, that is exercise. The more the physical activity, the better their motor skills will develop. But all that can change when we let our children sit too long in front of the TV.
Did you know that an active child tends to:
Develop a leaner body with stronger bones and muscles
Maintain a healthy weight
Sleep better
Avoid obesity related diseases like cardiovascular disease later in adult life
If your home has a staircase, place the appropriate barriers until your child can manage the stairs unattended.
Have better self confidence
Be more alert
How long should your child exercise?
Toddlers should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise or activity daily. This can be broken up into 15 minutes of play each time
Preschoolers should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to intense exercise or activity daily. This can be broken up into 30 minutes of play each time
What kind of exercise or activity should your child be doing?
Each child develops at his or her own pace. So it’s important to identify what your child can or cannot do and what skills are right for his or her age.
Generally, young children can walk, run, jump around, climb, kick and even throw a ball. Identifying their ability will help you plan their activity and play games that are appropriate for their age.
How to cultivate the habit to exercise?
The best way to get your child to enjoy more exercise is to spend some time playing with them.
Roll a ball around for your child to catch.
Play “catch” with older children.
Switch off the substituted “babysitter”. Many parents are guilty of using the TV as a substitute babysitter to distract their children. Remember that this will become habit forming.
Put them together with other children their age. Children naturally play together.
Let them play with “dirt”. Create a sandbox and fill it with sand. You will be surprised at how much time your child can spend in it. Make sure this activity is supervised as children have a tendency to put sand into their mouths.
Water! Children who can sit up love to play in an inflatable pool. Fill the water to no more than the height of your fist. Drop in some of your child’s favourite toys and you’ll have a child delightfully splashing around. Supervise and play with him or her as water can be dangerous for any child that has not learnt how to swim!
Credits to Lim Wei Liang
Your child has more energy packed away in that little body than you realize. In fact, children are naturally active and can’t sit still for long. If you can start and keep them active in their formative years, it can help form a lifetime of active living. For what is wealth without health?
What are the benefits of exercise?
Children instinctively like to play, run, skip and jump around. To them, that is exercise. The more the physical activity, the better their motor skills will develop. But all that can change when we let our children sit too long in front of the TV.
Did you know that an active child tends to:
Develop a leaner body with stronger bones and muscles
Maintain a healthy weight
Sleep better
Avoid obesity related diseases like cardiovascular disease later in adult life
If your home has a staircase, place the appropriate barriers until your child can manage the stairs unattended.
Have better self confidence
Be more alert
How long should your child exercise?
Toddlers should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise or activity daily. This can be broken up into 15 minutes of play each time
Preschoolers should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to intense exercise or activity daily. This can be broken up into 30 minutes of play each time
What kind of exercise or activity should your child be doing?
Each child develops at his or her own pace. So it’s important to identify what your child can or cannot do and what skills are right for his or her age.
Generally, young children can walk, run, jump around, climb, kick and even throw a ball. Identifying their ability will help you plan their activity and play games that are appropriate for their age.
How to cultivate the habit to exercise?
The best way to get your child to enjoy more exercise is to spend some time playing with them.
Roll a ball around for your child to catch.
Play “catch” with older children.
Switch off the substituted “babysitter”. Many parents are guilty of using the TV as a substitute babysitter to distract their children. Remember that this will become habit forming.
Put them together with other children their age. Children naturally play together.
Let them play with “dirt”. Create a sandbox and fill it with sand. You will be surprised at how much time your child can spend in it. Make sure this activity is supervised as children have a tendency to put sand into their mouths.
Water! Children who can sit up love to play in an inflatable pool. Fill the water to no more than the height of your fist. Drop in some of your child’s favourite toys and you’ll have a child delightfully splashing around. Supervise and play with him or her as water can be dangerous for any child that has not learnt how to swim!
Credits to Lim Wei Liang
Excellence Begins Young
Tips to discipline your child
Discipline is important to teach your child the appropriate behaviour, the difference between right and wrong, and instill family values in a loving, respectful way.
Understand your child
Children are little people who have a limited vocabulary and ability to communicate. They are highly unpredictable and clumsy. An expression of excitement can sometimes turn into an accidental slap. They can be happy one minute and cranky the next. They are possessive and most times have no idea what is acceptable behaviour or not at this young age. All these can really test your patience as they push the boundaries.
It will take time, patience and lots of love and understanding for your child to learn and respect your authority. While every child is unique in his or her own way and should be treated according to individual needs, here are some general tips on how to get started on disciplining your child.
Be clear about the rules. Set boundaries. Be sure your child understands what is right or unacceptable behaviour, and what is not.
Be consistent. If a certain behaviour is not acceptable at a friend’s home or outside, it is also not acceptable at home. We know it can be tough but if we are not consistent, the child can get confused by what is really acceptable and not.
Be firm yet understanding. Once you have said “no”, don’t change your mind. Stick to your rule even when your child tries to bend the rule or change your mind about it. Take the time to explain why you said “no”.
Be gentle. Most times your child will respect your decision when you talk to them gently. It is usually not what you say but how you say it.
Be watchful. Always supervise your child so that they know you are watching their actions.
Be realistic. Remember, what is normal for an adult is not normal for a child. Be down-to-earth and set realistic boundaries or rules.
Be fair. Be specific about what the mistake is. Try not to generalize as this will confuse your child and de-motivate him or her. Be sure not to get personal, so criticize the mistake or bad behaviour but not your child.
Be patient. Don’t hit your child out of frustration because you can’t retract the action after you’ve done it. Just remember that most of the time, your child is just testing and learning and most of their mistakes are unconscious. Try counting to ten first!
Be in agreement. Each parent may have different parenting styles. Try to decide and agree on important and common rules and values that you want to instill in your child. This is to avoid confusing your child. Be supportive of your spouse’s discipline decisions even if you do not agree. Discuss conflicting issues in private so that the both of you can, as they say, agree to disagree.
Be creative. Make it fun for your child to follow the rules. Instead of just instructing your child to do something, turn it into a game instead. For example you may say you won’t tickle his toes until if he cleans up. Be encouraging about cleaning up or having good manners.
Be an example. Your child simply loves to imitate you. So, be sure to set a good example and explain your actions even if they don’t understand why you are doing things a certain way. Actions speak louder than words.
Be a better listener. Show your child that he or she is important by listening. This builds confidence, fosters respect and gives assurance that you will be fair in your judgement.
Be encouraging. When you find your child being good, compliment him or her often or display affection like giving a hug. This positive reinforcement will boost self-esteem and motivate your child to be more positive about following the rules.
Be loving. It’s important for your child to feel loved and secure. Always give your child lots of hugs and kisses so that your child knows that you love him or her, even when you have to discipline him or her.
Credits to Lim Wei Liang
Discipline is important to teach your child the appropriate behaviour, the difference between right and wrong, and instill family values in a loving, respectful way.
Understand your child
Children are little people who have a limited vocabulary and ability to communicate. They are highly unpredictable and clumsy. An expression of excitement can sometimes turn into an accidental slap. They can be happy one minute and cranky the next. They are possessive and most times have no idea what is acceptable behaviour or not at this young age. All these can really test your patience as they push the boundaries.
It will take time, patience and lots of love and understanding for your child to learn and respect your authority. While every child is unique in his or her own way and should be treated according to individual needs, here are some general tips on how to get started on disciplining your child.
Be clear about the rules. Set boundaries. Be sure your child understands what is right or unacceptable behaviour, and what is not.
Be consistent. If a certain behaviour is not acceptable at a friend’s home or outside, it is also not acceptable at home. We know it can be tough but if we are not consistent, the child can get confused by what is really acceptable and not.
Be firm yet understanding. Once you have said “no”, don’t change your mind. Stick to your rule even when your child tries to bend the rule or change your mind about it. Take the time to explain why you said “no”.
Be gentle. Most times your child will respect your decision when you talk to them gently. It is usually not what you say but how you say it.
Be watchful. Always supervise your child so that they know you are watching their actions.
Be realistic. Remember, what is normal for an adult is not normal for a child. Be down-to-earth and set realistic boundaries or rules.
Be fair. Be specific about what the mistake is. Try not to generalize as this will confuse your child and de-motivate him or her. Be sure not to get personal, so criticize the mistake or bad behaviour but not your child.
Be patient. Don’t hit your child out of frustration because you can’t retract the action after you’ve done it. Just remember that most of the time, your child is just testing and learning and most of their mistakes are unconscious. Try counting to ten first!
Be in agreement. Each parent may have different parenting styles. Try to decide and agree on important and common rules and values that you want to instill in your child. This is to avoid confusing your child. Be supportive of your spouse’s discipline decisions even if you do not agree. Discuss conflicting issues in private so that the both of you can, as they say, agree to disagree.
Be creative. Make it fun for your child to follow the rules. Instead of just instructing your child to do something, turn it into a game instead. For example you may say you won’t tickle his toes until if he cleans up. Be encouraging about cleaning up or having good manners.
Be an example. Your child simply loves to imitate you. So, be sure to set a good example and explain your actions even if they don’t understand why you are doing things a certain way. Actions speak louder than words.
Be a better listener. Show your child that he or she is important by listening. This builds confidence, fosters respect and gives assurance that you will be fair in your judgement.
Be encouraging. When you find your child being good, compliment him or her often or display affection like giving a hug. This positive reinforcement will boost self-esteem and motivate your child to be more positive about following the rules.
Be loving. It’s important for your child to feel loved and secure. Always give your child lots of hugs and kisses so that your child knows that you love him or her, even when you have to discipline him or her.
Credits to Lim Wei Liang
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