A Little Brave Handicapped Girl

On 4 July 2007, I brought my youngest daughter to the neighbourhood playground. When I was watching her play there, I noticed a maid pushing a pram towards the playground. In the pram sat a little girl about 3 years old, I immediately noticed that the girl has deformed legs. What amazed me was that this girl moved around the playarea very fast on her own. She climbed, slided without any help. I pointed her to my daughter and told her how lucky she is to have healthy body. Another thing that knocked me is that parent should not exert too much pressure on our children, we should give them more play and fun as much as they are able to. As it is , it is very difficult nowadays to find space for our children to run about....

No one helps Unconscious, Bleeding Cabby...

On 5 July 2007, I read a newspaper report that for more than 2 hours, a cabby laid face up on a dirty grass patch, blood oozing from his mouth and nose. He had suffered a fractured skull and died from his injuries 2 days later. The saddest part is that despite being spotted by at least 3 different people that morning, no one helped him or alerted the police. A security guard who spotted the cabby said he didn't alert anyone as he thought that the cabby was drunk and was sleeping. A teacher from a school in the area and her colleague, who checked on the cabby from a distance, thought the same.After reading, I was appalled about the incident. Being a security guard, one should have the alertness to react on anything unusual and not rely on his assumption. One would expect the same from a school teacher and a school personnel, they are supposed to teach our children the values about helping people who are in needs. I am very disappointed that many people nowadays are becoming more selfish and less helpful. If we, as adults or parents were to behave in this manner, what kind of children are we bringing up? Parents, please think about this seriously.I remember one day when I was leaving a national library, I saw a group of people gathering around a malay lady who seemed to have fainted. A few community club personnels nearby were looking on while another lady was holding up the unconscious lady on the floor.I hesitated for a while whether I should go forward to help, afterall there were already so many people at the scene. Nevertheless, I walked forward and asked whether I could help in any way. I offered to send the lady home as I had parked my car nearby. A staff from the club told me we couldn't possibily lift the heavy lady and that they had already called the ambulance. They thanked me for my kind offer. I left feeling good that I have done something right. I went home and told my children about what had happened and hopefully they will do the same next time.

How To Nurture A Child To Realise His Potential

Yesterday, I attended a talk by a full-time counsellor at my children's school. Among many things covered in the talk, I will personally do better on a couple of things as a mother.

* Establish a warm, conflict-free relationship with your child
* Never label and criticise your child
* Teach your child moral values, not just teach them to be smart
* Encourage creativity and initiative in everyday experiences
* Use postive language and encouragement to develop self-esteem and self-confidence