You're Fired! | 2011

After several attempts on disciplining Jakjak when he does his naughty bits, I believe we have finally found a compromise between being fair and being mean. Jakjak, being an only child (for now, we hope) has been on the receiving end of spoil-dom in the last five years. Admittedly, it was not really what we had in mind. I am assuming that for the simple reason of being an only child, we had managed to give him the impression of him being a little prince (to be honest, he really is a prince). 


Over the course of the years, some trial and error, a few misunderstandings and some heart breaks, Jakjak simply must understand the consequences of his actions. We have tried to lock him up in his room when he threw a ride-on car (you know, those big plastic cars that he rides on?) when he had a tantrum. It made things worse because he kept on crying and gave us a headache. We have tried to smack him with a "pow-pow" stick on the bum when he threw a tantrum and kicked me on the ... err ... family jewels. That didn't work either because for a parent, it really will hurt you more than it hurts your child. We tried slapping his hand when he scratched his claws ... err ... fingers on his mum when he didn't want to take a bath. That didn't work because he kept on laughing. Apparently, he was ticklish with that sort of thing.


Today though, with all the "toys" available to him (PSP, X-box, Cable TV, DVD, etc.), we introduced him to the word: "grounded". We made him understand the meaning of the word and surprisingly he keeps to his word. The first time we tried it out, he was grounded for 2 days, and he did not touch any of his electronic toys for 2 days. In fact, he was borrowing the PSP from me and I was about to give it to him, he suddenly says to me: "Oops, Dad, remember, I'm grounded?", and we left the PSP to play toy cars in his room. It's a relief to finally find something that works for everyone that does not break anyone's heart.


After one TV show though, the little prince blurts out: "Dad, being fired is like being grounded right, so Dad, you're fired!" ... I was grounded from being a dad for the rest of the night. Sheesh!

Rough | 2011

One of a parent's worst day is when their child is sick. Whether it's a simple cold or a high end fever. Jakjak had been having a rough cough for almost a week. The first batch of medicine had done nothing for him, unfortunately. He is now on round 2, with antibiotics included. We're all hoping that this round he wins over the coughs.

I'm quite afraid that he would have to go see a specialist doctor if this goes on through to next week. It's not about the consultation fee or the medicine, he is covered by insurance after all. It's the burden of the cough that he has. It's not a normal cough. I can tell just by the sound of his breathing. It's difficult for me to see him suffering like this. I know what it's like because I was like what he is now when I was about his age. A stubborn kid who dislikes medicine and doctors (which translates to: your going to get worse before you get better).

We'll have to prepare an incentive for him to get better soon. At least to make him eat more and drink his meds.

Go Ahead, Milk a Cow | 2011

There are times that being crazy is the only way to get through the day. Days upon days of work and school have built up some tension within the household. It's normal for us. And it's actually normal for us to be on the edge of biting each other's ears off. And being normal, that's just how we deal with it. 

Days and nights that should be boring and non-eventful more often than not turn into nothing short of alive. Some blame it on PMS, some blame it on being burnt out of stress. It happens. The more you let stress get into your head however, the more you are likely to implode (or explode, whichever comes first). So as a family, we take time out to just let it all out. Most of the time we just eat the stress out of our system, but that really does not favor the weighing scale battle. So we look for other stuff to do.

This can be anything from going out to shop for toys (for Jakjak, of course), shoes (for Mum) and even more toys (for Dad). Of course, that's not always possible. So this list then includes, swimming in the local sports complex, playing in the park, playing some kinect games and then some. Sometimes it could even be as simple as watching a movie together or building puzzles and making art work. Being crazy does not mean having to spend much money. Spending more than enough time being crazy sometimes solves the problem of stress and boredom at the same time. So go ahead, milk a cow.

Teacher, Teacher | 2011

It has been weeks now since Jakjak started school. We have been doing our best to talk to his teachers when we can (this usually means picking him up from school on Fridays). Feedback from his homeroom teacher seems to be good. She said he was improving on a daily basis and he is not as shy as he was the first few days. She said that he now has a good friend in his partner (a young lady which he keeps forgetting the name of, and which I don't know how to spell).


The problem is with his Chinese language class. From writing to speaking, Jakjak does not seem to show any interest at all. In fact, it is probably his least liked subject. We still encourage him as best that we can. Although we really can't help much, us being non-Mandarin speaking folks as well. We're looking for options, but at the moment, it seems that he must bear with it for a little while.


When we talk to Jakjak regarding school, he is not really enthusiastic. He keeps saying he is bored. It's possible, considering the things that he is interested in learning. I mean, they don't teach you about engineering and architecture in K2 like what he watches in National Geographic and Discovery Channel. He also still has quite a bit of separation anxiety (okay, quite a lot) which explains why he keeps crying every single time his bus service picks him up from our block. 


But it's important that he learns the basics of going to school and dealing with teachers and classmates. So we support him, we encourage him and we try to motivate him. We hope that it is just that stage in one's schooling life that is keeping him from being at ease in going to school. We are now in observation mode, hoping that things turn out well for the three of us.