Improve Me | 2011

It's a satisfying feeling, especially for a parent, to see how your hard work has paid off. 


I can only look back and reminisce at some of the things that we had to go through to bring up Jakjak. There are things that you do because you have to, and things that you do because of the choices that are presented to you. And sometimes, the results of those choices would only be realized in the near (or far) future. And most of the time, you can only hope that you are making the right decision.

Take for instance our decision to teach Jakjak English as his primary language. When we decided to do this, we were thinking "we live in our country, our native language would be easy enough to absorb". We had never considered back then that we might be living in some place other than our homeland all those years ago. Today, we find comfort that Jakjak can speak fluent English, as if he were born English (we have Maisy Mouse to thank for that). Because of this, he is quite comfortable in dealing with people of all ages who can understand him. And in Singapore, English happens to be the school's main language.


We had to be patient when we started teaching Jakjak about the basics. Letters, numbers, colors, shapes. All these things that we are so accustomed to today, were things that a child has to absorb in order to learn. And we trained him not by simply jumping the gun on him. It took studying and research on our part to assess how best to approach the teaching method we would employ (yes, it's not rocket science, but it shouldn't be taken lightly either). It was a chore to be constantly monitoring the toys and the tools that are supposed to help in the child's development. The stages of learning was different if you considered emotional, physical and intellectual growth. It was not a "one fix fit", as we found out. And while we juggled about the stages, Jakjak had been on his merry way growing up at his own jolly pace.

But all these things have been good for him. He is growing up to be an inquisitive little man. Anything and everything that attracts his curiosity warrants a question. And there were days that he bombards us with questions on the who, what, when and where along with the how. It tries your patience sometimes, it truly does (especially when the questions become repetitive), but again, we employed patience rather than frustration. So now he knows the color teal, aquamarine and periwinkle (honestly, I don't know many parents who teach that to 3 year olds). He knows about axles, driveshafts, shift knobs and mufflers (only gear-heads like me probably teach these things when a child turns 4). 

Perfectionists may say that there is still room for improvement. For us, we are happy, Jakjak is happy. There is no stress, no tension between what we want and what Jakjak is. He has achieved something that we always knew he would achieve. In some areas more, in some areas less. He continues to surprise us with his wit and cleverness. In every aspect of his childhood, Jakjak has grown. And we have learned to grow with him. We are what we are because we managed to grow and improve together.