All About Your Child

Despite the school’s effort to educate the kids with talks from the Ministry of Health and by giving colourful stickers like these to the kids with the important tips printed on them, the damage that too much TV-watching is not good for their eyes, still doesn’t register into their mind.

So to make them SEE the truth, this was what I did! I video-ed the cartoon ‘My Friends Tigger & Pooh’ from Playhouse Disney Channel and SHOWED them what their eyes are actually looking at!

They were shocked! They couldn’t believe that their eyes couldn’t see the disturbing waves on the TV screen. After looking at the video shot for more than 5 seconds, they couldn’t stand it and looked away.

Me: Is this nice to look at?
Boys: No.

Me: Are your eyes painful?
Binbin: Yes.
Keatkeat: I’m feeling giddy…

Me: It’s ok to watch cartoons but not for too long, because THIS IS what your eyes are REALLY looking at. Are your eyes important?
Boys: Yes.

Me: So do you want to spoil them and be like Mommy and Ah Yee (my sis) who need to wear spectacles and without spectacles we cannot see?
Boys: No.

Me: So what must you do?
Binbin: Don’t watch cartoon. (that’s what you can expect from a 3year old)
Keatkeat: No! (Eager to correct his brother) Can watch cartoon but watch a little bit.
Binbin: Orh. Can watch little bit.
Keatkeat: So can we watch this now and after this, we switch off the TV?
Me: *Nodded with a Big Smile*

The recording was done almost 1 month ago, I didn’t want to post it till I see that they really understood the message I was sending to their little growing brain. I want to see actions, I want to see improvements to the length of time they spend infront of that rectangular box.

After 1 month of observation, they did change! Now, the longest time spent on cartoons is 1hour in a row, they used to watch non-stop, till I had to interfere, even then, there were bargaining sessions before the electrical box is completely off.

Not anymore now, I no longer need to say, “You have spent hours on the TV and it’s time to switch it off now”. Ever since that video-shot, they switched off the TV by themselves after one or two 30mins cartoon programmes. *Hooray*

Last night I was blog-hopping at 1am in my sister’s room after sending my kids to dreamland. After the weekend break over at the Chalet, I’ve got lots of posts to read and lots of catching up to do with some bloggers….

But before I was through to the 2nd blog post, my 4-year-old started coughing badly. I’m used to it (more or less) already ever since he was diagnosed with bronchitis almost 2 years ago. So I ignored his cough and continued my reading…..then…

I heard whining…

I heard small quick footsteps…

I turned my head towards the sounds…

I saw a small tiny figure in yellow t-shirt dashed into the dark living room….

then “#$%&&%$^&”….the sound of vomit.

I dashed out of my sis’s room and switched on the lights to see where is my little Keatkeat…

He was standing just next to the dustbin. But he couldn’t find it in the darkness and the vomits were all over the floor. He was still coughing hard when I move towards him.

I was so proud of him. He did it! Finally! He did it! He no longer lay lying on his mattress and cough till he vomits. He knows himself so well now.

He knows he’s gonna vomit, so he ran out to look for the dustbin, he knows the trouble that dear Papa and Mommy got to go through in the washing his mattress whenever he vomited on it due to extreme coughing; he understands, he loves his new mattress too much to hurt it like the way he did to his previous one….

I stepped on the vomit (I didn’t care), I knelt (prefer to kneel than to squat) there holding the dustbin just below his chin to signal him that he can go ahead and throw up whatever till he feels it was enough.

I kept saying, “I am so proud of you…Good boy, you didn’t vomit on your bed…I am so proud of you…”

I went on and on till he coughed onto my face once, that’s when I changed my sentence to, “Please cough and vomit into the dustbin and not on my face!” He listened and he followed my instructions. That’s when I carried on with the encouraging words.

It’s really difficult for a kid to be asleep and yet in the nick of time, be able to react so fast, so well, so clear-minded, I am truly proud of my boy’s reaction last night. With so much commotion, my hubby’s sleep was disrupted too. He woke up to help to clean up my boy, changed him and gave him a cup of warm water, while I mopped the floor….and because of the sudden wake-up call, my hubby couldn’t get back to sleep till 5am!

My boy was alright after the throw-up, its usual, we are so used to it, he is so used to it. After a 5min rest, he said, “Good Night Papa. Good Night Mommy.” And off he went to his clean mattress, hugged his 2 bolsters and fell asleep in less than 10mins on his own.

Sometimes Keatkeat displays his level of maturity in areas that we least expect, he is always giving us surprises with his growing intelligence in more areas than one.

I remember melting under the hot sun on Monday and then I am cold like ice yesterday and today. With the unpredictable weather these days, Keatkeat is coughing harder than usual, he is showing signs that his bronchitis may be coming over for a visit again…let’s hope he sleeps well tonight. *Sweet Dreams*

Its so easy to complain when the kid did it wrong…but how often do parents say “good job” when it was done the right way….I don’t see many parents around me who do that…but several does it among my blog friends…*smile*