All About Your Child

I had one of the most amazing time at my cousin’s house yesterday. Being with people who took care of me when I was a tiny little baby is an indescribable joy. The extend of joy is a direct connection to the amount of food I eat. Hence to maintain my figure, its wiser to feel miserable more often. *laugh*

Yesterday marked the end of my Chinese New Year visitings. Tonight we will allow the boys to open their Hong Baos. For the first time, we decided not to put ALL their Hong Baos’ money into their Bank account.

Feeling generous, we would like the kids to enjoy their rewards; nope, not all of it; BUT HALF OF IT. The other half will still go to their bank account.

They can use the 50% to get ANYTHING they want, provided its within the amount they have in their pockets. Neither Allan nor I will top up any amount, if they chose to buy something beyond what they could afford.

Cool?!
I love the idea!

Nope! I don’t think they are too young….

When I was my boys’ age, all my Hong Baos’ money were ‘re-cycled’ by my mother; since she had to give Hong Baos to other children too. It was till I was in Secondary School before I could keep ALL my Hong Baos. I do not blame my mother for doing so, cos’ its quite a hefty amount just by giving Hong Baos on CNY.

What your style? Do you allow your kids to keep the money? Spend the money? Or do you ‘re-cycle’ them too?

Ok, most of us know about the DOs of CNY, like:-

• say auspicious greetings / words when one passes the Mandarin Oranges on every visit
• wear red or bright coloured clothes
• give Hong Bao (if you are married) to people who are younger than you and who are not married, as a blessing
• spring cleaning before Day 1 of CNY, an act of getting rid of the bad luck in the previous year
• buy new clothes, shoes, bedsheets, pajamas….., a ‘Fresh’ start in the new year
• decorate the house with as many red decorations as possible

Its the DON’Ts that hmmm…. I’m not too sure about. I remember there were much more than the handful I’ve listed below: –

• cannot mention the word ‘death’, ‘die’, ‘dead’, ‘funeral’, ‘sick’, ‘unluckiness’….
• cannot wear black clothings during visiting, because black is considered inauspicious
• cannot eat porridge on the first day of CNY, because porridge is a meal for the poor, so it symbolizes that you’ll have poor luck for the new year
• breaking a glass or anything that’s made of glass on the first 3 days of CNY is considered a signal of bad luck for the new year. To counter this, the person who broke the glass (accidentally) must say, “Luo Di Kai Hua” immediately. (direct translation: drop on the floor, flower blossoms)
• cannot sweep the floor on the 1st day of CNY, ‘cos you’ll be sweeping away the good luck. I ever argued over this point with my grandma before. “Maybe its sweeping away the bad luck!” She told me, the new year always brings good luck, that’s why its important to have your house squeaky clean before the new year comes (spring cleaning). I used to think the invention of vacuum cleaners were inspired by a Chinese… *laugh*
• this last one that I know is probably the Best for all the kids. Parents or Adults are suppose to control their anger and refrain from scolding or quarreling with anyone… So its a ‘no-holds-bars’ for children on the first day of CNY. This is the hardest of all, which I usually couldn’t follow through the first 24hours of the new year….*grin*

Do you know any other DON’Ts that are NOT listed here?