All About Your Child

Yup! You people are in for a PIZZA TREAT from my 4-year-old Keatkeat. *wink*

His class went to a pizza making session today. I’ve double-checked with the teacher that the 6″ Hawaiian pizza was REALLY done by Keatkeat himself (with a little help from the adults).

Me: “Did you have fun making the pizza?”

Keatkeat: “Yes! And I want to go again!”

Me: *smile* “Can you tell me how did you make this pizza?”

Keatkeat: “I did this and this… (with lots of hand movements), then I take the (chicken) ham and the pineapple and put on top of the pizza….then I put inside the hot box (I presume its the oven)…then its done!”

In order to give credit to his hardwork, the Rite Pizza Professional Institute presented him (and all the other classmates) a Certificate of Achievement!

It said:

“I have made my first pizza at the Rite Pizza Professional Institute! This is awarded to me for the completion!”

Was it yummy? You bet!

His little bro was more appreciative. As usual, my 3 year-old, Binbin ate all the pineapples ‘cos he knows that his elder brother isn’t anywhere near interested in that yellow fruit and gobbled down the pizza in big-mouth-full as he kept asking his big bro, “GorGor, why you don’t want to eat? You make this pizza…You don’t like your pizza?”

Keatkeat couldn’t even finish half the pizza. I guess he is very much like me; I don’t have much appetite after cooking. I guess after preparing the food, its too tiring to ‘enjoy’ the food.

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*