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.

Many of you were concerned that I may be too harsh on Keatkeat after seeing the kind of worksheets (yesterday’s post) I give him. I can’t help but laugh a little.

That’s the last thing I’ll do, dear friends. All the mommies around me have been saying that I’m too slack, especially my 2nd sis-in-law, who is always checking if my kids are ‘up to the standard’. 

I’m a very go-by-the-flow kind of Mommy, it’s very unlikely that I’ll introduce something which the kid is not interested in; unless its a must, like knowing the alphabet. Then I will build the interest through songs and games. Seriously, to get a kid to be interested in anything is as easy as breathing. *wink*

A very good example of how ‘slack’ or how ‘go-by-the-flow’ kind of Mommy I am is this great news that I intend to announce to the world.

I DO NOT HAVE DIAPERS KIDDOS IN MY HOUSE ANYMORE!!! Yeah!!!

Where’s the champagne?

I know many of you started potty training your kid as early as 18 months, but I’m really not into the by-when-your-kid-should-be-able-to do this and that kind of Mommy.

Guidelines are great! I love to read them but to follow strictly is ridiculous, ‘cos every kid is different.

It was just 2 weeks ago, that my 3 year old, Binbin, went diaper free at night. We decided to do that after he presented dry diapers every morning for more than 10 days. We knew he was ready.

Like I know what most of you would encounter during the night potty training period:

-wake up in the middle of the night to get the kid to pee

-wake up hoping for a dry mattress but prepared for the worst

-several mornings of washing the wet mattress covers, bolster cases, pajamas, etc

-several mornings of sunning the mattress or dry it with the hair dryer

stories like these are very common.

These mommies see such ‘sufferings’ as part of the potty training process. I see it as a training that could have been delayed. Why do it when the child is not ready?

Of cos, I pay a couple of hundred dollars more on diapers as compared to them, but it definitely save me a lot of ‘sigh’ and unnecessary washings in the mornings.

Ok that’s about my kind of parenting – intro whatever only when the child is ready.

And talking about this, my Keatkeat has proven his mega memory power as early as 2+ years old. So spellings are ‘chicken-feet’ to him – not exaggerating! Guess what was the very first word he spelled? His favourite word in the entire universe – C-A-R!

He could identify 10 different car logos, recognise the direction to any place which he had just been there ONCE, remember what he did at that place and all the nitty-gritty details that one wouldn’t care much about.

His could almost tell the time on the clock as well as the digital time now. It’s wonderful and frustration-free to teach a kid when the kid is interested in the topic, and seriously, there isn’t a topic a kid at this age would not feel interested in, it all depends on how the subject is taught. *wink*