My dear Binbin did not cry again! *Yippee* I didn’t call my MIL today…I just don’t want to make it so obvious that I WANT TO PROVE HER WRONG! *laugh* Thank you Clement for passing me the hammer! *laugh*

Allan and my sister think its hereditary. Nope, not from Allan; ‘cos my MIL said Allan cried for 1 YEAR! (That’s so hard to believe, isn’t it? Oh well, that’s what the lady said) Anyway, they think Binbin has my ‘genes’ ~ the ‘like-to-go-school’ genes… *laugh*

I remember how excited I was when I knew that I’m going to school for the first time. I wanted my boys to have that excitement too. I remember WHY I was so excited and wanted to prepare my boys based on what I’d experienced. But because of my commitment in my retail line, I didn’t prepare my elder one for it, and he cried for the first 3 days.

I must make myself clear: I think its perfectly fine for kids to cry on first few days of school. Its understandable. Yet its preventable when the parents put in some effort BEFORE the child starts school.

I realised it only too late. I couldn’t help my Keatkeat, so I put in my all for Binbin. Guessed it worked… here’s how I did it…

Its a year long preparation. Throughout 2008, I make sure that I brought Binbin along whenever he is woken by his whiny brother in the morning. Binbin saw what it is like to GO to school. What to expect, things like: parents were not allowed to go in with the child; the door will be closed; the windows would be locked. I gave him the MENTAL preparation.

Next, I created chances for him to mix with other children by bringing him to the playground. For those of you who are not aware, Binbin is a ‘people-magnet’! People, be it young or old, black or white, like to approach him, stroke him, chat with him and kids often come forward to ask him to join in their games. (*sad* unlike poor Keatkeat who hardly get such attention) Hence, the SOCIABILITY / ADAPTABILITY preparation.

Finally, whenever Keatkeat brought home an artwork from school or a party-goodies bag because of his classmate’s birthday, Binbin’s eyes were always filled with envy. Or when Keatkeat went for an excursion, Binbin would often say with jealousy, “Aaaawwww…. So Good! And I can’t go!” My response often act as a reminder, “Binbin, when you start school next year, you’ll have all these too and even more. So do you want to go school?” “YES!!!” was always the reply. When a kid is frequently reminded of the ‘goodness‘ of something, their emotion towards it will be positive. And that’s the EMOTIONAL preparation.

To prepare a 2-3 year old kid for something this big needs a much longer time. I would say, I paid extra attention over last year to prepare him for the big day (yesterday)… I’m glad my effort paid off. *hooray*