Everything about your pregnancy is important. Food, tracking baby development week by week, prenatal check up, exercise and emotional condition are just a few of the many considerations that a mother should give the highest regard. (more…)
Everything about your pregnancy is important. Food, tracking baby development week by week, prenatal check up, exercise and emotional condition are just a few of the many considerations that a mother should give the highest regard. (more…)
GUG - Growing Up Gifted Review (contributed by a parent)
My daughter, Nicole, started GUG in the Gifted Kids class (N1) in year 2006 when she was about 3 years old. Although the Gifted Kids class is a non-accompanied program but as she was new to the class, the teachers exercised flexibility in allowing the grandma to accompany her for the first week of class. The teachers were very caring and attentive towards Nicole and that made her settled down very quickly.
When Nicole first joined the early childhood program, she was shy, timid and did not have the confidence to interact and speak up in class. Her teachers were always assuring and constantly encouraged her to participate in the class activities.
I would like to highlight that the “Show & Tell” sessions were especially beneficial to Nicole. During a “Show & Tell” session, every child was asked to bring an item to talk about in class whereby the name of the item corresponds to the letter for the week. For example, if the letter for the week is ‘F’, the children can bring items like flower, frog, fish, fruit etc and they would briefly talk about their items in front of the whole class.
Initially, Nicole needed help from the teachers to prompt her in what to say but as time went by, Nicole was able to present the items without any help from the teachers! I believe these “Show & Tell” sessions had helped to build up her confidence level tremendously.
As Nicole progressed to Kindergarten 1 (K1) where there were more written work as compared to N1, the K1 teachers realized that Nicole was quite slow in her written work as she was always the last few to complete her work.
After observing her for a few days, the teachers realized that she was always erasing the words which she has written and she claimed that her words were not neat. I was quite surprised when the teachers highlighted this issue to me as Nicole did not behave that way at home.
I tried to find out the reason and found that as Nicole wanted to show her teachers the “perfect handwriting” thus, she kept erasing and re-writing until she deemed they were perfect.
After I found the root cause, I worked together with the teachers to try to let Nicole accept her not-so-perfect handwriting. We assured her that as long as her handwriting was legible, it need not be perfect. We also told her that in future during the exams in primary school, there would be a time limit to complete the exam papers. A perfect handwriting would not help in scoring points if the exam papers were incomplete. Gradually, Nicole understood the fact and she no longer erase and rewrite her work.
Today, Nicole is in Kindergarten 2 (K2) and she is now a confident, eloquent and a happy child. With the help of loving and passionate teachers and the creative and all-rounded syllabus at Growing Up Gifted, Nicole has definitely enjoyed her gifted kids education at GUG. A BIG thank you to all the teachers and staff at GUG for giving Nicole such a memorable and fun-filled pre-school experience!
Do you have kids in Growing Up Gifted or other preschool education programs? Would you like to share your experience? We like to hear from you. Do drop us a comment right below. Thank you.
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Question:
Hello, my toddler grandson is two years old. He is obsessed with trains. He also throws tantrums in public. Is there a reason to be concerned?
Answer:
Your grandson is at an age which is better described as the “Terrible Two” phase. During this phase, toddlers tend to develop a strong sense of property rights and you can hear the phrase “mine” or “my one” more often.
I wouldn’t think he is obsessed with trains but rather more attracted to them than the rest of the toys. This is common for toddlers as they feel they can relate and feel more comfortable with just one toy and when they see similar toys elsewhere they get pulled towards it. There is nothing to worry as he will wind out of it as he grows older.
And as for tantrums, this is a common worry every parent or grandparent has in regards to their children or grandchildren but without tantrums, a toddler is never a normal toddler. Sad to say but yes! Tantrums complete a toddler as this is the age they start establishing independence. Put yourself in his place.
A toddler has an intense desire to do things, but his mental and motor skills have developed more quickly than his ability to tell out what he wants or how he feels. Because he doesn’t have the verbal skills yet to express his frustration, he does so by throwing tantrums.
A tantrum will result when a toddler is frustrated. Tantrums tend to occur more often and abruptly when child is tired. This is because they get frustrated more easily when they are tired. In order to deal with your grandson and his tantrums, observe carefully and try to backtrack what was it exactly he was doing before the tantrum started. For example, was he playing with building blocks?
Many parents have said they don’t know why their children had burst into tantrum, they were just playing before the tantrum began. If we go back to the example of playing with blocks…your child is happy, playing with blocks and suddenly he bursts into tantrum…it could be because he wanted to put one block on another and it fell off. Or, maybe he built a tall tower of blocks and it toppled down.
These things may seem trivial to us, but, when you’re two years old and have just watched the block tower you’ve ever built fall over and crumble to the floor, it is devastating…and frustrating. Frustrating enough sometimes to erupt into a tantrum!
Tantrums in public places are embarrassing, often making it difficult to consider a child’s feelings. Your first thought is more likely to be “what will people think of me as a grandparent?”
If you feel trapped and embarrassed when your grandson is throwing a fit in a very crowded and public place, don’t yell at him or scream at the top of your voice, thinking that will calm him down. He is already out of control and needs you to stay in control. Just calmly carry him (even if he is kicking and screaming) to a private place, like the bathroom or your car, where he can blow off steam, after which you can quietly settle him down.
Remember to backtrack and see what triggered the tantrum so that in future situations like this, the solution is at your fingertips.
| About the Author Ms Sachi is part of Team NYM. She is presently reading her honours in Child Psychology, graded to support her present experience in Early Childhood Education and she further plans to secure it by pursuing a Certificate or Diploma in Early Childhood. |
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Encourage your child’s creativity and enter the world of your child’s perspective. Take part in Today’s Motherhood Children Drawing Competition and a stand to win free kids Art Trial Class from Hans Art.
Drawing Contest Details
Submit your child’s most creative drawing and have their art pieces proudly displayed at Today’s Motherhood website.
The winning drawing for the month will be featured in Today’s Motherhood Magazine together with your child’s photo and also a free kids art trial class in Hans Art.
Closing Date of submission : 30 Sep 2009.
For details on how to submit and contest Rules and Regulations, please go to Kids Drawing Contest.
Below are the entries of our Oct Children Drawing Contest
My friendly Pet Turtle by Ryan Soh
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
My Little Chicky by Chloe Lam
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
Dragon Boat by Wang Jia Jie
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
A Windy Day by Noah Goh
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
Dragon by Gabriel Goo Sien Yang
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
My Family by Valerie Kang Yi Xuan
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
Mother Cow by Chai Yen Xin
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
Toucan, Nature by Jolynn Seow
>Back to Oct Kids Drawing Contest Entries
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First, it was Intelligence Quotient(IQ), then to Emotional Quotient(EQ). Now it is Financial Quotient (FQ).
Money science is the new buzz word now. Investing & Money management has become part and parcel of every successful women’s responsibility.
Let’s do a quick financial quiz to access your Financial Quotient and Basic Money Managment Style.
1. If I were to receive $30,000 my first reaction would be:
a. Go to the mall and use all of the money and even buy things for my friends.
b. Feel confused and overwhelmed about the money.
c. Call up a Financial Planner to invest the money, rather than leaving it in the bank.
2. This is my idea of a budget:
a. Budget? What budget? My money needs to be used on the stuff I want at the moment!
b. I try to make a budget, but I never have time for it.
c. My budget is just perfect; the only thing is that I hardly ever use my money.
3. My attitude towards credit cards is:
a. I use them for everything even when I run out of money.
b. I use them but I don’t think about the balance very often. I sometimes forget to tell my parents how much I have spent.
c. I only use credit cards for the freebies and discounts.
4. When it comes to keeping a record of my bills:
a. I get the bills and and I run through them, but later I can’t find them.
b. I don’t even know what records to keep, so I don’t keep any.
c. I am very careful with my money, so I keep records of every cent I use.
5. My financial goals are:
a. To have enough money so I can always buy what I want.
b. I don’t think about goals too much, so I don’t think I have any.
c. To make a lot of money and make sure I always have it.
Learning about your own money management style is already the first step to increase your FQ. Unlike IQ, FQ can be increased by educating your mind and keeping your financial goals in mind.
Of course, you may also want to consult a Financial Planner to assist you in creating your personal wealth portfolio. With new regulation, of FAA (Financial Advisory Act), and the lowering of fees charged for CPF investment from July 2007 onwards, it gives even more reasons to plan for your retirement goal and your own a investment plan of your choice!
With everything being instant, even coming to shopping or buying things that we dream about, we have also want to own it quick. Swiping our credit card for our purchases without much thought. Learn the art of delayed gratifications, especially when coming to buying big tickets items, like a brand new car, your dream Lois Vuitton bag, your Europe holiday.
By understanding your own financial decision, you are already on your way to becoming your very own Financial Diva!
Results to Financial Quiz
If you answered mostly “a” to these questions, you may be a
Financial Diva Wannabe
The Financial Diva Wannabe: Money to you is glorious and you can’t hold on to it for a long time. Money is just one of your tools to have fun.
If you are a Wannabe, you can open a savings account and put some money away. Use the formula of Income – Saving = Expenses. (Rather than Income – Expenses = Saving) Do something that will be more fun, like roller-blading, swimming or even join a gym, rather than using all of your money where you don’t have to spend money.
If you answered mostly “b” then you would be an
Financial Diva-To-Be
The Financial Diva-To-Be: Money isn’t your thing; it just fly right by you and you don’t even notice it.
If you are a Diva-To-Be, you can write out specific financial goals for the future. Keep track of everything you spend for a week. Maybe opening a separate bank account to divert your saving, will be good so that you don’t worry about spending or not spending money.
And if you answered mostly “c” you may have some
Super Financial Diva
The Super Diva: Spending money on unnecessary things is not your style. In fact, you like to save because you would like to have more money for the future.
If you are a Super Diva, have a absolute figure that you want to achieve at a given age. Learn to reward yourself with little gifts for following through your financial plan.
You might just fit in to all of the characters in this financial quiz but just know that if you manage your money in a fun way—it will be better for the future; then you will have lots of money!
So, are you a Financial Diva?
Kevin Foo is currently serving as a Manager, building his Wealth Management practice with a Canadian based company. He can be reached by kevin_foo@hotmail.com
Home based enrichment classes for tots and preschoolers.
Website : www.nurturingyoungminds.webs.com
Contact : 82080448 / 82506041
E-mail : kidsrangels@live.com
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Babies are gift of love. It is such a joy to welcome a newborn into the family - what’s more when you are welcoming two, three or more. Your joy escalates and so does your workload.
Identification Problem
It is easy to tell your twins apart if they are non-identical. However, if they are identical, you will probably have some problems telling them apart after you are out of the hospital and they are no longer wearing identification bracelets. This is normal, so do not feel guilty.
You can try to acknowledge them by taking note of distinguish features like moles, birthmarks or skin tones.
As you get to know them better, you will be able to recognize them by their unique facial expressions. If distinguishing them is still difficult, maybe you could differentiate the color of their clothes.
You will be able to tell them apart more easily as they grow and take up different personalities.
Feeding Time
It is a tough and time consuming task if you are nursing multiples. If you do not feel comfortable at the initial stage, it is good to sought advice from the lactation consultant.
Try to express and store your breast milk so that your husband or another caregiver can help you feed the other baby as the baby take turns to be nurse.
When your babies start eating solids, you might want to feed them from the same bowl, which can be faster and less messy. This is provided that they are not unwell.
Bath Time
It is important to put the waiting siblings in a safe place or have someone to look after her when you are bathing the other. This is very important as you need to focus on bathing the other.
When they are older and able to sit up, you might want to get a bigger bath tub and bath them together. Have someone to help you as one need to watch out the other one while you dry one of them.
Remember to get your essentials for bath ready so that you would not get distracted.
Dressing Up
Research shows that dressing twins or multiples alike have the tendency to reduce the chance for the individual identity of each child to emerge and blossom. At around six months of age, try giving them their own clothes so as to bring out their unique personality.
Pat yourself at the back and give yourself a break
It is understandable that you will be tired and did not have a proper rest for quite a while. However, rest is the most important thing for you to revitalize yourself and be a more effective mummy.
Get your husband to take over the babies during the weekends so that you can rest and recharge yourself. Do not be over particular on the cleanliness of the house if it is not as pick and span as before.
Mothers with multiples are more likely to suffer from baby blues. Get help from family members and friends to lighten your load.
Relax and hang on when handling twins or multiples. Once the routine is set, you will begin to realize the joy of having multiples and the warmth they bring to the family.
This article was first published in Today’s Motherhood Magazine Apr 09 issue Page 18
1. Ashley Tay (2)
2. Boey Torres (236)
3. Danelle Kaylee (221)
4. Faith Chong Li En (33)
5. Germaine Goh Xuan Hui (153)
6. Ho Jun Yan Xavier (270)
7. Javier Germanus Tan Jia Jun (44)
8. Lucas Teo Zhe Xu (85)
9. Muhammad Riyyan Haziq (54)
10. Raeden Tan Hong Rui (97)
11. Sherayne Ong (102)
12. Teo Angus (182)
We congratulate the babies and their photos will be published in November issue of Today’s Motherhood Magazine.
The winner will also be announced in Nov issue and will receive 5 x image shoots and the rest will receive a 20% discount voucher all sponsored by Kellysjy Photography.
Nov Photogenic Baby Photo contest is now open for submission till 7 Nov 2009.
————————————-
Today’s MotherhoodPhotogenic Baby Photo Contest Oct is open for submission till 7 Oct 2009 or first 306 photos only (whichever comes first).
For rules and regulations, terms and conditions and how to enter the contest, please see details at Baby Photo Contest.
The contest will be an INTERNAL voting contest by Today’s Motherhood panel of judges. The judges decision are final and no correspondence shall be entertained.
The photos will be posted in the order it was received.
Asia Football Group. First Kick Academy strives to provide the best soccer training program to the community through a structured training curriculum, well trained coaches and a fun positive environment.
The program follows the LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development) structure which teaches skill that are age specific. This ensures that the child gains confidence and stays enthusiastic with the sport.
The coaches of First Kick Academy comes from all walks of life and are not limited to professional soccer players. The coaches have to go through an interview, an internal training module and OJT (on job training) before they can start coaching the kids. Most importantly, First Kick Academy chooses coaches that are fun and passionate individuals that bring out the Academy’s beliefs.
The Internal Training Module a.k.a. our Staff Accreditation course is a specially designed course conducted by A.C.E. (Academy for Coaches Education). In A.C.E., the coaches get to learn more about grassroot development and the different aspects of child development to help them understand how to best conduct a training session. Besides training our own staff, A.C.E. also conduct coaches education for the public for those who are interested to know more about coaching.
Our Curriculum includes
Website : www.firstkickacademy.com/
Email : contact@firstkickacademy.com
Contact : +65 67870926
Address : 1/A Tampines St 92 #01-13C Tampines SAFRA Singapore 528882
True Motherhood Stories
Being a mother requires you to be the person you are not. There are moments when you become a stage actress just to make your child smile.
There are times when you need to be an authoritative iron handed fairy that needs to instill authority to convince the child not to change the news show to Disney Channel. There are moments when you are Barney, or Scooby Doo or the lowly damsel in distress Snow White.
One Saturday, I chose to be a housewife. Plain housewife. I began sweeping the floor early in the morning. I scoured old cabinets for roaches and I even tried carpentry works for worn out window panes. All these and more I tried to accomplish without focusing on my kids who are hooked on to watching the latest sequel of the High School Musical.
It was nearly lunch time when I asked my kids to go down for their mid noon meal. The two kids rushed down the stairs to see what Mama had prepared for them. They sat on their usual spot and ate with great satisfaction. I asked them to rest for a moment before they take a bath while I soak the laundry. I planned to put them on an afternoon siesta while I wash the dirty clothes.
Thirty minutes had passed and I called on them for the bathroom. My son hurriedly went inside the bathroom as bathing is his favorite task. He was about to finish but no daughter of mine came. I put on my son’s clothes and kissed him for his nap. I called out for my daughter again - once, twice until I screamed out loud calling out her name. She came to me hesitantly with tears about to fall. I didn’t mind the tears. I went on with my shouting and I even nagged her. I talked about my being tired for the day’s work, my laundry waiting for me and I end up mentioning all of life’s bad side.
I was pulling her clothes off when I asked her angrily why it took her that long to come. The tears came pouring in. She said in her sweet comforting voice… “Because Mama, I don’t want you to wash many clothes… I know you are already working all day. If I take a bath, another pair would add up to your laundry”
I was awestruck. I hugged my daughter and we cried together. I held her tight as I explained that everything will be fine for Mama - that her clothes wouldn’t be that much burden for me. She nodded her head and went straight to have her bath.
We may not realize it but our kids have many ways to let us feel how much we mean to them. When we feel that motherhood is turning into a punishment, we just have to remember that we have our children as reward. Kids way of expressing love may be subtle and discreet but meaningful and lasting.
Don’t you think children are such sweeties? Do you have interesting motherhood stories to share? Write to us at mailbox@todaysmotherhood.com and get your story posted on Today’s Motherhood.
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