Toddlers & kids | Hip to be Mom

are your kids into lanterns?

Posted by clairity Comments Off

Aug 072008

I can’t believe they’ve already started selling mooncakes and lanterns, and the Mid-Autumn (or Mooncake or Lantern) Festival isn’t until, what, mid-September ?

I asked my teens which lantern they want me to buy them and my girls turned their noses up at me and laughed it off. I’ve only bought lanterns once or twice in all the years that I’ve had kids.

They were never very keen on lanterns. Steev completely snubbed them. He didn’t care for lanterns or mooncakes. Like me !

The girls at least walked around the neighborhood with their lanterns for maybe one or two years. I remember the candles kept going off and I was having a heck of a time trying to light the candles on a windy night. Then the mosquitoes started making a feast of us and that was it!

But of course, I would try and make a thing about buying mooncakes, just to keep the tradition alive a little bit lah!

paying the price now for future glory

Posted by clairity Comments Off

Aug 062008

I read on CNN yesterday about how kids as young as 6 years of age are being made to walk on their hands in China, all as part of their early training for future Olympics.

Watching the video of that poor little girl crying as she was put through rigorous, almost abusive acrobatic routines turned my heart to stone. The tears streaming from her eyes made me cry inside.

Her father says she doesn’t like the training (are you kiddin’ me?) but that they’re putting her through the grueling routines in the hopes she will be good enough to be in the Olympics, so she’ll have a brighter future? Gah! Yeah but at what cost to her mentally and physically?

I don’t care how much fame, fortune or glory they hope to get out if pushing their little girl that hard, but what they’re doing is inhumane.

tumble me not

Posted by clairity 4 Responses »

Jul 302008

We walked past a Tumbletots advertisement the other day and it reminded me of the time when Steev was a wee toddler. Like all eager new parents, we were so excited about his new-found mobility that we thought, hey, why not sign him up with Tumbletots, it would be so cute and he can discover and develop even more mobility skills!!

We couldn’t wait to get started. They gathered the kids to sit in a circle. When the song and dance began, everyone clapped and sang as the kids stood in front of their parent in the circle and wiggled to the music.

Steev stood there for a minute. Unwiggling! Then he started toddling out of the circle. I pulled him back gently. All the other kids were still in their spots, wiggling their cute little bottoms. All except Steev who couldn’t wait to get away!

It was kinda distracting for the other kids and the teacher was starting to give me wierd looks. Something to the effect of ‘hello, can you control your kid please?’. But frankly, no matter how many times I pulled him back, he still tried to break out of that circle!

Finally after I was done singing, we moved to the play structures. Whew! I happily handed Steev over to DH. If DH thought he could do better, well, !

At the play structures, the parents lifted the kids one by one to the structures and ran alongside to cheer them on. Steev was clearly uninterested but because he didn’t want to fall off the structure, he did just one round and couldn’t wait to get off.

He didn’t cry or yell or anything. The poor thing! He just quietly insisted he was happier to be out of this whole bit of nonsense.

Actually a child’s likes and dislikes begins to show quite early in life. I asked him about it after we saw the signboard the other day. He vaguely remembers climbing those structures, and laughs.

Says my almost-17 going on 25 year old, “Aiyoh, Mom, why you all waste your money? Those things are so bo-rring and so childish!”.

Got a Tumbletot or whatever-active-play story to share?

I often see my neighbor’s kids playing outside their house. Yes, on the road outside. Sometimes it’s badminton, sometimes it’s football, sometimes they’re just cycling around.

My kids, on the other hand, were only allowed as far as the garden when they were that age (around 6-10). Even then, they were hardly ever outside except occasionally to cycle or jump rope or kick a ball around.

When they were toddlers, we’d go to the park sometimes if the evenings weren’t too blazing hot. But I never let my kids out on the road to play. With all the warnings and reminders, my kids know they must never venture past that invisible rope just beyond our gate.

It’s a necessary precaution, I feel. You just never know when a vehicle is going to turn the corner and come speeding down the road. And then, who can you blame? The irresponsible driver or yourself?

Do you let your kids play on the road?

is your child cut out to be a Tumbletot?

Posted by clairity Comments Off

May 032008

I was passing by a signboard for Tumbletots the other day and it immediately brought to mind the funny experience we had signing Steev up for it. Our friends signed up their daughter, also aged around 18 months at the time.

Of course, at the time, being first-time parents, we were excited about the prospect of introducing our kids to a new set of motor skills, shared play and social skills. Each week, we looked forward to bringing our kids there.

Within a month, it became quite clear that while our friend’s daughter was enjoying herself and having a ball with the singing, dancing and climbing activities, Steev wasn’t the least bit interested. In fact, I ended up doing all the activities while Steev sat there and amused himself with watching us make fools of ourselves!

Okay, so that’s it! We decided to call it quits and left our friends and their daughter to enjoy themselves. Clearly not all programs are suited to all kids and it’s hard to tell unless you try it out.

Our friend’s daughter enjoyed it tremendously and they couldn’t understand why Steev wasn’t interested at all. Each child is different and even at a very young age, many already exhibit their preferences.

how to save on kiddy clothes

Posted by clairity Comments Off

Apr 152008

We all know how quickly kids tend to outgrow their clothes and their clothes don’t come cheap these days. Here are some ways you can save money and reduce spending on kiddy clothes.

Hand-me-downs from older kids (siblings, cousins, friends) are a good way to save. Some folks throw out clothes their kids can no longer wear. I think that’s a waste. So long as the clothes are still in good condition, they’re still good for wearing around the house.

Buy clothes that are one or two sizes bigger so your child can wear them for a longer time. If you buy the exact size, your child will soon outgrow them.

Take advantage of sales and buy them in a bigger size. T-shirts and shorts don’t go out of fashion and can be kept to be worn later.