Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

 
Due to the current pandemic, children attend ‘online school’ nowadays.

Since young, they are exposed to the use of computers/iPad/smartphones.

Here’s the thing though.

The use of electronics OUTSIDE OF online school hours should always be under parents’ control and supervisionWhile online school is inevitable, the use of electronics (computer/iPad/smartphones) OUTSIDE OF online school hours should always be under parents’ control and supervision.

i.e. It should never be without limits, correction and guidance.

For example:

– How much time does our child spend on playing games online / browsing social media, etc.?

– Do our kids learn anything NEW during the pandemic – skills or knowledge? (They really must).

e.g. How to type with 10 fingers? A new language? A new musical instrument? New knowledge on any of their topic of interests?

The internet, though it contains loads of trash, has loads of good stuff, too. e.g. Children today can learn from painters/artists in the U.K., etc.
 

 

– WHERE are our children when they access the internet / play online games?
e.g. Living room? Bedroom with closed door?

(They should be where the other members of the family are as much as possible)
 
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Pleasure/entertainment should be found in many thingsWithout parents’ active involvement and loving guidance, our children will be DROWNED in excessive exposure to electronics.

I mean, think about it.

Pleasure/entertainment should be found in many things, shouldn’t it?

e.g. Music, nature, sports, chatting away with friends and families, fishing, painting, etc.

If our children find no pleasure in anything other than gadgets, their lives have seriously been reduced. Our loving intervention is urgently needed.
 
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Anyway.

Food for thought.

And may God give us parents added wisdom and patience, and our children mercy and love for the Truth.

 
Blessed to share. Share to bless.

Let’s talk about the need for rules and boundaries in a child’s life, and the kinds of consistency, relationship and grace needed.

The IG LIVE Talk was in English, and you can watch it on IGTV!

Here’s the link:
IGTV LINK to Parenting Talk – Setting Boundaries for Kids

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PS: Pardon the random audio and connection issues …
(Stable internet connection, where art thou?)

 
Don’t look down on daily chores and habits (esp. for our children).

Put shoes back onto shoe shelves vs. Leave shoes wherever they wish

Wipe clean any spills vs. Ignore spills (assuming someone else will clean it up anyway)

Involved in house chores (tidying up own bed, washing dishes, preparing for meals, etc.)
 
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Too often parents assume: kids should only worry about ‘big things’, like:

– Kids should just focus on doing well at school.

– If they leave wet towels/dirty socks on the floor, well … we have the helper to pick them up. It’s OK lah.

– If they lose their belongings and they tend to NOT seriously search and be responsible for losing things, … well it’s an accident, isn’t it? No big deal. We’ll just buy new ones later.
 
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The thing is, daily habits MATTER because they build characters.

Patience. Diligence. Perseverance. Proactiveness. Etc.
 
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Kids will grow up and become adults.

They’ll become someone’s husband or wife, perhaps.

They will be someone’s friend/colleague.

The question is:
What kind of a husband/wife/colleague/member of the society will they be?

Lazy? Patient? Loving? Responsible? Ignorant? Pampered? Proactively helping others?

Such qualities need years of training, and training starts from our very home, since they’re young.

Yep.

From doing small, daily chores at home, too.

Food for thought.

PS: Such training requires consistency, patience, and repetition.

Won’t be easy on the parents, but by God’s grace it is possible.

After all, it is He who entrusted these little ones into our imperfect hands.
 
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(Inspired by today’s seminar by Vik. Sari)

Have you seen this video below?

If you haven’t, please do spend a few minutes to watch it.

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One’s ability to reflect, and elaborate his/her thoughts verbally and on paper need to be developed, nurtured and encouraged since youngI love how the 8yo in the video speaks and explains his thoughts and opinion so well, at EIGHT years of age.

Too many of us (in Indonesia, especially), when asked a question, we tend to give two or three-word answers.

Btw, could the lack of ability to explain ourselves and our thoughts well be the result of Indonesia’s overall system over the decades?

e.g. Students who are quiet and simply listen to teachers are regarded as better/preferred. Curious students who ask many questions are regarded as disturbing the teacher and the whole class.

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Anyway.

Here’s one common scenario:

“Why is Roger Federer your favourite tennis player?”

*pause 5 seconds”

“He plays well.”

“What is your favourite food, and why?”

“Fried chicken. ”

“Why do you like fried chicken? ”

“Errrr… I just like it. ”

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One of the things we can do is ‘intentional’ dialogues with our childrenI believe one’s ability to reflect, and elaborate his/her thoughts verbally and on paper need to be developed, nurtured and encouraged since young.

Analyse a situation. Reflect. Explain its effect on people, including lessons that we can learn from it.

One of the things we can do is ‘intentional’ dialogues with our children.

e.g. Routines before bedtime, where everyone in the family shares about their day, the mistakes they have done, the things that make them thankful, life lessons they have learned, the details of certain incidents, etc.

This is something that we do with our children.

The journey is still long, though.

Our kids do not automatically become ‘good communicators’ just because we encourage it at home.

(hmm, well, except for Brie, the youngest in the family, I guess. She likes to talk, and talk, and explain. Hehe. She has that skill naturally in her. She needs to learn and discern: which ones to share, when to share them, how to give an overview instead of detailed explanations all the time, etc.)

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Impact our kids from homeBut anyway, we hope to impact our kids from home, and nurture more life skills in them.
i.e. Before they all live their own lives AWAY from home.

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PS: Love how the boy in the video has the heart for others, too. Truly something we all – young and old – need to still learn.
 

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Too many of us go through our days, months and years without ever taking the time to self-reflect.

Too busy to think about one’s days at the end of the time, perhaps?

Some questions we should ask ourselves every day:

What have I done today?

What have I accomplished?

What wrong have I done to others?

Have I harmed others?

What incidents took place earlier and what lessons can I learn from them?

How can I do things better tomorrow?

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The more regular we self-reflect, the better we can understand ourselves, our strengths and our weaknesses, and the better we can live our our days.

Thankful for today’s reminder.

Blessed to share. Share to bless.

(Discussion is in English)

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Specifically for parents of preschoolers, establishing good daily routines is crucial.

How can children and parents benefit from having daily routines?

Why are routines even more necessary now that the children are mostly at home due to today’s Covid-19 pandemic (and online school)?

What kinds of routines can we have at home?

How can we implement these routines better?

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Here is the link to IGTV – recording (in English) of the discussion

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CEWsgVMCRGo/?igshid=waqz5tcv9fbl

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Two things to note:

1. SKIP the first 51 minutes, 10 seconds (to watch the discussion from start to finish).

Somehow the recorded clip repeated itself in the middle of it. The actual duration is less than 60 mins.

2. Apologies for the few disruptions in the middle of the talk (Mom called!)

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Hope it’s a blessing to you ❤️

 
What understandings should we have BEFORE we enter the world of social media?

What are the potential dangers?

As Christians, how should we ‘make use’ of social media and be a blessing to others?

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Thankful the opportunity to share.

Youtube link of the recorded discussion on Zoom (in Indonesian):
https://youtu.be/MkzBh2jar6s?t=20

Calvin Institute of Technology.

We stood and we prayed on the land where the university is to be built, if God is willing.
 

 
Mission impossible it seems.

But we have seen many seemingly impossible things came to reality over the decades, and we are reminded that when the works belong to God, nothing is impossible.

Naturally, much is required.

Other than the funds, qualified educators will be crucial, too, … those who dedicate themselves to serve the next generation.

The vision is clear.

How will WE contribute and be involved?
 

 
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May God teach His people to be faithful, prayerful, dedicated and responsible.

God’s people for God’s glory.