Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

 
Here’s something ‘against the flow’ to think about:

Teaching our children to ALWAYS ‘obey school rules’ unconsciously shapes them to be adults who are reluctant to try something new / creative. Reluctant to think out of the box.

Don’t get me wrong.

We are NOT encouraging them to rebel or to fail in school.

You see, in life, often kids make ‘mistakes’ where they may do things we wish they don’t do.

And I’m learning to see them as OK if they make decisions that we may find … ‘unusual’.

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Eg. Your child chooses to skip classes because he’s helping someone in need?
Sure!

Your child wishes to skip school to NOT miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience that she can never get from school?
Yes. It can be considered.

How about if your child was found to be asking (too many) questions in class because she has high level of curiosity on certain topics?
Yes. It’s fine (even when the teacher may not be happy about it 😊)

Your child is caught to be reading books in class, on subjects that are more advanced than what’s being taught by the teacher?
Oh well.

Be curious.
Be kind.
Be creative.
Be loving.
Be responsible and considerate.
But don’t be boring.
 

 
Step out of the box every now and then.
Ride on that jetski.
Jump off the edge of a boat into the open ocean.
Explore the unknown.
Be hungry for knowledge (yes, even when you’re not graded for it)

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Life is a journey.

And childhood should never be a boring black straight line all the time.

Parenting is one tough task.

May God help us.

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Photos were taken at ‘Pulau H’

 
Radicalism DOES NOT belong in Indonesia.

Tolerance and pluralism do, and we need to instill these values across the society.

I’m recommending this movie called ‘LIMA’ (Indonesian)
 
Movie Trailer:
 

 
Coverage by KICK ANDY
 

 
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Let’s watch it at movie theatres to boost ticket sales so this movie can stay longer and be watched by MORE and MORE.

‘LIMA’ goes public and on screens TODAY – Thursday, 31 May 2018.

I’ve watched it and I’m bringing the kids to watch it later.

Let’s support those who fight for Pancasila and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika!

#NKRI
#filmLIMA
#Pancasila

 
Over the years I’ve been blogging and existing online, I don’t usually post many photos of my bigger family.

Because, I simply prefer to keep them, … less public.
 

 
But I’d like to post these today.

Because, memories with the bigger family are treasured and I hope to keep these photos, even if all my hard disks fail me.

Thank God for families.
 

 
(Dinner at Kempinski’s Signatures. Super love their Sashimi!)
 

One thing that is USUALLY not quite liked by parents and children is, exams.

Before the exams, some kids tend to stress out, because parents and teachers stress them out. So much to cover, so little time.

And some parents stress out when they see their kids are not stressed out about their exams.

When the exams are over, parents and kids stress out again, wondering if the results will be good enough.

Sounds familiar to some? May be?

…

Now here’s a thought to share:
Not everyone will score high in exams.

And it’s OK.

…

Why is it OK?

Because.

No, we should never encourage ‘laziness’Some of these children will grow up and become musicians, and if they don’t get high scores in science, it’s OK, isn’t it?

Some of them will become artists/painters, and if they have a different kind of approach to art from what’s being taught at school, … and it’s OK, isn’t it?

Some will become chefs, radio announcers, athletes or dancers, and their scores in physics or maths will not matter as much by then.

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The line between ‘encouraging’ and ‘pressurising’ is often very thinYes, we should always encourage children to do their very best as they’re personally responsible to God for the opportunities, time and talents that they’re blessed with.

(And no, we should never encourage ‘laziness’. This discussion needs another post.)

But, the line between ‘encouraging’ and ‘pressurising’ is often very thin.

Too many parents (consciously / unconsciously) place too high a value on SCORES and ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS rather than EFFORTS and LEARNING PROCESS.

Some will become chefs, radio announcers, athletes or dancersAnd as the result, children end up thinking that they’re only valuable in the eyes of the parents ONLY IF they can score high in school.

That, if they fail in school exams, they fail in life 😟

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Reminder to self:

As we support and encourage our children to do their best according to their own individual capacity, let’s make sure that they know we love them no matter what happens.

That we’ll stand by them along the way of their growing up journey 🙏

 
One recent incident that happened in Jakarta was, a teenager mocked and ridiculed the President of Indonesia, and the video went viral. In the end, the young man was taken by the police, and the parents were quoted by the media to have apologised for the incident.

This incident made me think about a person’s choice of actions and their consequences.

Here’s sharing with you some thoughts.

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When children make mistakes, let them bear the consequences and learn what ‘responsibility’ means.

…

Here’s a list of potential incidents involving our children:

– Child physically hurt someone

– Child physically breaks / damages someone else’s belonging

– Child says / writes / does something that emotionally / psychologically hurt others

– Child potentially harms another (purposely/accidentally)

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Life is never just about one personWhen the above happens, some parents (feeling hurt / ashamed) often choose to do one or more of the following:

– Ignore / turn a blind eye (pretend not to notice)
eg. A child bullies another on the playground, the bully’s parent ignores the incident

– Apologise ON BEHALF of the child (child keeps quiet)

– Refuse to believe that the child does it on purpose (because as far as the parents know, the child ‘would never’ do such a thing), ie. The child must have been provoked and is the ‘victim’!

– Tell others how OTHER CHILDREN have done worse and they’re ‘never’ penalised!

– Cover the mistakes immediately
(eg. If a child steals a book from a store, the parent quickly goes in, pays for it, says ‘Sorry, he didn’t know. He’s just a child, hope you understand’, and walks away quickly. Child gets away with a verbal warning)

…

Does any of the above sound familiar?

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Children DO NOT learn (NOT GIVEN the opportunity to learn) the importance of ‘being RESPONSIBLE for his/her choice of actions‘Sadly, this is often the issues in today’s families =(

ie. Children DO NOT learn (NOT GIVEN the opportunity to learn) the importance of ‘being RESPONSIBLE for his/her choice of actions’.

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When parents choose to respond in one or more ways I shared above, the child (unfortunately) learns that:

– It is okay to BLAME others (‘It must’ve been other people’s fault that it happens!’)

– His/her mistake is ‘justifiable’ and should always be ‘understood’ by others

– The parents (or someone else) will always be there to ‘settle’ or ‘fix’ things

…

For every choice of action (purposely / accidentally done), there are consequencesOf course, we all know (and I hope agree) that that is NOT how life works.

Because.

Life is never just about one person.

And for every choice of action (purposely / accidentally done), there are consequences.

Consequences that the ‘doer’ MUST bear / face / settle / fix.

For example.

– If you spill your milk, you need wipe it AND apologise if the spilled milk damages someone’s property

– If you write on someone’s wall with crayons, you need to clean it up yourself (or if child is below 3yo, parent can help a bit). Child then MUST apologise to the owner himself (eg. Parent can accompany, but child must speak and apologise)

If you fall down on your own, it is your own fault, not the ground’s fault for being there!– If you fall down on your own, it is your own fault, not the ground’s fault for being there! Child needs to learn that it is normal to fall down, and he/she simply needs to get up, and keep going (no ‘hitting the floor for being naughty’!)

– If a child bullies someone / hurts a school friend, child needs to face the victim and apologise face to face (not via SnapChat, or Whatsapp!)

– If a child refuses to wake up in the morning for school (throws tantrums, etc), then let him/her face the consequences of coming to school late and getting punished / rebuked by teachers.

…

Child needs to face the victim and apologise face to face (not via SnapChat, or Whatsapp!)Everyone makes mistakes, including our children.

And it is okay.

And when we let them face the consequences of their actions / mistakes, they will learn precious lessons, ie. The importance of:

– being responsible for own actions

– respecting other people (and their belongings/feelings/etc)

– being ‘brave’ for accepting own fault and apologising face to face

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And, our role as parents?

Let’s learn to continually guide, rebuke, communicate, instill values at all times (not only when mistakes are done), appreciate, discipline, support and most importantly, LOVE and PRAY with and for them.

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Yes. Being parents are never easy.

But here’s one thing I keep in mind whenever things get tough:
Being a parent is a calling that God gives to everyone of us who’s been entrusted with a child / children in the family.

Ask God for wisdom, patience, joy and mercy, and pray that God help us day by day, to be the kind of parents HE wants us to be.

 
Planning to go to Hong Kong Disneyland by train, from Mongkok?

It’s simple!

Here are some tips!

There are 2 options:
– go by the ‘top route’
– go by the ‘bottom route’ (where you’d pass Tsim Sha Tsui station)

We decided to go by the ‘top route’ (There are less stops, and from googling around, we found out how the train trip should take around 30-40 mins)

Now.

One thing you’d need to know first: HK Disneyland opens at 10.30am!

And if I were you, I’d MAXIMISE my time at Hong Kong Disneyland, by making sure I’m there when the gate opens, haha.

Which btw, was what we did!
 

 
We arrived at Mongkok MTR station by around 9.50am.
 

The train route:

 
1. From MONGKOK station, head towards TSUEN WAN station (dark orange line)

2. Get off at LAI KING station, go to opposite platform to the train heading towards TUNG CHUNG – DISNEYLAND RESORT station (light orange line)

3. Get off at SUNNY BAY station, and cross over to DISNEYLAND RESORT station (pink line)

And that was it!
 
(CLICK HERE to see Hong Kong’s MTR ROUTE MAP)
 

 
Mickey Mouse trains!!

This was the view as we headed towards the Disneyland Resort station!

As expected, EVERYONE was soooo excited, haha!
 

 
It took us 30 mins to get from Mongkok station to Disneyland Resort Station!
 
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If you want to be on the ‘safe’ side, go on the top route and allow 45 mins. But seriously, you’d reach HK Disneyland in much less time than that!

Oh btw.

We bought the Octopus card for everyone (the ‘normal’ Octopus card, not the HK Tourist Octopus Card, because we knew we would take a taxi towards the airport, NOT the express train)
 
INFO on Octopus Card:
– Octopus Cards do NOT expire
– If no top-ups are done within 1000 days, the card is deactivated
– You’d then need to go to any MTR Customer Service Centre to have it activated for FREE
 

 
…
 

Added thoughts:
 
Everything is so much more costly in Hong Kong. Train rides, taxis, food, drinks, everything. Perhaps it’s because we earn Indonesian Rupiahs!

If you wish to save a bit, bring along your water bottles and snacks for the kids. Because if you plan to spend ONE WHOLE DAY inside the park, you’d obviously have to get your lunch and dinner inside the park. Quite a few eating places and food/drinks carts around.

…

Anyway, HAVE LOADS OF FUN at the park.

We sure had a blast!!

 
I look at these photos and I thank God for the opportunities to learn so much from others today.

#reformed21

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Btw, I love the all-size pinkish red top!

Did you know that’s actually someone’s art turned to comfy clothes?

To browse, click http://www.ans-ein.com/

 
I have children. They smile, they play, they bicker. It’s what family does.

Today, acts of terrorism led many to lose their children. Their beloved family members.

My heart goes out to all victims and their families.

May you be blessed with extra strength and grace.

But.

We choose to NOT be afraidWe choose to NOT hate like they do.

We choose to NOT avenge.

We choose to NOT be afraid.

We will NOT be like them.

While we mourn, we also smile, because we know our GOD is a just and sovereign GOD.

Love and Justice WILL prevail.

#surabayaBombing
#prayforsurabaya
#kamitidaktakut
#wearenotafraid
#stopterrorism
#wewillSTILLworship