Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Have you heard anyone saying something like this ?

When children are still so small, they’re the easiest to take care, because they can’t do much at that age anyway. It’s really just about taking care of their physical needs. Bathing, feeding, playing with them. These things can be done by a helper /  a nanny / another caretaker, while we parents concentrate on other more urgent things in life. It’s when they’re bigger that it gets more challenging, and we need to step in and be more involved in the children.

…

I just interviewed a parenting expert for Reformed 21 TV, and amongst the many topics we discussed, THIS was one of them.

Here’re some thoughts I’d like to share with you today :

When something is not ‘seen’, we tend to see them as having ‘no value’.

This cannot be further than the truth!

Children below the age of 3, even babies below the age of 1, may seem to NOT do anything much.

And this is because they ABSORB their world.

They observe. They learn about consistency, security and love in the family.

They explore and they discover more about themselves and their world.

They learn about limits and boundaries.

They test to find out who is the main authority, and whether THEY (yes, these tiny ones) can be the authority instead.

(no wonder, toddlers go through this phase called the ‘terrible two’!)

They ABSORB everything like a SPONGE.

Yep.

Present them with anything, expose to them everything, and they’ll take them all in and treat them as the TRUTH.

So.

Can you just imagine how fatal things could be (often, the impact of it is only apparent when they’ve hit their teenage years), when parents don’t see the significance of this ‘golden age of 0-3 years old’?

ie. When parents are not actively present in the lives of their babies and toddlers, when parents fail to see the importance of instilling values and principles during this period, because they thought these small, little people ‘can’t do much’ anyway?

…

As I sat there, listening to the explanations and mentally preparing my next interview questions, I was reminded of how tough a task it is to be a parent.

Let alone, a ‘Godly parent’ to my children.

But then, at the same time, I was reminded of how big an honour it is to have been entrusted with this task too!

And how as parents whose faith is firmly placed in Christ, we are never, ever alone in our parenting journey.

God is with us every step of the way, and wisdom, strength, joy and patience will be given to those who put their trust and hope in Him.

Thank God for little children.

And thank God for His beautiful promise.

Brie is 2 years and 5 months today.

And she likes to describe what she sees. So yes, she talks, a lot =)

Mostly in Indonesian.

(in the car, looking out the window)

Mommy, ada yellow truck! Ada black car. Ada motorbike. Bapanya pake helmet, Mommy!

Ada ibu, Mommy. Ibunya gendong baby. Babynya bobo.

(at home)

Mommy, Koko Vai abisin Yakult ya?

Brie belum minum Yakult. Brie boleh minum? Brie ambil sendiri ya?

(as I get ready to go out)

Mommy lagi ganti baju, udah mau pegi ya? Mommy nanti balik ya?

Daddy di rumah ya? Brie di rumah sama Daddy yah?

Jie-Jie Anya, Koko Vai ga ikut yah? Oh Oke.

(while looking for her hairband)

Mommy, mana iket rambutnya Brie? Brie taro dimana? Ilang ya? Brie cari dulu ya. Nanti Mommy iketin rambut Brie ya.

Yes, she’s quite a talker, especially for her age =)

Ah, may God bless her.

And as she grows up, may the many words that she utters always be an encouragement to others too.

We just had a long weekend recently, and together with a group of friends and their kids, we went to Desa Sawah.

Our second trip there!

(Click HERE and HERE to read about our first trip, watch a video and find out more about its children activities)

5 cars. 10 adults. 11 children. And one baby on the way.

[Vai’s friend’s mommy caught a big fish! And of course the curious boys then rushed to help with the catch!]

TIPS:

– I recommend calling them in advance to ask for more info, like whether they’re open on the day of your planned visit.

– If you plan to do some fishing, eat your catch, and enjoy a nice get-together on the ‘saung’ (the huts around the pond), then yes, do call to make a booking too. We told them we’re coming in a big group of 21, and they reserved the biggest saung for us (top picture)

To me personally, it made our stay there more convenient, because toddlers like Brie were ‘contained’ safely on the saung with us (read: a good space for them to play and run around, and they cannot run off unknowingly)

Fishing rods and baits are provided by the staff, free of charge.

I think we used about 10 rods or more!

TIPS:

– Decide in advance how many fishes you’d like to catch. Because those you’ve caught cannot be returned to the pond.

– We caught six fishes altogether. Some were big and heavy! And we had some fried fish as our lunch there (cooked by the restaurant for us)

– If the restaurant cooks the fish for you, the price per kilo is Rp50,000 (hmm, or was it Rp48,000/kilo?)

– If you simply bring the live fish home, the price per kilo is a bit cheaper.

We ordered coconut drinks, avocado juices, fried fish, stir-fried kangkong and fried chicken, and quite a few others.

And if you ask me, the food there may not be THAT fantastic, but … since we caught the fishes ourselves, somehow we’re happy with them! =)

Personally, I appreciate the gathering with friends, the fresh air, the open-air and refreshing view of the paddy-fields and mountains.

It’s nice to see the kids tried out fishing, played with friends and run around out in the open.

I guess, it was a good break for everyone.

Well, at least I know, it was a good break for me.

A refreshing getaway from the usually busy daily routine, traffic jams and concrete jungle in Jakarta.

…

Desa Sawah Restoran & Villa

Desa Cinagara Kecamatan Caringin, Bogor
Sukabumi, West Java
Phone: +62 251-8224877, +62 251-8224878
Opening hours :  09:00 – 19:00 (Mon-Thur), 07:00 – 21:00 (Fri-Sun)

As busy as I most probably get, I try my best to spare at least two sessions each week where Brie and I sit down and do something crafty or ‘art-sy’ at home.

(I’d ideally like to have one arts and crafts session a day though. Sigh. It’s just simply not possible for me right now)

And we did this the other day.

Cotton ball painting.

One simple activity for the toddler.

And, Brie loved the mixing of the colour, the messiness of it all, and the feeling of a different kind of texture on her fingers.

Of course, by the time she felt she’s done, she’s interested in colouring and wetting something else other than her piece of paper.

Her little toes! Haha.

TIPS:

If you’re one who easily gets ‘stressed out’ upon seeing children with paints all over the body, then I’d suggest the following :

1. Do your arts and crafts session just BEFORE shower time

2. Allocate a specific area at home for your arts and crafts / painting activities

3. Cover the floor with newspaper for easy and quick cleaning up after the session

(Most welcome to share YOUR tips too yeah!)

Personally, I do number one and two above now =)

Because I’m less ‘stressed out’ that way.

(I simply need to lift Brie up and bring her to the shower area for a good clean-up afterwards)

And when I’m less worried about things like, getting our home ‘too messy everywhere’, Brie also gets to do more explorations and activities without much nagging from me! =)

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

As much as having siblings can be great and nice, siblings can be irritating too.

They can be excessively playful at times when you prefer to be left alone.

They can accidentally knock over your treasured books.

Their curiosity may lead to seeing some of your well-kept cards getting bent here and there.

…

I was asked by an irritated eldest sister, ‘Why does God give me a younger brother? It’ll be so much easier and better if I’m all alone, having no one to share my things with, no one to borrow or touch my stuff!’

My reply to her – every time – was,

Because God knows how you need to learn to share and care for another person. You are one who prefers to keep your belongings for yourself, and to have been given someone who’s there everyday with you, who potentially can do things that you dislike, must be hard. But that’s exactly the lesson God wants you to learn.

God wants you to be a better person, to learn what it is to tolerate differences in life, to love and to care, to understand, to share. At the same time, you’ll find out what it’s like to be loved, cared for, protected and to have someone pushing your swing, laughing at your jokes, and sharing his things with you too.

You may not like this answer right now because you’re feeling irritated. And I agree, it’s not easy. Your brother is learning too.

But, really … family is a gift from God.

If we can’t learn to love and care for those who are in our own little family, how can we even say we’ll love others who are outside our family?

…

Learning can be painful.

But the end result I’m sure, will be beautiful.

[I think Brie’s scribbling a fish here =)]

I know some parents who allow their children to express their creativity by drawing on the walls of their homes. Anywhere they like.

I personally have a different preference though.

We choose to not allow our kids to draw wherever they like.

As toddlers, when the kids (yes, all three of them) have been curious enough and tried drawing on the wall, on the sofa, on our chair, on the bed sheet … we do tell them a firm ‘NO’.

… just like most other things in life, there are more appropriate places to do certain things in life. We choose to teach them that they sure CAN draw, scribble, sketch and do all those things … but, just like most other things in life, there are more appropriate places to do certain things in life.

In this case, we explain how they can do it on paper, the ones we’ve allocated for them (eg. Not on Daddy’s work documents, or big sister’s treasured comic books =)

Another place that we’ve allocated for the kids to scribble and draw is our glass door.

It allows them to draw much bigger things, bigger than their drawing books.

And, we LOVE this washable window crayons by Crayola.

We usually wash the window the day after, leaving their ‘artwork’ on the glass for at least a day Brie (and even the older ones) loves to draw and scribble there.

And I have noooo problem with that, because it’s so easily washed.

(We usually wash the window the day after, leaving their ‘artwork’ on the glass for at least a day =)

And you know what, I’ve seen how some homes have an allocated cemented wall for the kids to draw big, big drawings with chalk.

Too bad we don’t have that at home.

It’d be awesome to have that though!!

Anyway.

Happy weekends, everyone!

Brie is going through ‘I love you, I don’t like what you just did, I want to hug you, I want this NOW, I need your help, DO NOT HELP ME, I want you to sing together with me, I just want to cry and cry’ phase.

Kind of normal for a growing two year old, they say.

Sunny days and thunderstorms can truly take place within 3 minutes at home.

(Thank God, it’s not a total surprise for us, as we’ve gone through it with the 2 older ones. Wonderfully mind-numbing emotional roller-coaster they sure are)

But.

Last night, while we both were in bed, and the lights were off, while we both were all quiet for a minute or so, she suddenly turned, held my arms and said, ‘Brie sayang Mommy’. Her first time saying it to me, out of her own initiative.

And it was one of those ‘Awwww love you too!’ moments for us.

Ah. I think, I prefer to focus on the sweet moments and remember them for years to come.

Sweet little Brie, you’re growing up way too fast!

We love you!

We’ve been in Jakarta for a bit more than 1.5 years by now.

(Can’t believe that it’s been THAT long!)

And we’re still learning the Indonesian culture everyday.

Like, the other day … the kids realised that when it comes to people’s names, what sounds normal in one country can sound so funny in another.

You see, the three kids and I were in the car, and as I listened to the news on the radio, the name ‘Bambang’ was mentioned by the radio announcer.

Anya and Vai went silent for a few seconds when they heard the name.

Then, they BOTH burst out laughing!

Hahaha … Bum-Bum! Hahaha …. his name is ‘Bum bum’?? Hahaha! Mommy, did you hear that? His name is BUM BUM! Hahaha … 

And I was like,

No no no … it’s ‘Bum-bung’ (that’s how you pronounce the name Bambang). Like, you know the Indonesian President’s name is SBY, right? S-B-Y stands for Susilo BAMBANG Yudhoyono.

And they went,

Huh? BUM-BUM YOU DON’T KNOW NO? Muahahaha …

I did tell them how it’s not nice to laugh at people’s names.

But they kept giggling anyway. They just thought bum-bum was too amusing!

Okay.

I thought it’s quite funny too, haha.

But I maintained my cool and smiled only (don’t want to encourage the kids to laugh at people’s names lah)

PS: I hope I don’t get into trouble for talking about the President’s name here =)