Ashton n Ashlyn

I have came across a very interesting motherhood quote today.  I find it a very good reminder for me.  It reminds me to be more patient with the kids, be more connected to them and makes them the priority in my life.  As Ashton grows, I realised that we have been at odds with each other. Lots of struggle.  Mainly because he wants the attention but I am too busy to give him 100% of it compare to the past.  Ashlyn has taken 1/3 of it, Today’s Motherhood has taken another 1/3 of it. Frankly speaking, 1/3 for either of them is definitely NOT enough!!!

Sometimes, I feel myself racing with time.  I keep reminding myself to fully enjoy being with them when I am with them. I have been practising it and still practising right now. Here’s the quote and I hope it can serve as an inspiration to other parents as well.

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging and less tugging.
~Diane Loomans, from “If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again”

Picture by ezeneco 1991

We were approach by Innoform Media to review one of their new release - Babytv on dvd of My First Years Library. I am more than happy to do so as my son, Ashton is a “TV King”. I know it would be a simple job as I could use this as one of the bonding activities with the kids.

Ashton, Ashlyn and I were excited when we received the sample DVD today.  We started our program soon after we come home from our morning trip to the Science Center.

About BabyTV on dvd - My First Years Library

It is a comprehensive collection of DVDs consisting of all titles that contributes to the fundamental learning of the babies and toddlers.  The 5 titles that will be release in the market will be:

1. Babytv on dvd - Learning Colours

2. Babytv on dvd - My Nursery Toys

3. Babytv on dvd - Farm Animals

4. Babytv on dvd - Musical Instruments

5. Babytv on dvd - Art and Crafts

The review copy that we received was on Farm Animals, which is one of the kids favorite topic currently.  It is a 40 minutes DVD, which was just right for the kids.  They could take a break and rest their eyes after that.

It was a very captivating yet educational one, which teaches children about animals that are seen in the farm.  There are 2 main parts that makes up the dvd.  There are bright and vibrant colored animation to capture the children’s attention and also shots of real farm scene which shows the milking of the cow and shaving of the the sheeps.  The songs are catchy and familiar songs like “Mary had a Little Lamb”, “5 Little Ducks” etc.  The children readily sang along.  Apart from that, it is also very interactive as it prompt the kids to think by asking them riddle like “Which animal is black and white with wide nostrils?” Answer: The cow.

From the dvd, my children not only learn about different kinds of animals that they see in the farm but they also learn more in depth as in how the animal contributed to our daily lives such as cow gives us milk.

Personally verdict: I love the way the DVD is being structured. There are a combination of games, songs and stories, which cater well to almost all the kids.  Both Ashton and Ashlyn enjoyed different parts of the dvd.  While Ashton focused more on the facts, Ashlyn enjoyed the songs.  Now, she insisted we sing “Old Mac Donald had a Farm” after watching BabyTV on dvd - Farm Animals.

Information on Babytv on dvd

Babytv on dvd is suitable for kids from 6 months old to 48 months old.  It is selling at S$14.90 per dvd.  It will be available in the market from 25 Sept 09.  Currently, it is only exclusive to Mothercare.

Today’s Motherhood is honoured to be invited to the grand opening of Polliwogs on Saturday.  It was a meaningful event with all the proceeds collected from the grand opening donated to Children’s Society. Since Friday, the kids were looking forward when I told them that we will be going to an indoor playground with pop corns, balloons and magic. They woke up real early in the morning and were really co-operative.  No struggle with breakfast and changing their clothes unlike the days whereby the 3 of us put up a fight when they were asked to change for school.

Ashton’s eyes brightened immediately when he reached Polliwogs.  The first thing he did was to take off his shoes and charged straight to the huge and spacious indoor playground and was in the barrels within seconds. Ashlyn followed suit immediately.

Even though there were lots of people, the place still appear bright and roomy.  Hariman, the owner of the place showed me around the place and I was impressed.  Behind the indoor playground were 3 nicely decorated party rooms.  Heard from Hariman that they will change the theme regularyly to make it interesting for the kids.

During weekdays, the rooms were used by Wee Care@Polliwogs.  A early childhood programme for the toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Ashlyn did a nice painting under the guidance of a teacher from Wee Care who was guiding her patiently while Ashton was entertained by the magician.

Apart from all the fun indoor, there was an outdoor bouncing pirate ship which is Ashton’s ultimate favorite but it was too hot for that at 12pm in the afternoon.

There is also a nice chill out area for the parents as well while the kids have their fun.  When I need to work on the weekends, I know that I probably have an ideal place to visit. ;)  I can sit down with my laptop while the kids can have their own fun!

Here’s a little cute conversation of Ashton and Ashlyn over dinner.

Ashton:” Next time I want to go to the big playground that we visited this morning.”

Me:” So you like the place.”

Ashton:” Yes!!!!”

Me:” Ashlyn, what about you?”

Ashlyn: ” I like the balls most.”

Ashton:”Slides are more fun…”

Ashlyn:” No!!! Balls are better..”

Ashton:”No!!! Slides….”

As they grow and their likings differ, it seems that argument during dinner time increased too. hahaha…but I enjoyed listening to the way they argue on their own views.  It only goes to show that they are growing their own personalities.

I believe, pictures speak louder than words. Here are pictures of the fun that the children had at Polliwogs.

At Polliwogs

Ashton waiting to go into the indoor playground

Ashton all ready to explore through the tunnels...papa got him to stop for a pic

Yeah! Ashlyn went up the colourful stairs without help.

Ashlyn is happy to see so many colorful balls!

The Magician

Party Rooms Full of Fun Activities

The Children Painting Under the Guidance of a Teacher from Wee Care

Interesting Theme in the Party Room

Ashton n Ashlyn enjoying their pretend play as prince and princess in the castle...

* Start of Interview *

1. Please introduce your name, who you are, which country are you staying in and your area of IM expertise

Hi, I am Elaine from Singapore. I have been exploring IM for only a few months and my area of expertise is in social networking. I believe been sincere and genuine is the way to success. Relationship building is the most important thing in the whole business element.

2. Share with us your first success in Internet Marketing and how did you do that

As I am a stay at home mummy, I started out exploring internet marketing with my parenting blog – The New Age Parents. (http://www.thenewageparents.com) I use it to share my parenting experiences with fellow parents. I got to know a number of mummies who visited my blog and we gradually become friends.

It then inspired me to start up an online parenting magazine – Motherhood Monthly to share and reach out to more parents.

As a number of parents know me through my New Age Parenting Blog, launching Motherhood Monthly (http://www.todaysmotherhood.com/currentissue) is a breeze as the parents were quite supportive of it. Within less than 2 months of launch, our face book group grow tremendously to going 2000 members, subscribers of more than 1000 and over 30,000 unique page views.

My magazine is a free subscription magazine. My revenues are mainly from advertising. It is not a sky high figure that I am earning now but a low end of 4 digits earning enough for me to pamper my children.

3. Share with us one obstacle which you have overcome and you have learnt a lot from it

The very first obstacle that I have is coming from my children. From a 24/7 mummy to a work from home mummy, I have to sacrifice some of my time with them and of course, my children voice out their objections through tantrum throwing and refusing to let me go out to work.

Moreover, during the preparation of the launch of the first issue of Motherhood Monthly, my daughter was sick for almost 2 months with rotavirus. I slept for only about 3 to 4 hours every night. It was tiring. From there, I learn to optimise my time and manage my time better.

The second obstacle, I am not a very frontline person though I use to be a financial planner for 2 years. However, I need to be the marketing person for the magazine as it was a one “woman” show. It does help in moulding my marketing skills which is an essential skill to succeed whether you are working or setting up your own business.

4. Share with us one mindset tip you would like to share with
others, especially those who find IM hard

IM is not only hard. I think it is extremely hard. I guess to succeed in IM, you have to know clearly what you want and what you are interested in. Do not give up easily.

I always know I want to be in the parenting niche and here I am now. It does take time to build. Do not believe in quick successes and earn money easy scheme. You are likely to be disappointed when you don’t see the returns. Handle it like a true business and manage it with your heart and soul.

5. Share with us about the uniqueness of one of your products.

Motherhood Monthly is an online parenting magazine whereby readers can read at their convenience. It is a free subscription magazine as I want to reach out the more parents. It is the first online magazine in Singapore with the feel of a hard copy format.

We treat our sponsors and advertisers seriously. We look into long term working relationship with them and see how we can help them create more awareness rather than just purely advertising.

6. One project you are working on right now and you would like my readers to know

As our magazine is a success, we are working on our main website to serve our readers better. Do visit us at http://www.todaysmotherhood.com/

7. One last tip you want to share with my readers

I guess the last tip will be to build your business with integrity as that is the key element to success. Also eat, sleep and breathe your business. In my case, it is Today’s Motherhood.

* End of Interview *

ps. as the interview was done before our revamp, I have updated the new website address in the post accordingly to allow easier access.

Father Day is a day we show appreciation to fathers.  Sadly to say, mothers has always been in the limelight in the parenting role though fathers can do any equally good job.

My friend, an owner of Amore-Bakery has come out with a contest in appreciation of fathers during father’s day.  Anyone who shares a touching story related to father’s day will get a chance to win yummy brownies bake by her.

Here’s the details of the contest:

http://www.amore-bakery.com/search/label/Contest

Let’s all take the chance to reflect the noble acts of our fathers. 

by IRANIAN CHILDREN (iran music)

Has been quite awhile since I update my blog. Have being busy with the launch of Motherhood Monthly and Ashlyn is unwell.

How times flies.. Ashton celebrated his birthday in January this year.  My boy has grown up.  He is officially 3!

I have been a full-time mum with him since he is one year old and witness every stage of his growth.  From a baby to a boy who have a mind of his own.  Ashton cuts his birthday cake not once, not twice but 3 times this year.  He had a celebration with my in-laws, my family and in school.

This year, he wanted to do everything himself.  He had his full bouts of birthday request and his birthday wish is to grow his Thomas and friends family.  He chose his own birthday cakes and even want to decide where he wants to place his birthday candles.

What frustrate him was the the way the elder generation of the families tried to interfere with the ways he place his birthday candles.

He put candles on Thomas the Train’s faces and they goes “u ruin Thomas’s face, should place it outside the train”.

His 2nd cake is a round fruit cake and he place the candles at the edge of the cake and the family goes ” it it not nice.. people normally don’t put candle at the edge of the cake, everyone put it in the middle”.

His 3rd cake is Finding Nemo’s cake and now he is happy.  His teacher is GUG asked him where does he wants to place his candles and he goes” one on the deep blue sea, one on Dory and  another on Nemo.”

Looking at Ashton, I realized that all children have the creativity within them and they knows what they wants.  It doesn’t matter where he place his birthday candles and it does not bother me that his Thomas and Friends cake was ruin because he had the candles on Thomas’s face, Percy’s eyes and James mouth.  What matters is he is creative and knows what he wants.  Encourage your child’s creativity and don’t dampened them.

How do I encourage my children’s creativity:

1. Encourage free play - it is through free play that they explore
2. Being Silly myself - be outrageous as a parent, once your child sees that you have the courage to think outside the box, they will do so.
3. Giving them lots of exposure - my husband n I have a resolution, to bring them to a different place each month so that we can simulate their inquisitive little mind.
4. Read to my children every night - reading storybooks encourage imagination

What do you do to simulate your child’s imagination?

After working through all the teething issues, the very first issue of Motherhood Monthly is finally out…

Motherhood Monthly starts as a dream to me 2 years ago when I quit my job in the financial industry to become a stay-at-home mummy.  In concurrent to the launch, I will like to thank my friends also my partners in WTF for helping with the designing work and the web designing stuff.  Not forgetting the contributors who contribute to the magazine.

Here’s my contributors list for my very first issue:

a. Thomas T - http://www.geomancyhut.com.sg/

b. Karen Kurt - http://www.pottytrainingsecret.com/

c. Rosabel - http://nurtureourchild.com/

d. Kim Kia Tan - http://www.best-vitamin-supplements-guide.com/

e. Nafisa Juzer - http://r2learntoys.com/

f. Thomas Ann - http://www.little-red-bus.com/

g. Seow Poh Heng - http://seowpohheng.com/

h. John Yeo - http://bloggerspaycheck.com/

i. Jennifer - http://mathsriddlebook.com/

Do sign up for Motherhood Monthly for the FREE Online Parenting Magazine now!

=> http://motherhoodmonthly.com/subscribe/

See you there!

I have a friend’s friend who is a single mother and supporting her daughter on her own.  She is selling her home-made CNY Cookies on the internet to earn the extra income. I do not know the lady in person but I know the cost in raising up a child.

I will be ordering some of my CNY goodies from her too.  If you are planning to shop for yours, maybe you will like to drop by her website for more details.- www.onlinehomemadecookies.blogspot.com

p.s.  You can request for samples if you want a try before making your decision.

photo by Brendan Gallagher

I was at a relative house for festive celebration during Christmas and I saw a little girl sulken and sitting at the corner.  She looked real angry and upset.  I went up to her and ask her what happen out of curiosity.  She told me that her mum had told her that she is either prettier or cuter than her cousin, who was of the same age and thus it is her cousin and not her who was chosen to perform in the concert as the duo were in the same  dance class.  Thereafter, I noticed the little girl has change her attitude towards that cousin of her - refusing to play with her and began to isolate her.  I saw the pair of cousins a few times and they have always been on close terms.

This makes me ponder on the idea that her mum was putting across to her.  Is this the way a mum should speak to her child?  My daughter, Ashlyn, has always known herself as a princess.  The whole family including her brother, Ashton call her that.  We always tell her that she is pretty and nice.  Personally, telling my children that they are not as good as others never cross my mind.  I always tell them that they are the best in my eyes.

Just what are the consequences the mummy’s words could have cause on the little girl.  This is what I could think of.

• Rivalry between the two children.  It will kill the good relationship between the two.
• Inferior Complex for the little girl. Since my mummy thinks that I am not good enough, then I am really not good enough.
• Being too competitive.. I must win my cousin in whatever she do. I will prove my mum wrong

Anyway, kids are complex beings.  They are too young to express themselves well and we do not know the unwanted effects it will cause when you hurt them.  Since we want to nurture our child well, the first thing we have to consistently do is to improve ourselves and be mindful of what we speak. I do not know if I make the same mistakes by speaking harshly when my children make me snap but this is my checklist to keep myself in check.

• Always be positive in words.
• Try to be encouraging.
• Use explanation and reasoning when they are upset with a certain situation.
• Most importantly, let my children feel that I will always supportive of them.

Do you have any pointers on positive parenting?  Share it with us here.  If you like the post you are reading, join us at The New Age Parents now.