It seems seasonal, but such RANDOM lists are appearing again in Facebook, blogs and tweets. So we decided to do our own list of Random things we learnt about parenting since Nicole was born!

Here goes:

1. Each diaper can only hold that much pee and poo. As much as you wish for one that is super absorbent, one that doesn’t leak, one that doesn’t irritate the bottom, IT DOESN’T EXIST!

2. Until the child is old enough to communicate his irritation with the full diaper, there are various ways to check!

a. Touch or rather press and squeeze (don’t ask me why) the front of diaper to check if it’s full.

b. Put your nose to the buttocks area to smell (only works if your child did a major smelly poo)

c. Lift the diaper in the following spots to see:

3. Children do not know and cannot understand the word WAIT

When they want your help to take something, it must be now. When they want a drink, it must be now. When they want to open something, it must be now. When they want to pee, it must be now. (this one, you better not try ur luck. can get messy!)

4. As above, I learnt children are not exactly the most trusting people in the world.

They don’t believe you when you say don’t touch.                            They don’t trust you when you say you’ll buy it later.                     They don’t think you mean it when you say the cane/spoon/spanking is coming.                                                                                                       They definitely don’t care a hoot when you say it’s good for them!

5. However, #4 does not apply to stuff they put in their mouths.

They really think everything that they pick up off the floor tastes good. Their tongues have a magnetic draw to anything-TV screen, mobile phones, books, shoes, wall, floor, ceiling (if they can reach it!). Their favourite? Nose snot! They love it!

6. Back to #5, it doesn’t apply to food with vitamins and proteins.

Try dropping a cooked pea on the floor. It should entice them, ya? Green, round, small enough to pick up? Well, no kid I know would pick THAT up and pop into the mouth!

7. All parents are dictators

This is just one of our many dictatorial examples… 

Don’t you think when little kids dress-up, they look really cute and adorable? Those miniature costumes look fantastic on them, and it would be so so so great to hear lovely comments like,

“oooh, she is soooooo cute!”

“Wah! they really look the part!”

“You are so creative! They look so good!”

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Well, we were certainly creative! We achieved that through pure dictatorship, forcing, coaxing the poor kids to

“PUT IT ON!!! BECAUSE YOU LOOK SO SO GOOD!”

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Erm… you can see Pirate Princess #1 has two good eyes, Pirate Princess #2 doesn’t really know where to focus her remaining good eye, and Pirate Prince’s scruffy look is marred by half-open eye lids.

So much for enjoying the party! We learnt that this dress-up AT BEST, can only last that 5 MINUTES for you to take your kodak moment. Thereafter, everything goes back to 21st century local time, local garb.

The primary lesson learnt … … … parenting is all about them … … …    if the kids are happy, we are happy!

On Wed night, we had a very different but eventful evening. We went for a ride on the double-decker buses called the “Hippo Bus.”

The last time we went for a Hippo Bus Tour was in December 2008! Check out how the kids looked back then!

My..my..my! How they have grown!

This time round, the Hippo Tour was coming with a new and different twist! We were doing it at night (Previously, we did it in the day) and we were going to experience the Bugis/Bras Basah Precinct in a totally different setting.

This tour is organized by our friends from Omy.sg, in cooperation with the radio stations 91.3 FM and 100.3 FM! So…it was going to be great ride as we were going to be entertained by the Radio DJs from the station.

The kids were really excited as we gathered at the National Museum and saw the buses arriving at 7pm.

Before we could board our Bus, our DJs’ Jeremy Ratnam and Maddy grabbed onto their Loud-Hailers and entertained us with their witty sense of humour, as they gathered us.

 

As the buses came, we were spilt into 2 buses of enthusiastic “Hippolites”. We got into the 91.3 buses, and naturally we were all covered in 91.3 memorabilia.

The kids loved the Hippo Bus and they just loved sitting on the Upper Deck and exploring the bus. Here’s Nicole looking at the driver’s controls.

The Bus route covered the Old Bras Basah Area such as the Singapore Art Museum (The Old St. Joseph’s Institution) and the old Armenian Church.

DJ Jeremy Ratnam was really knowledgeable about the Bras Basah Area, as he used to stay around the area. He told us about what the places used to look like before the renovations and most importantly, where the best food in the area was found!

We made our pit-stop at Chijmes (This is the location of the Old Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus).  DJ Maddy who used to study here also briefly told the bus, that the convent was ideally situated for the guys at St. Joseph’s Institution to “gawk” at. I think some things never change!  

Chijmes is actually very beautifully lighted up at night, and this was the 1st time the kids were there. We walked around, slowly enjoying the night scenes and the kids loved playing at the fountain.

Jeremy Ratnam ended the Chijmes tour by giving us a brief historical rundown of the old Convent.

In fact, I remember when I was young, the old convent was really run-down and it had old dirty stained walls. 

Now, it is really well done-up and also boats of many  bustling pubs and eateries. In fact, with the many large screens in the area, it looks like an ideal place the catch the European Cup Finals or the World Cup in June with some friends.

Is the Tour Worth Going?

I think that the Hippo Ride at fun is really more enjoyable than going in the day!

This is because the weather at night is much more pleasant, and it makes sitting at the upper deck of the bus more tolerable.

I remember literally “sweating like a dog” the last time, I sat at the upper deck.

The Night scenes also offered a different view of Singapore, and generally there is more relaxed mood, when you see the city at night!

The only thing missing was the food – and if the Singapore Tourism Board, could do something about that, I am sure that the Buses can really bring in the Tourists! 

Overall, It was a fun thing for the family to do, and the kids enjoyed the bus ride! Thanks once again to Omy for the tickets!

As a Daddy Blogger who is finding out more about Parenting everyday, I am always looking to learn from other Parents.

Family Night Out – A New Parenting Initiative by NTUC seems to be perfect solution to all our Parenting Solutions.

Last Friday, NTUC had its Inaugural Event at eXplorer Kids @ E!hub in Downtown East.

With the event held at the largest Indoor Playground, the location was a definite hit with my kids!

In fact, upon entering the Playground, they quickly forgot about my existence and they headed for the slides and obstacles.

Meanwhile, as the kids were playing outside, the Parents were learning from:

Mr. Lau Tat Chuan (Director of the Centre for Fathering)

The talk was designed to help us explore practical methods to balance career and family aspirations, and discover new approaches towards successful living and parenting.

Mr Lau is a father himself and with his oldest child in his early teens, it was really informative to hear from someone who has had a lot more experiences in Parenting.

Here are some quick issues he brought up:

1. Quality Time Vs. Quantity Time

Many working parents “harp” on the fact that it is not Quantity Time that is important but it is Quality Time that really counts.

Eg. No point getting your kids out for breakfast, if you are just reading your Newspapers and ignoring them at the breakfast table.

However, Mr Lau pointed out that when it comes to Quality Time, there is a certain intangible Quantity Time that must be invested. I thought this made sense, as we need to give them a certain amount of Quantity Time, before we can hit this threshold of Quality Time.

2. Different Roles of Men and Women

Women tend to be generally more physically protective of their children rather than Men. At the playground, Men are more relaxed, while Women tend to worry more when the kids are up on the slides and on the swing.

Women are also just more detailed and more emotionally connected which makes up for the shortcomings of most Men. 

Overall, I think that Mr. Lau was a very sincere speaker, and his stories about How he Shouted at his eldest kid too much really displayed honesty and openness.

I think as Parents, we must understand that it is basically On-the-Job Training, and most importantly, we must be willing to change our Parenting Styles whenever it is not working.

If you are interested in Parenting Talks such as the one discussed here. There will be more talks coming up on 14 May 2010.

It will still be at eXplorer kids, so you don’t need to worry about baby-sitting the children.

Date:

14 May 2010

Time:

8.00 pm to 9.00 pm (talk)
7.30pm to 10.00 pm (children’s playtime at eXplorerkid)

Venue:

E!Hub @ Downtown East, 1 Pasir Ris Close, 3rd Level, Singapore 519599

Get more details from the U Family website!

This is part of a series on a Bloggers’ forum that was conducted with Julia Gabriel. You can find out more about the Julia Gabriel Forum here and here.

One of the questions I asked our Pre-School experts was:

How can I prepare my child for school, and help them prepare for the much anticipated 1st day at school?

I asked this question, as the 1st day of pre-school is commonly a day of tears and much crying. Sometimes, it is a day where you see parents “tearing” their kids off them, as they try to drop them off at school.

Fiona Walker (CEO of Julia Gabriel for Learning & Chiltern House) reiterated that it is important to prepare them for this journey by not just preparing them mentally but also “stretching the bond” between child and care-giver.

There seems to be an “invisible” chord between child and care-giver.

I am sure you understand what I mean as sometimes our toddlers cry like “there’s no tomorrow”, when you:

• Leave them to go to the toilet
• Walk briskly to take something from the bedroom
• Put them into the hands of a relative or a good friend.
• And the list goes on….

As Parents, we need to stretch this cord as much as we can!

We start slowly by:

• Going down to the shop downstairs without them
• Leaving them at a Grandparent’s house.
• Letting them join a party at a friend’s house alone
• Putting them into Sunday School without a helper around.

Both myself and my wife are working, so I guess we have been doing these things sub-consciously.

It also helps that after we have broken through with Nicole, Nathan seemed to take to school like a “fish in the water”.

Mentally, he knows that it is the norm, and that’s probably why he did not really “kick up a fuss”, when he went to school. So, having a sibling that sets the pattern really helps!

Recently, my Blog has been selected together with 2 other parents to be the resident Bloggers of U Family!  

U Family is an initiative of  NTUC, and it’s objective is to build up a community of "strong and happy families" in Singapore. Focusing on family initiatives to strengthen family bonds within the workplace and to support working parents,

ED Unloaded is glad to be part of this government project. Check out the Bloggers involved in this project here

With it’s objectives focused on strong family ties, U Family has lots of upcoming events for young married couples as well as young families.

They organize events such as: Family Night Out

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What is the event about?

And if your kids are like mine and you  eXplorerkid @ E!Hub at Downtown East,  your children can enjoy PLAYTIME in the largest indoor playground in Singapore, while you sit back and relax for a parenting talk.

Tonight they are having a talk entitled:

Super Dad & Mum – Success in Parenting and Career
by Mr. Lau Tat Chuan, Director of the Centre for Fathering

This talk is designed to help you explore practical methods to balance career and family aspirations, and discover new approaches towards successful living and parenting. We will also discuss the different strengths both men and women can bring to the family as well as allow you to enhance your personal effectiveness as you share leadership roles within the family.

If you are interested in events such as this:

Family Night Out is happening again on 7 May 2010.

Kids can look forward to a pyjamas party at eXplorerkid while you relax and acquire parenting tips!

More details coming your way soon!

Date: 14 May 2010

Time: 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm (talk)
7.30pm to 10.00 pm (children’s playtime at eXplorerkid)

Venue:E!Hub @ Downtown East, 1 Pasir Ris Close, 3rd Level, Singapore 519599 

Write down this date on your calendar and follow this link to find out more details and register for the event.