Almost everyone would agree that honey is good because of its nutrients. Besides its antibacterial effect which helps to heal wounds and cuts, it contains antioxidant properties. Easily digested, it boosts energy levels of athletes fast.
However, when it comes to babies up to a year of age, parents must be aware that honey can cause infant botulism due to allergic reactions which may lead to death.
Do you know that apple seeds contain amygdalins, a cyanide and sugar compound that degrades into hydrogen cyanide when metabolized? Fortunately, the cyanide and sugar compound is not easily available as you need to chew and break up the seed to avail yourself of it. According to the experts, a cup of seeds, chewed or mashed up, when ingested, can be fatal for adults. How many seeds, chewed or mashed, can be fatal or bring problems for a child when ingested?
According to a report in Healthy Lifestyle (1998), there was a case of cyanide poisoning in a woman with apricot kernels. It seems peach seeds present the same problem.
Besides, seeds, when swallowed accidentally, can cause problems to passageways of lungs and intestines of children.
In ionizing radiation, food is exposed briefly to radiant energy such as gamma rays. Ionising radiation is necessary to reduce spoilage or sprouting in food as plants, fruits and seeds cannot continue their natural ripening or aging. It can kill or stop the microorganisms, such as bacteria, virus parasites and insects, from multiplying or continuing their activities.
According to the US Food and Drugs Administration, Irradiation of food does not make food radioactive, does not cause harmful chemical changes but may cause some loss of nutrients which is similar other methods of food processing.
For further reading go to:
www.fda.gov/opacom/catalog/irradbro.html
However, there was a report of chromosomal abnormalities occurring in children from India who had been fed freshly irradiated wheat.
In fact early research by the US government revealed a wide range of health problems in animals which ate irradiated food. Animals died of premature death, fatal internal bleeding, cancer, stillbirth and other reproductive problems.
Experts revealed that not or microorganisms or virus die through irradiation. For example, prion which causes mad-cow disease and hepatitis virus as well as the Norwalk virus are not killed.
So, when there is no clear cut evidence on the safety of a food processing method, parents ought to be cautious.
For further information, go to:
www.mercola.com/article/irradiated/irradiated_food.htm
Bath time for your baby can be joyous, but never leave your precious child, even for a minute, in the tub of water as it can be a tragedy. Once in a while, we have read of mothers; of course it can happen to fathers as well, it is just that most of the time it is the mother who attends to baby; who leave their children in the tub to do some other work. Misfortune strikes at such times; the baby could have moved and slid to have the head go below the surface of the water. The baby struggles but is unable to upright its body and thus drown in the tub. Whenever, we attend to our babies at such times, forget the ringing phone, forget a neighbour’s call at the gate, in fact forget everything else and be one hundred percent attentive to our precious ones. Nothing is more important than them at such times.
I have seen parents leave their very young children on their bicycles or motorcycles as they run into a shop to purchase something. Most times, everything is fine and by the time they return, the child is still safe and sound. Thank God for that! We all know all kinds of everything can happen while we are not around. Somebody may crash into our bicycle or motorbike. The child may be bitten by a mosquito or a sand-fly and moves because of the pain. What can possibly happen? The child may fall from his precarious perch. Well, it has happened before and that parent could be the one who arrogantly claim it can never happen to his child. Any parent must realise that all it takes is one fall, just once, and it could result in brain damage. There is no point in regretting. Even if Lady Luck were to smile upon us, the trauma of the incident will be with the child always. Your child is too precious to risk it.
And just last year, 2008, we read of a family resting in a car under a tree with its air-conditioning on. All the occupants, adults and children, did not live to appreciate any more the warmth of the sun. The carbon monoxide from the engine brought on the tragedy. And that was not the first time death occur under that same conditions. A few years back, a dating couple in a park near Jelutong, Penang Island, passed away in their car in the same manner.
There was a case of a child left in a locked car under a very strong sun succumbing to the heat.So never leave a young child locked in a car.
Unless a test is made on the toys we buy for our children, we can never know if lead had been used for the paint or the plastics. As such a kit to test for lead is expensive, the government, like what is being done in the United States, must test all toys, furniture and things within the reach of young children for lead.
Lead poisoning can happen when the toys our children play with are put into the mouth and this putting into the mouth is a natural action of every young child. Sometimes he might lick the furniture or bite a part of it.
Toxic lead can come from the dust of flexible plastic toys which have been broken down by sunlight, air or detergents. Lead is found in plastics which have been treated with it to make the plastic soft and flexible.
So, as parents, we should as far as possible avoid toys made by countries where there is no ban on lead in paints. If we see paint peel off the toy, we should stop the child from playing with it. There is the danger of the peeled paint being ingested. As for the plastic, if there is deterioration and dust is seen to form, that plastic object should also be discarded.
Lead poisoning can lead to learning disorder and brain damage. Beware for the future of our children rests in our knowledge and wisdom.
Here is another plastic item which can be dangerous, the simple plastic bag. Children, when given the opportunity, like to play with them. They may even imitate some of our masked superheroes and put it onto the head. Plastic bags can cause suffocation if the child inadvertently gets the handles of such bags entangled.
Dangers can come through carelessness, as we have seen in the case of the bath tub. A reversing car with the driver unable to see well what is behind his boot, may go over an unsuspecting infant. This has happened a number of times and sometimes death is the outcome. Before entering the car, we must make sure there are no children behind the car.
Finally, a child must be put into a child’s seat. Once someone put his infant child in the front seat, drove the car down a slope and watched in horror as the child fell forward onto the floorboard of his car. Fortunately for him, the child was not hurt. But, there is no guarantee that everyone will be that lucky.
If there is anything missed out, please be kind enough to put it in as comments. Let us share our knowledge.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Drinking water: good or bad (Part 2).
When my wife landed in hospital with Cushing Syndrome, her body fluids seemed to increase. So, doctors gave her pills to encourage the body to get rid of the fluids through urination. With a lot of water lost from the body in the process, a lot of minerals were lost too, exiting the body together with the urine.
One day, a doctor rushed to me and told me that my wife's body lacked potassium and needed potassium rich food. He suggested getting bananas and beef soup. I rushed out for the food. Upon my return, I was told that she had been injected with potassium as there was the danger of her heart stopping.
So, when lots of fluid is lost, many nutrients could also be lost. This could lead to dehydration and other problems such as the possibility of the heart stopping. That was when I learned the importance of having sufficient potassium in our bodies.I also learned that when too much fluid is leaving the body I have to be careful.
On further thought, could the loss of fluid from our bodies during sports bring problems? I have read and heard of long distance runners who have collapsed and died. Were these people dead because of the loss of potassium from their body? Did their heart stop because of that? Or was it dehydration? These are pertinent questions as these people who died were very fit, very healthy individuals.
I thought the knowledge on taking eight to ten glasses of water each day was excellent for health until I read in a newspaper about the person who collapsed because he drank too much water.
According to the report, he thought drinking a lot of water was good for his body. So that was what he did. Perhaps, here is a case of a little knowledge can be dangerous. He did not realise that excessive water intake would mean a constant need to drain the surplus amount. Each time he had to urinate, and it was so much more often for him because of so much water taken, more and more of the important nutrients such as the electrolytes were being drained from the body too. Here is. I believe, a case of lost potassium resulting in a lack of it.
Well, water is good for us, for the health of our body, our skin, our kidneys, our bladder and for losing weight. But like all good things, do not take it to excess. When our body has to remove excess, some nutrients are lost too and that loss could be fatal unless we know the need to supplement what our body lacks.
One day, a doctor rushed to me and told me that my wife's body lacked potassium and needed potassium rich food. He suggested getting bananas and beef soup. I rushed out for the food. Upon my return, I was told that she had been injected with potassium as there was the danger of her heart stopping.
So, when lots of fluid is lost, many nutrients could also be lost. This could lead to dehydration and other problems such as the possibility of the heart stopping. That was when I learned the importance of having sufficient potassium in our bodies.I also learned that when too much fluid is leaving the body I have to be careful.
On further thought, could the loss of fluid from our bodies during sports bring problems? I have read and heard of long distance runners who have collapsed and died. Were these people dead because of the loss of potassium from their body? Did their heart stop because of that? Or was it dehydration? These are pertinent questions as these people who died were very fit, very healthy individuals.
I thought the knowledge on taking eight to ten glasses of water each day was excellent for health until I read in a newspaper about the person who collapsed because he drank too much water.
According to the report, he thought drinking a lot of water was good for his body. So that was what he did. Perhaps, here is a case of a little knowledge can be dangerous. He did not realise that excessive water intake would mean a constant need to drain the surplus amount. Each time he had to urinate, and it was so much more often for him because of so much water taken, more and more of the important nutrients such as the electrolytes were being drained from the body too. Here is. I believe, a case of lost potassium resulting in a lack of it.
Well, water is good for us, for the health of our body, our skin, our kidneys, our bladder and for losing weight. But like all good things, do not take it to excess. When our body has to remove excess, some nutrients are lost too and that loss could be fatal unless we know the need to supplement what our body lacks.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Drinking water-good or bad? (Part1)
In the year 2001, I was looking after my wife in a hospital when I met a young man with three or four bottles of water. Out of curiosity, I asked him why he was lugging so many bottles around. He turned to me with a serious expression on his face. “Do you know how important it is to have this water with me?”
Then, he explained, “Recently, I had a terrible pain at the lower abdomen. I came to this hospital for an examination and was told that I had stone in the kidney.
Fortunately, the doctor gave me a painkiller and some medicine to make it easier for the stones to pass out from my kidney. Then I asked the doctor why I had these stones in my kidney. According to the doctor, minerals and other metabolic substances such as oxalates and calcium are filtered from the bloodstream into the kidneys. In the kidneys these substances can crystalise and become solid deposits which can attach themselves to the walls of the kidneys. These crystals then grow to become kidney stones. These kidney stones cause pain at the left side of the body, the groin and the lower abdomen. Sometimes, there is blood in the urine.”
So, he asked the doctor for advice to prevent future occurrences.
“Young man, you must drink more water. You must drink eight to ten glasses a day.”
“But how much is that? Nowadays as things become more expensive, glasses are getting smaller and smaller.” He protested about the measurement used for the water.
The doctor thought about it before replying, “You have a point there. It is approximately two and a half to three and a half liters of clear drinking water. This amount of water can help to move the stones out with the urine. If your area has limestone caves, then you may have to consume water taken from another area as lime can crystalise easily and cause kidney stones to form. So can grapefruit juice. It can bring the risk of getting kidney stones.”
The young man protested again, “It’s so difficult to drink so much water. You know, my stomach would be bloated.”
“Young man, when you drink water from a glass, you are also gulping in a lot of air. That is what makes you bloated. Use a straw when you drink and you will find it easier to take in more water. Water is important for your health. Do you know that a lack of water in the body can cause problems to your health?”.
“So, do you understand now why I carry so much clear drinking water with me? I don’t want to have to suffer that pain again.”
Thus, it is important that our body have sufficient water.
Water is not just for preventing kidney stones. Approximately a month ago, my son returned for the Chinese New Year with fever, poor appetite and the urge to vomit each time food is swallowed. It was dengue. Dengue is a viral disease spread by the Aedes mosquito. The mosquito is a carrier and is not affect by the virus. Dengue patients usually die because of internal hemorrhage which leads to blood vessel collapse when dehydration occurs as a result of fluid loss during hemorrhaging.
To overcome the disease and prevent death, blood infusion may be necessary as platelets and red blood cells diminish and blood pressure goes down. So, blood tests are necessary. When platelets, red blood cells and blood pressure return to their normal level, the patient is out of danger.
Regarding fluid loss during hemorrhaging, lots of water is necessary. However, when there is fluid loss there is also minerals and salts loss. Therefore, if the patient can take water orally, it is advisable to drink some isotonic drinks. (Isotonic drinks are drinks formulated to replace fluids, energy and electrolytes. Electrolytes needed by our body are calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride.)
From the above it is obvious that we must keep our body sufficiently hydrated always. Having our body sufficiently hydrated also implies that we maintain our body with a PH level of 9.9 which is alkaline. When our body is in an alkaline state, it is healthy and not conducive to diseases while an acidic state caused by drinking soda drinks, tea, coffee and beer is conducive to sickness.
Here is my own true story about how lots of water kept me sober. During my younger days, I was quite egoistic. What I am going to tell is nothing to be proud of as I am revealing a weakness. Nevertheless I am proud to inform that I no longer drink and was able to get out of those drinking situations with my dignity intact. It was tough, putting aside drink after drink when friends who know you can drink come after you to join them. Determination was the only way to exit.
Well, after each sporting event in which I officiated, there was a lot of liquor and food served. Challenged by some friends to take bottle after bottle of liquor, I learned very early that drinking lots of water, just as your head was on the verge of getting too high, too heady and flushed, was one method to bring down the effect of the alcohol. Then, it was a visit to the toilet to get rid of the diluted alcohol. This was followed by another round and the cycle continued. I survived to beat quite a number of them for a few years.
Then, one day, I realised the stupidity of my action when I saw a man with constantly unsteady shaking hands and fingers caused by drinking too much alcohol. I decided to immediately stop the damaging habit once and for all. Thanks to that man, I am still healthy today.
Then, he explained, “Recently, I had a terrible pain at the lower abdomen. I came to this hospital for an examination and was told that I had stone in the kidney.
Fortunately, the doctor gave me a painkiller and some medicine to make it easier for the stones to pass out from my kidney. Then I asked the doctor why I had these stones in my kidney. According to the doctor, minerals and other metabolic substances such as oxalates and calcium are filtered from the bloodstream into the kidneys. In the kidneys these substances can crystalise and become solid deposits which can attach themselves to the walls of the kidneys. These crystals then grow to become kidney stones. These kidney stones cause pain at the left side of the body, the groin and the lower abdomen. Sometimes, there is blood in the urine.”
So, he asked the doctor for advice to prevent future occurrences.
“Young man, you must drink more water. You must drink eight to ten glasses a day.”
“But how much is that? Nowadays as things become more expensive, glasses are getting smaller and smaller.” He protested about the measurement used for the water.
The doctor thought about it before replying, “You have a point there. It is approximately two and a half to three and a half liters of clear drinking water. This amount of water can help to move the stones out with the urine. If your area has limestone caves, then you may have to consume water taken from another area as lime can crystalise easily and cause kidney stones to form. So can grapefruit juice. It can bring the risk of getting kidney stones.”
The young man protested again, “It’s so difficult to drink so much water. You know, my stomach would be bloated.”
“Young man, when you drink water from a glass, you are also gulping in a lot of air. That is what makes you bloated. Use a straw when you drink and you will find it easier to take in more water. Water is important for your health. Do you know that a lack of water in the body can cause problems to your health?”.
“So, do you understand now why I carry so much clear drinking water with me? I don’t want to have to suffer that pain again.”
Thus, it is important that our body have sufficient water.
Water is not just for preventing kidney stones. Approximately a month ago, my son returned for the Chinese New Year with fever, poor appetite and the urge to vomit each time food is swallowed. It was dengue. Dengue is a viral disease spread by the Aedes mosquito. The mosquito is a carrier and is not affect by the virus. Dengue patients usually die because of internal hemorrhage which leads to blood vessel collapse when dehydration occurs as a result of fluid loss during hemorrhaging.
To overcome the disease and prevent death, blood infusion may be necessary as platelets and red blood cells diminish and blood pressure goes down. So, blood tests are necessary. When platelets, red blood cells and blood pressure return to their normal level, the patient is out of danger.
Regarding fluid loss during hemorrhaging, lots of water is necessary. However, when there is fluid loss there is also minerals and salts loss. Therefore, if the patient can take water orally, it is advisable to drink some isotonic drinks. (Isotonic drinks are drinks formulated to replace fluids, energy and electrolytes. Electrolytes needed by our body are calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride.)
From the above it is obvious that we must keep our body sufficiently hydrated always. Having our body sufficiently hydrated also implies that we maintain our body with a PH level of 9.9 which is alkaline. When our body is in an alkaline state, it is healthy and not conducive to diseases while an acidic state caused by drinking soda drinks, tea, coffee and beer is conducive to sickness.
Here is my own true story about how lots of water kept me sober. During my younger days, I was quite egoistic. What I am going to tell is nothing to be proud of as I am revealing a weakness. Nevertheless I am proud to inform that I no longer drink and was able to get out of those drinking situations with my dignity intact. It was tough, putting aside drink after drink when friends who know you can drink come after you to join them. Determination was the only way to exit.
Well, after each sporting event in which I officiated, there was a lot of liquor and food served. Challenged by some friends to take bottle after bottle of liquor, I learned very early that drinking lots of water, just as your head was on the verge of getting too high, too heady and flushed, was one method to bring down the effect of the alcohol. Then, it was a visit to the toilet to get rid of the diluted alcohol. This was followed by another round and the cycle continued. I survived to beat quite a number of them for a few years.
Then, one day, I realised the stupidity of my action when I saw a man with constantly unsteady shaking hands and fingers caused by drinking too much alcohol. I decided to immediately stop the damaging habit once and for all. Thanks to that man, I am still healthy today.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Vitamins can be toxic!
Most people would gladly take a vitamin tablet. That is because vitamins are important for their health. That is why a lot of food nowadays is fortified with all kinds of well-known vitamins. Milk is fortified with minerals and vitamins. Vitamins are added to beverages. The added vitamin content serves as an attraction to the buyer.
Sufficient vitamins are necessary for maintaining one’s health; for growth, for reproduction and good health. We need the vitamins and they can be found in the food that we eat.
Unfortunately, with so much fortification and supplementation which is self administered, there may be an overdose of the vitamins.
So, the first question we ask ourselves is “Do we eat balanced meals?” If we are not old, if we eat sufficient carbohydrates, a little fat, some meat or fish, a variety of vegetables and fruits every day, then we do not need supplementation of vitamins. The vitamins we need are all there.
Too much of any vitamin can cause vitamin poisoning, producing a toxic effect. Fortunately for us, many vitamins have to be taken in very large quantities for a certain period of time to be toxic.
Without vitamin D, zinc and magnesium as well as excercise, calcium cannot be fully utilized by the body to maintain strong bones. Yet, vitamin D toxicity can cause nausea, vomiting, pain in the joints and loss of appetite. If this vitamin D toxicity were to be prolonged and become severe, it can lead to irreversible deposits of calcium crystals in the soft tissues of the body and this may cause damage to the heart, lungs and kidney. So, supplementation of vitamin D is not advisable unless on the advice of doctors.
If we were to eat more than 30gm of beef liver or 500gm of eggs everyday we are taking in toxic levels of vitamin A. Beef liver and eggs are vitamin A rich foods.
Many years ago, many pregnant women who were given 10 mg or more of vitamin A daily are found to give birth to infants with birth defects. So, expectant mothers should always follow the advice of their doctors and there should be no self administering of vitamin A. Always consult your doctor. Your doctor who has done a medical examination of your problem knows best what to do. Experts are discovering new knowledge every day. Since birth defects due to overdoses of vitamin A cannot be reversed, pregnant mothers must take note of this!
Overdosing of vitamin K from menadione results in anemia. That is why menadione is no longer used.
Large doses for a period of time of folic acid which is taken as an oral vitamin supplement can cause kidney damage. Folate supplement can lead to pernicious anemia.
Vitamin C in large doses is considered toxic to those with a family background of kidney stones and gall-bladder stones.
When it comes to vitamin C and cancer, experts have reached contradictory results. There as those who believe taking big quantities of vitamin C can protect us from cancer while researchers have gathered evidence that too much vitamin C can cause cancer. Who are we to believe? Well, play safe and do not overdose with supplements.
Luckily for us, most toxicity due to excessive intake of vitamins can be reversed by stopping further massive dosing.
For further reading, go to :
http://www.lifesteps.com/gm/Atoz/ency/vitamin_toxicity.jsp or
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/819426-overview
Sufficient vitamins are necessary for maintaining one’s health; for growth, for reproduction and good health. We need the vitamins and they can be found in the food that we eat.
Unfortunately, with so much fortification and supplementation which is self administered, there may be an overdose of the vitamins.
So, the first question we ask ourselves is “Do we eat balanced meals?” If we are not old, if we eat sufficient carbohydrates, a little fat, some meat or fish, a variety of vegetables and fruits every day, then we do not need supplementation of vitamins. The vitamins we need are all there.
Too much of any vitamin can cause vitamin poisoning, producing a toxic effect. Fortunately for us, many vitamins have to be taken in very large quantities for a certain period of time to be toxic.
Without vitamin D, zinc and magnesium as well as excercise, calcium cannot be fully utilized by the body to maintain strong bones. Yet, vitamin D toxicity can cause nausea, vomiting, pain in the joints and loss of appetite. If this vitamin D toxicity were to be prolonged and become severe, it can lead to irreversible deposits of calcium crystals in the soft tissues of the body and this may cause damage to the heart, lungs and kidney. So, supplementation of vitamin D is not advisable unless on the advice of doctors.
If we were to eat more than 30gm of beef liver or 500gm of eggs everyday we are taking in toxic levels of vitamin A. Beef liver and eggs are vitamin A rich foods.
Many years ago, many pregnant women who were given 10 mg or more of vitamin A daily are found to give birth to infants with birth defects. So, expectant mothers should always follow the advice of their doctors and there should be no self administering of vitamin A. Always consult your doctor. Your doctor who has done a medical examination of your problem knows best what to do. Experts are discovering new knowledge every day. Since birth defects due to overdoses of vitamin A cannot be reversed, pregnant mothers must take note of this!
Overdosing of vitamin K from menadione results in anemia. That is why menadione is no longer used.
Large doses for a period of time of folic acid which is taken as an oral vitamin supplement can cause kidney damage. Folate supplement can lead to pernicious anemia.
Vitamin C in large doses is considered toxic to those with a family background of kidney stones and gall-bladder stones.
When it comes to vitamin C and cancer, experts have reached contradictory results. There as those who believe taking big quantities of vitamin C can protect us from cancer while researchers have gathered evidence that too much vitamin C can cause cancer. Who are we to believe? Well, play safe and do not overdose with supplements.
Luckily for us, most toxicity due to excessive intake of vitamins can be reversed by stopping further massive dosing.
For further reading, go to :
http://www.lifesteps.com/gm/Atoz/ency/vitamin_toxicity.jsp or
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/819426-overview
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Some pay for their meals with their lives.
“People pay for a meal with money. You pay with your life.”
That was the remark a friend usually makes whenever he saw another friend eat too much. And there is so much truth in it!
Too much eating can lead to obesity, to diabetes and sometimes heart problems. According to a nutrition expert it could also lead to cancer.
Obesity is the result of supplying the body with more food than is needed by the body. As the body has no specific storehouse, the surplus is stored in a number of vital organs, around such organs and under certain organs such as the skin.
In a period of history where famine is no longer a problem, do we need such a surplus? Having such extras brings no benefit except to those who swim. I am told fat swimmers can float better than those who are slim. Maybe, the Eskimos would protest and tell this ignoramus that the fat helps to keep them and their better halves warm and happy.
Besides, there is the looks department to look into. Of course, someone might tell us that was what his mate wanted; there is so much more to hug! That is a fact for one of my earlier girlfriends was a cuddly, plumb beauty. Furthermore, there are fewer wrinkles too. And all those are undeniable.
When it comes to looks, it is actually all in the mind. Do you know that flat-chest Chinese women were at one time in history considered beautiful while well endowed ones were thought to be ugly. See? However, we are going away from the subject, so forget this rambling.
Back to serious business. Obesity is only a problem if fat were to envelope the heart causing it to strain or when it blocks our arteries causing blood flow to slow the process of bringing life-giving oxygen to the heart or the brain. Then, we either get a stroke or a heart-attack. Other than these problems, I think it is better for doctors to tell you more.
When there is a surplus of sugars supplying huge quantities of energy, any extra sugar or glucose will be stored. Insulin gets most of the body cells to take up glucose from the blood and store it in the liver and muscles as well as stop the use of fats. The overworked pancreas may break down and produce less insulin. When that happens, the body uses the fats for energy, the glucose is not stored by the body cells and sugar level in the blood goes up and the doctor tells you you have diabetes mellitus. You see, the level of insulin is a central metabolic control mechanism and that level can go down when you tired out the pancreas. It gets fed up of you and it goes on strike.It refuses to produce any more insulin. You have to buy your insulin from a pharmacy.
Therefore, we should never over eat as by doing so we need storage areas, clogging up vital passage-ways and overstraining our so essential organs. Then our bodies may cry for help but if we are not sensitive enough to recognize the problem early, too much damage can result in an undesirable change of lifestyle. So, before it is too late, let us teach ourselves and our children to adopt the habit of healthier eating. How much do we eat? We ourselves should be the best judge of that. Eat just enough for our needs. No more, no less in order to put more life into our years.
That was the remark a friend usually makes whenever he saw another friend eat too much. And there is so much truth in it!
Too much eating can lead to obesity, to diabetes and sometimes heart problems. According to a nutrition expert it could also lead to cancer.
Obesity is the result of supplying the body with more food than is needed by the body. As the body has no specific storehouse, the surplus is stored in a number of vital organs, around such organs and under certain organs such as the skin.
In a period of history where famine is no longer a problem, do we need such a surplus? Having such extras brings no benefit except to those who swim. I am told fat swimmers can float better than those who are slim. Maybe, the Eskimos would protest and tell this ignoramus that the fat helps to keep them and their better halves warm and happy.
Besides, there is the looks department to look into. Of course, someone might tell us that was what his mate wanted; there is so much more to hug! That is a fact for one of my earlier girlfriends was a cuddly, plumb beauty. Furthermore, there are fewer wrinkles too. And all those are undeniable.
When it comes to looks, it is actually all in the mind. Do you know that flat-chest Chinese women were at one time in history considered beautiful while well endowed ones were thought to be ugly. See? However, we are going away from the subject, so forget this rambling.
Back to serious business. Obesity is only a problem if fat were to envelope the heart causing it to strain or when it blocks our arteries causing blood flow to slow the process of bringing life-giving oxygen to the heart or the brain. Then, we either get a stroke or a heart-attack. Other than these problems, I think it is better for doctors to tell you more.
When there is a surplus of sugars supplying huge quantities of energy, any extra sugar or glucose will be stored. Insulin gets most of the body cells to take up glucose from the blood and store it in the liver and muscles as well as stop the use of fats. The overworked pancreas may break down and produce less insulin. When that happens, the body uses the fats for energy, the glucose is not stored by the body cells and sugar level in the blood goes up and the doctor tells you you have diabetes mellitus. You see, the level of insulin is a central metabolic control mechanism and that level can go down when you tired out the pancreas. It gets fed up of you and it goes on strike.It refuses to produce any more insulin. You have to buy your insulin from a pharmacy.
Therefore, we should never over eat as by doing so we need storage areas, clogging up vital passage-ways and overstraining our so essential organs. Then our bodies may cry for help but if we are not sensitive enough to recognize the problem early, too much damage can result in an undesirable change of lifestyle. So, before it is too late, let us teach ourselves and our children to adopt the habit of healthier eating. How much do we eat? We ourselves should be the best judge of that. Eat just enough for our needs. No more, no less in order to put more life into our years.
Monday, February 23, 2009
What other factors to consider for your kindergarten kid?
Do not ask kindergartens how many years you should put your child in a kindergarten. All kindergartens, except those run by the government, are commercial enterprises and therefore welcome your child’s presence at their places for as many years as you can afford to have him/her there.
Unless you have any specific aim that needs more time to achieve, one year at a kindergarten ought to be sufficient to prepare your child to face formal education. If a child stays too long at a kindergarten, he may find the place and the materials available there too boring and when that happens, your child may have to resort to some kind of mischief to overcome his boredom. He may even lose some of his momentum in learning!
A parent once told me her child could not sit still and learn at a kindergarten. According to her, the teachers complained that her child always disturbed other children and very often ended up fighting with somebody.
In this particular case, we should understand that her child was up to mischief to overcome the unbearable boredom of learning almost the same lessons and about the same things for three long years. The child knew practically everything there was to learn. He was already too familiar with all the playthings at the kindergarten. There was just nothing new he could get himself interested in.
Then again, there are children who may cause some disturbance, not due to disinterest, as a result of being hyperactive. Such children cannot sit still or pay attention for long. Such a child needs an appropriate therapist for expert advice.
Sometimes, parents may have a valid reason for keeping a child in kindergarten for a few years. One of them could be that the child does not have any proficiency in a particular language and needs a longer time to acquire such language skills. So there is a need to catch up with the other children. In such a case it would be necessary and advantageous to have the child attend kindergarten for more than a year. This could be due to parents who are too busy and are forced by circumstances to be absent from the child for a number of years. In that case, parents or guardians must plan to send the children to kindergarten earlier.
Another reason for a longer stint at kindergartens is to learn more than one language. In such a case, it is important to change to another kindergarten where the specific language is the medium of instruction and is the best for that particular language.
So, plan carefully this stage of your child’s development as it can give him/her a head start in the field of language skills and knowledge. Of course, the wrong move could also slacken the pace of your precious child’s progress.
Unless you have any specific aim that needs more time to achieve, one year at a kindergarten ought to be sufficient to prepare your child to face formal education. If a child stays too long at a kindergarten, he may find the place and the materials available there too boring and when that happens, your child may have to resort to some kind of mischief to overcome his boredom. He may even lose some of his momentum in learning!
A parent once told me her child could not sit still and learn at a kindergarten. According to her, the teachers complained that her child always disturbed other children and very often ended up fighting with somebody.
In this particular case, we should understand that her child was up to mischief to overcome the unbearable boredom of learning almost the same lessons and about the same things for three long years. The child knew practically everything there was to learn. He was already too familiar with all the playthings at the kindergarten. There was just nothing new he could get himself interested in.
Then again, there are children who may cause some disturbance, not due to disinterest, as a result of being hyperactive. Such children cannot sit still or pay attention for long. Such a child needs an appropriate therapist for expert advice.
Sometimes, parents may have a valid reason for keeping a child in kindergarten for a few years. One of them could be that the child does not have any proficiency in a particular language and needs a longer time to acquire such language skills. So there is a need to catch up with the other children. In such a case it would be necessary and advantageous to have the child attend kindergarten for more than a year. This could be due to parents who are too busy and are forced by circumstances to be absent from the child for a number of years. In that case, parents or guardians must plan to send the children to kindergarten earlier.
Another reason for a longer stint at kindergartens is to learn more than one language. In such a case, it is important to change to another kindergarten where the specific language is the medium of instruction and is the best for that particular language.
So, plan carefully this stage of your child’s development as it can give him/her a head start in the field of language skills and knowledge. Of course, the wrong move could also slacken the pace of your precious child’s progress.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
How to choose the right kindergarten or nursery school.
A kindergarten is most probably one of the first places your child gets the opportunity to mix around with many children of his/her own age group without your supervision.The kindergarten can be the place for your child to start having a little independence, really learn to socialise, tackle likes and dislikes, understand the meaning of friendship, cooperation, teamwork as well as learn to get along with other children.
This is also the place for your child to start basic formal education and be given the opportunity to put into practice the words and other types of knowledge learned through the parents.
How much benefit your child can get from one year's attendance in a kindergarten depends very much on your choice of kindergarten.
Knowing that the progress to be made by your child can be determined by your choice of the right kindergarten, the next obvious question is 'What is the criteria of a good kindergarten?'Have you thought about it?
A good kindergarten:
1) First, we must decide on the target language. Once we have decided on the language, look for the best kindergarden that places importance on its learning and employs qualified teachers proficient in the language.
2) Does the kindergarten have any excellent systematic or special programme planned for the children?
3) Next, look at activities available at the kindergarten. Besides languagelearning, what other benefits can your child get? Does your child get tolearn how to swim? Swimming is a good exercise which may come in useful one day. What about yoga or gymnastics? Gymnastics develops strength as well as agility while yoga brings health and keeps the body supple. Are the coaches qualified? However, such activities can only be considered a bonus if criteria number 1 and 2 are fulfilled for they are the more important ones.
4) Perhaps we could find out whether the children come from families where the parents have started teaching their children the target language.If not, does the kindergarten have a method whereby children with almost the same proficiency are grouped together. It is not a matter of who is better. We are not talking about intelligence either. If a child who has not learned the English Language is placed in a class where most of the students are already good, orally maybe, at the language, then the child may not be able to follow or catch up with the others. On the other hand, should a child already good at the alphabets and can read a little
be put among total beginners, this child may find the lessons too boring as what is taught the other children is already known to him/her.
5) Eventually, all good things can only prove to benefit us enormously if they are well managed. so, is the kindergarten or nursery school well managed?
Choice of nursery school or kindergarten must be made early. Time is needed to choose well. This choice is important.
When it comes to learning at a kindergarten, other questions on the number of years and the various reasons for giving our children more time at kindergartens. This will be discussed in my next posting.
This is also the place for your child to start basic formal education and be given the opportunity to put into practice the words and other types of knowledge learned through the parents.
How much benefit your child can get from one year's attendance in a kindergarten depends very much on your choice of kindergarten.
Knowing that the progress to be made by your child can be determined by your choice of the right kindergarten, the next obvious question is 'What is the criteria of a good kindergarten?'Have you thought about it?
A good kindergarten:
1) First, we must decide on the target language. Once we have decided on the language, look for the best kindergarden that places importance on its learning and employs qualified teachers proficient in the language.
2) Does the kindergarten have any excellent systematic or special programme planned for the children?
3) Next, look at activities available at the kindergarten. Besides languagelearning, what other benefits can your child get? Does your child get tolearn how to swim? Swimming is a good exercise which may come in useful one day. What about yoga or gymnastics? Gymnastics develops strength as well as agility while yoga brings health and keeps the body supple. Are the coaches qualified? However, such activities can only be considered a bonus if criteria number 1 and 2 are fulfilled for they are the more important ones.
4) Perhaps we could find out whether the children come from families where the parents have started teaching their children the target language.If not, does the kindergarten have a method whereby children with almost the same proficiency are grouped together. It is not a matter of who is better. We are not talking about intelligence either. If a child who has not learned the English Language is placed in a class where most of the students are already good, orally maybe, at the language, then the child may not be able to follow or catch up with the others. On the other hand, should a child already good at the alphabets and can read a little
be put among total beginners, this child may find the lessons too boring as what is taught the other children is already known to him/her.
5) Eventually, all good things can only prove to benefit us enormously if they are well managed. so, is the kindergarten or nursery school well managed?
Choice of nursery school or kindergarten must be made early. Time is needed to choose well. This choice is important.
When it comes to learning at a kindergarten, other questions on the number of years and the various reasons for giving our children more time at kindergartens. This will be discussed in my next posting.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Do your children have reading difficulties?
When the elder of my two sons was in standard four, my wife and I noticed that some of his sentences copied from the blackboard seemed to have many mistakes, sometimes with words left out. Initially, I thought he was careless. So I talked to him, asked him whether he had problems sleeping at night, whether he was sleepy in class and whether he was too tired. When all the answers were in the negative, I asked him why he copied things wrongly. He admitted he could not seem to see some words very well and had to move nearer to the blackboard very often but the teacher was not happy with his walking to and fro. That was when I realized he had an eyesight problem. I approached the class teacher to tell him what I had found out about my son and requested for his assistance to put my son nearer to the blackboard. In truth, his eyesight had deteriorated a lot, according to the optician who examined him. I had always taken a keen interest in his development, yet I had not realized he had such a problem earlier. Still, it was not too late to remedy the situation and his progress continued.
Affected vision could lead to reading abilities and progress if not attended to. Parents, just like me, are sometimes not aware of their children’s problems until it had reach a certain level. This is so as our children do not understand their problem and so do not complain about it.
Besides short-sightedness, there are children with poor eye coordination. When eyes cannot coordinate well, words cannot be seen in the same manner as ordinary eyes. The words may appear reversed and spelt backwards. As a teacher I have seen weak pupils with alphabets written backwards or reversed, spelling of a word never seeming to be constantly correct even when a lot of exercises had been given.There are also children who need to use their fingers to guide their eyes to the words while reading. This is another indication of poor eye coordination.Some children read with their heads at an angle, one eye closer to the reading material than the other eye. Ihis could lead to lazy eye problem or is due to poor eye coordination. Parents should always consult a specialist in this field.
Reading difficulties arise not only due to eyesight deterioration. It could also be caused by problems in decoding words which means an ability to break down words into parts to form sounds. An inability to decode words may result in great effort on the part of the child to read. This necessity for so much effort in order to read may drain the child of energy to read further and so obstructs the desire to read more.
Then there is the problem of auditory perception. This has to do with the ear hearing but not able to discriminate the sounds heard. Perhaps, it could be the result of an earlier ear infection. It could be a birth defect.
There are also children who are hyperactive as well as having attention deficit problems. Parents must understand such problems do occur and take measures to overcome them, such as taking them to the appropriate specialists for advice and further action where necessary. I have seen such a child overcome her hyperactivity and develop well as a result of her parents’ correct concern and proper handling of the problem.
Whatever the problem, if parents find that everything has been done and the reading progress is too poor, especially when the IQ is average or above average, then it is time to seek medical help, to search for a therapist immediately to assist your child to be trained to overcome his/her problem. You precious child needs your help badly.
Act as early as possible and search for the appropriate therapist for your child to raise his capabilities or overcome his difficulties. A lot of help is at hand.
Well, as I have always said, the health of your marriage and your home is important for your happiness and the growth of your children. Here I wish to share the knowledge that when problems arise possibly from birth or genes, parents sometimes tend to put the blame on each other. As a result, the home becomes a battle ground and love is lost. I personally know of a male relative who divorced his wife when they found their child mentally retarded at birth. It was a great wrong. Did it actually mattered whose fault it was? Did divorce solved their precious child’s problem? Certainly not! In fact, the poor child was left without a parent with the time to look after his welfare. The problem could not have been solved had the cool grandparents not come into the picture to help the poor child.
Child defect or not, we ought to face problems with the right perspective. Whether it has anything to do with genes or not, the problem is just one of the problems we have to face in life. Today, it is a problem. Tomorrow, an answer to the problem can be found and happiness returns. Change is inevitable. However, change and be favourable or unfavourable. There is no benefit in blaming anybody. The accusing finger will not help anyone to solve any problem. It can only distract one or both of the parents from the right action to help the child. What is more fruitful is to get together and lovingly think of the possible actions to help the beloved child overcome the problem. United on the path of love to assist the child is the right decision to make. That is true and this knowledge comes from the teaching of Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, the founder of The Art of Living Foundation.
Affected vision could lead to reading abilities and progress if not attended to. Parents, just like me, are sometimes not aware of their children’s problems until it had reach a certain level. This is so as our children do not understand their problem and so do not complain about it.
Besides short-sightedness, there are children with poor eye coordination. When eyes cannot coordinate well, words cannot be seen in the same manner as ordinary eyes. The words may appear reversed and spelt backwards. As a teacher I have seen weak pupils with alphabets written backwards or reversed, spelling of a word never seeming to be constantly correct even when a lot of exercises had been given.There are also children who need to use their fingers to guide their eyes to the words while reading. This is another indication of poor eye coordination.Some children read with their heads at an angle, one eye closer to the reading material than the other eye. Ihis could lead to lazy eye problem or is due to poor eye coordination. Parents should always consult a specialist in this field.
Reading difficulties arise not only due to eyesight deterioration. It could also be caused by problems in decoding words which means an ability to break down words into parts to form sounds. An inability to decode words may result in great effort on the part of the child to read. This necessity for so much effort in order to read may drain the child of energy to read further and so obstructs the desire to read more.
Then there is the problem of auditory perception. This has to do with the ear hearing but not able to discriminate the sounds heard. Perhaps, it could be the result of an earlier ear infection. It could be a birth defect.
There are also children who are hyperactive as well as having attention deficit problems. Parents must understand such problems do occur and take measures to overcome them, such as taking them to the appropriate specialists for advice and further action where necessary. I have seen such a child overcome her hyperactivity and develop well as a result of her parents’ correct concern and proper handling of the problem.
Whatever the problem, if parents find that everything has been done and the reading progress is too poor, especially when the IQ is average or above average, then it is time to seek medical help, to search for a therapist immediately to assist your child to be trained to overcome his/her problem. You precious child needs your help badly.
Act as early as possible and search for the appropriate therapist for your child to raise his capabilities or overcome his difficulties. A lot of help is at hand.
Well, as I have always said, the health of your marriage and your home is important for your happiness and the growth of your children. Here I wish to share the knowledge that when problems arise possibly from birth or genes, parents sometimes tend to put the blame on each other. As a result, the home becomes a battle ground and love is lost. I personally know of a male relative who divorced his wife when they found their child mentally retarded at birth. It was a great wrong. Did it actually mattered whose fault it was? Did divorce solved their precious child’s problem? Certainly not! In fact, the poor child was left without a parent with the time to look after his welfare. The problem could not have been solved had the cool grandparents not come into the picture to help the poor child.
Child defect or not, we ought to face problems with the right perspective. Whether it has anything to do with genes or not, the problem is just one of the problems we have to face in life. Today, it is a problem. Tomorrow, an answer to the problem can be found and happiness returns. Change is inevitable. However, change and be favourable or unfavourable. There is no benefit in blaming anybody. The accusing finger will not help anyone to solve any problem. It can only distract one or both of the parents from the right action to help the child. What is more fruitful is to get together and lovingly think of the possible actions to help the beloved child overcome the problem. United on the path of love to assist the child is the right decision to make. That is true and this knowledge comes from the teaching of Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, the founder of The Art of Living Foundation.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Teachers can inspire your children.
It was Thursday, the 19th of February, 2009 that I went to Lim Ching Yih’s photocopying shop,Rincoh Enterprise, in Petani Jaya, Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia. He was one of my students. While he was laminating a document I had taken to the shop, he asked me whether I remembered a Lau Chee Yong.
This Lau Chee Yong was a small, thin boy with a great interest in drawing and painting. His interest was quite obvious and I was delighted to have the opportunity to teach such a hard-working, interested student. I told him he had a future in this art and encouraged him to improve on his wonderful talent.
A teacher’s most beautiful moment is when he is told he has been able to play a part in helping someone to achieve success. When Ching Yih informed me that Chee Yong had achieved success in his career as a billboard artist, I was happy for him. When he went on further to say that Chee Yong had told him his success was inspired by me, I almost wept with joy to hear such a great compliment coming from someone I had taught so many years ago. Such moments may be few but upon hearing such compliments, I know that a teacher’s task is always worth doing, no matter how tough or frustrating it could sometimes be.
I had been fortunate to have been able to play my part in quite a number of children’s lives. Of course, there must have been times when I had failed no matter how I could have tried. There were times, at the end of the day, I could only console myself that I had done my very best.
There was a time when I met a Malay teacher at one of the examination centers. He introduced himself and told me he was one of my students. He was teaching art and craft. Then, he told me that his becoming an art and craft teacher was only made possible with my help. I did not remember how it came about, so he told me how I had told him he could be good at art and craft and I was very willing to help him. He did well in art and became an art teacher. In fact, he was posted to the very school where I had taught him art and craft.
Sometimes, teachers can give children the opportunities to express themselves in fields other than the literary one. If you are a coach, a gymnastics coach for example, you can train children to discover other talents within themselves and so have them become more confident.
In gymnastics, I have seen children grow to be stronger, healthier and more confident of themselves. They are happier people with the knowledge that they have unique abilities and qualities only they themselves are capable of. The bond between such gymnasts and their coach is very strong and a kind of love exists among them. Encouragement, sharing, determination and the knowing of their strengths and weaknesses, and being there to assist them achieve their goals can be very rewarding especially when success becomes a reality.
Parents should help by boosting their children’s confidence in their teachers and allow teachers to play a part in enriching the lives of their precious children.
Today, it sounds so much like boasting about myself but then, unless someone out there is willing to contribute in the space for comments and tell us other incidences where students have returned to say they were inspired there is no way I could write authentic stories.
This Lau Chee Yong was a small, thin boy with a great interest in drawing and painting. His interest was quite obvious and I was delighted to have the opportunity to teach such a hard-working, interested student. I told him he had a future in this art and encouraged him to improve on his wonderful talent.
A teacher’s most beautiful moment is when he is told he has been able to play a part in helping someone to achieve success. When Ching Yih informed me that Chee Yong had achieved success in his career as a billboard artist, I was happy for him. When he went on further to say that Chee Yong had told him his success was inspired by me, I almost wept with joy to hear such a great compliment coming from someone I had taught so many years ago. Such moments may be few but upon hearing such compliments, I know that a teacher’s task is always worth doing, no matter how tough or frustrating it could sometimes be.
I had been fortunate to have been able to play my part in quite a number of children’s lives. Of course, there must have been times when I had failed no matter how I could have tried. There were times, at the end of the day, I could only console myself that I had done my very best.
There was a time when I met a Malay teacher at one of the examination centers. He introduced himself and told me he was one of my students. He was teaching art and craft. Then, he told me that his becoming an art and craft teacher was only made possible with my help. I did not remember how it came about, so he told me how I had told him he could be good at art and craft and I was very willing to help him. He did well in art and became an art teacher. In fact, he was posted to the very school where I had taught him art and craft.
Sometimes, teachers can give children the opportunities to express themselves in fields other than the literary one. If you are a coach, a gymnastics coach for example, you can train children to discover other talents within themselves and so have them become more confident.
In gymnastics, I have seen children grow to be stronger, healthier and more confident of themselves. They are happier people with the knowledge that they have unique abilities and qualities only they themselves are capable of. The bond between such gymnasts and their coach is very strong and a kind of love exists among them. Encouragement, sharing, determination and the knowing of their strengths and weaknesses, and being there to assist them achieve their goals can be very rewarding especially when success becomes a reality.
Parents should help by boosting their children’s confidence in their teachers and allow teachers to play a part in enriching the lives of their precious children.
Today, it sounds so much like boasting about myself but then, unless someone out there is willing to contribute in the space for comments and tell us other incidences where students have returned to say they were inspired there is no way I could write authentic stories.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Allow your child to benefit from his interest.
Allow your child the opportunity to benefit from his interest.
As your child grows, he/she develops certain interests in things in and around his environment. Unless it is something which you simply cannot accommodate no matter how much you want to, allow him/her to develop his interests. You will be happily surprised at the amount of knowledge, experience and benefits he/she will gain from it. Besides, you can never know where such interests can lead your precious child to. Such interests are the best incentives to acquiring knowledge and experience.
Take my nephew, Ong Jin Hock, for instance. Today, my newphew is good at English due to his interest in story-books and inspirational books by Napolean Hill and Dale Carnegie. His excellent English and encouragement from me lead him to take part and win elocution contests. He developed confidence through his popularity among his peers and his ability to imitate Michael Jackson as well as sing his songs. In this manner, he develop in leaps and bounds to the boy who made a name for himself in Malaysia through the fantastic, never heard of results he created in the 2000 SPM examination. He did it through his courage and determination to be the best, to assure himself of a scholarship. He proved that all things are possible to those who truly believe in their abilities and have the courage to put into action what they have conceived.
As for my son, Jin Seng; in my previous posting, I have written of his success through his interest in animals and fish. As a result he finds biology his favourite subject. He had also an excellent command of English through his interest in English books and English books on nature.
Then, when he was given the privilege of studying in the Pokok Sena Science School, a boarding school, where only 5% of the non-Malay school population are given places, he found the study of the Japanese Language very interesting. To help him develop his interest I bought Japanese Language tapes and discs with films and serials. In the year 2000, at the age of fifteen, he took part in a national competition. As a result, he won the first prize which was a sum of money and a trip to Japan, with his ability at understanding a Japanese film and writing a commentary on it in the English Language. So, in 2001 he had the opportunity to travel to Japan, see places of interest there, was amazed at the advanced Japanese technology and was thrilled by the wondrous beauty of Japanese tourist spots.
My younger son, Jin Ho, found himself in a university with the subject of his choice, engineering through his own development of his interest which I have already gone into in a previous posting.
I know a dentist’s son whose interest in cars lead him to further reading in magazines and books. This lead to improved English and of course triggered his thirst for knowledge. Today, he is studying to be a doctor.
Thus, we can see how the simple act of encouraging our children to have interest and in such a manner stimulate the thirst for knowledge can lead our children to greater development and success.
As your child grows, he/she develops certain interests in things in and around his environment. Unless it is something which you simply cannot accommodate no matter how much you want to, allow him/her to develop his interests. You will be happily surprised at the amount of knowledge, experience and benefits he/she will gain from it. Besides, you can never know where such interests can lead your precious child to. Such interests are the best incentives to acquiring knowledge and experience.
Take my nephew, Ong Jin Hock, for instance. Today, my newphew is good at English due to his interest in story-books and inspirational books by Napolean Hill and Dale Carnegie. His excellent English and encouragement from me lead him to take part and win elocution contests. He developed confidence through his popularity among his peers and his ability to imitate Michael Jackson as well as sing his songs. In this manner, he develop in leaps and bounds to the boy who made a name for himself in Malaysia through the fantastic, never heard of results he created in the 2000 SPM examination. He did it through his courage and determination to be the best, to assure himself of a scholarship. He proved that all things are possible to those who truly believe in their abilities and have the courage to put into action what they have conceived.
As for my son, Jin Seng; in my previous posting, I have written of his success through his interest in animals and fish. As a result he finds biology his favourite subject. He had also an excellent command of English through his interest in English books and English books on nature.
Then, when he was given the privilege of studying in the Pokok Sena Science School, a boarding school, where only 5% of the non-Malay school population are given places, he found the study of the Japanese Language very interesting. To help him develop his interest I bought Japanese Language tapes and discs with films and serials. In the year 2000, at the age of fifteen, he took part in a national competition. As a result, he won the first prize which was a sum of money and a trip to Japan, with his ability at understanding a Japanese film and writing a commentary on it in the English Language. So, in 2001 he had the opportunity to travel to Japan, see places of interest there, was amazed at the advanced Japanese technology and was thrilled by the wondrous beauty of Japanese tourist spots.
My younger son, Jin Ho, found himself in a university with the subject of his choice, engineering through his own development of his interest which I have already gone into in a previous posting.
I know a dentist’s son whose interest in cars lead him to further reading in magazines and books. This lead to improved English and of course triggered his thirst for knowledge. Today, he is studying to be a doctor.
Thus, we can see how the simple act of encouraging our children to have interest and in such a manner stimulate the thirst for knowledge can lead our children to greater development and success.
Your health is just as important.
After writing about knowledge I have gained as a result of my interests, my nephew emailed me to enquire about fats, especially saturated fats.
I believe our children's health as well as our health is important to us and our children. Without good health and sufficient energy to care for them, our children can be neglected.
As a start, I would like to go into fats and oils as they are consumed by us everyday in our food.
Except for trans fat, all fats are necessary dietary components. With fat-soluble vitamins such as A,E,K and fat-soluble antioxidants, our body is unable to benefit from them unless oils and fats are available to absorb them into the body.
We have read that unsaturated oils and fats are good for us because of their essential fatty acid content which is not manufactured by our own body. We have read of Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9 which are needed by our body. They are derived mainly from vegetable or seed oils. Some of them possess many health benefits.Some of the more popular oils are flaxseed oil, rice bran oil, groundnut oil and olive oil.
However, we ought to know that, with the exception of olive oil, unsaturated oils can turn rancid very fast, within a few hours after being taken into the body. It seems even ultra violet rays can cause peroxidation in unsaturated fats.
Another thing to bear in mind is that since vegetable oil turn rancid fast, we should not buy too much a any one time and we should keep them in dark containers away from light.(I keep my olive oil and coconut oil away from any source of light.)
According to a reseacher, many studies have shown a close relationship between consumption of excessive unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer. Seed oils have also been found to block protein digestive enzymes. According to him, it has been established that unsaturated fats suppress the metabolic rate, apparently creating hypothyroidism. This researcher found that excess 'unsaturated oils, except olive oil, inhibit enzymes,feed cancer cells, suppress the immune system, inhibit thyroid function and cause hormonal imbalances, are cardiotoxic, promote seizures, diabetes and aging.
Read more about the above at www.litalee.com/shoexd.asp?id=192
and go to 'benefits of unsaturated fats'.
Trans fats must be avoided as they cannot be processed by our body. Trans fats are artificial food usually produced in factories. Trans fats are created when oils are highly heated. So, deep-frying is not a healthy method of cooking. Through hydrogenation, trans fats are created. In factories, through patial hydrogenation, passing hydrogen through to get the oil solidified, magarine is manufactured. According to studies, consuming trans fat can bring on coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver dysfunction and infertility.So choose your food wisely.
As for saturated oils, we have saturated fats of animal origin. Such fats contain a lot of cholesterol. We should consume as little of this as possible as we grow older.
However, researchers have found that there is a saturated oil which has many health benefits. It is virgin coconut oil.
What is the difference between this saturated coconut oil with saturated oil from animals. The fatty acids or fat molecules can be classified according to the saturation of the fat. It can also be classified according to its molecular length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. There are short-chain, medium-chain and long-chain fatty acids.According to studies, coconut oil is mostly medium-chain fatty acids. Most of the other fats and oils, be they unsaturated or saturated, from animals or plants, are long-chain fatty acids.
Medium-chain fatty acids do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and help to protect heart disease.
Besides, there is no cholesterol in coconut oil. Studies reveals that, unlike most vegetable or seed oils, coconut oil do not turn rancid easily, being stable for at least two years.
The health benefits of coconut oil are plentiful. Coconut oil has an antioxidant effect.
It is the only oil which contains lauric acid which is the same as the lauric acid in mother's milk. This lauric acid keeps infants from getting viral, bacterial or protozoal infections.
In Malaysia where dessicated coconut is available easily, consuming dissicated coconut everyday can supply the body with a little lauric acid. I eat the dessicated coconut with my bread, rice or simply scoop them into my mouth. As they are made from old coconuts, I get truly extra virgin coconut oil as well as fibre together with all the other nutrients. And it is delicious! Of course, I still take at least 2tablespoonful of virgin coconut oil each day. As for myself I use it as a hair tonic, a skin lotion and I feel it works as I have always been in good health and I see no bad side effects.
Well, taking coconut this way ought to be safe as such food has been consumed in huge quantities in many tropical countries apparently without problems until somebody frightened us with cholesterol in coconut milk or cream and oil some time ago. Anyway, studies have revealed that such countries as the Phillipines, Thailand and Malaysia were in better health during those coconut- enjoying years.
From the studies made, coconut oil is an anticarcinogenic oil. It is beneficial for prevention and treatment of some heart diseases.
Well, I suppose you can obtain more information about coconut oil benefits by searching for 'benefits of coconut oil' in the internet. Perhaps you may go to: www.coconutoil.com/ray-peat-coconutoil.htm or
www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/coconut_oil.html
All comments or knowledge which you wish to share are welcome. Please do not hesitate to comment as we in The Art of Living Foundation believe we are a 'One World Family'
I believe our children's health as well as our health is important to us and our children. Without good health and sufficient energy to care for them, our children can be neglected.
As a start, I would like to go into fats and oils as they are consumed by us everyday in our food.
Except for trans fat, all fats are necessary dietary components. With fat-soluble vitamins such as A,E,K and fat-soluble antioxidants, our body is unable to benefit from them unless oils and fats are available to absorb them into the body.
We have read that unsaturated oils and fats are good for us because of their essential fatty acid content which is not manufactured by our own body. We have read of Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9 which are needed by our body. They are derived mainly from vegetable or seed oils. Some of them possess many health benefits.Some of the more popular oils are flaxseed oil, rice bran oil, groundnut oil and olive oil.
However, we ought to know that, with the exception of olive oil, unsaturated oils can turn rancid very fast, within a few hours after being taken into the body. It seems even ultra violet rays can cause peroxidation in unsaturated fats.
Another thing to bear in mind is that since vegetable oil turn rancid fast, we should not buy too much a any one time and we should keep them in dark containers away from light.(I keep my olive oil and coconut oil away from any source of light.)
According to a reseacher, many studies have shown a close relationship between consumption of excessive unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer. Seed oils have also been found to block protein digestive enzymes. According to him, it has been established that unsaturated fats suppress the metabolic rate, apparently creating hypothyroidism. This researcher found that excess 'unsaturated oils, except olive oil, inhibit enzymes,feed cancer cells, suppress the immune system, inhibit thyroid function and cause hormonal imbalances, are cardiotoxic, promote seizures, diabetes and aging.
Read more about the above at www.litalee.com/shoexd.asp?id=192
and go to 'benefits of unsaturated fats'.
Trans fats must be avoided as they cannot be processed by our body. Trans fats are artificial food usually produced in factories. Trans fats are created when oils are highly heated. So, deep-frying is not a healthy method of cooking. Through hydrogenation, trans fats are created. In factories, through patial hydrogenation, passing hydrogen through to get the oil solidified, magarine is manufactured. According to studies, consuming trans fat can bring on coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver dysfunction and infertility.So choose your food wisely.
As for saturated oils, we have saturated fats of animal origin. Such fats contain a lot of cholesterol. We should consume as little of this as possible as we grow older.
However, researchers have found that there is a saturated oil which has many health benefits. It is virgin coconut oil.
What is the difference between this saturated coconut oil with saturated oil from animals. The fatty acids or fat molecules can be classified according to the saturation of the fat. It can also be classified according to its molecular length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. There are short-chain, medium-chain and long-chain fatty acids.According to studies, coconut oil is mostly medium-chain fatty acids. Most of the other fats and oils, be they unsaturated or saturated, from animals or plants, are long-chain fatty acids.
Medium-chain fatty acids do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and help to protect heart disease.
Besides, there is no cholesterol in coconut oil. Studies reveals that, unlike most vegetable or seed oils, coconut oil do not turn rancid easily, being stable for at least two years.
The health benefits of coconut oil are plentiful. Coconut oil has an antioxidant effect.
It is the only oil which contains lauric acid which is the same as the lauric acid in mother's milk. This lauric acid keeps infants from getting viral, bacterial or protozoal infections.
In Malaysia where dessicated coconut is available easily, consuming dissicated coconut everyday can supply the body with a little lauric acid. I eat the dessicated coconut with my bread, rice or simply scoop them into my mouth. As they are made from old coconuts, I get truly extra virgin coconut oil as well as fibre together with all the other nutrients. And it is delicious! Of course, I still take at least 2tablespoonful of virgin coconut oil each day. As for myself I use it as a hair tonic, a skin lotion and I feel it works as I have always been in good health and I see no bad side effects.
Well, taking coconut this way ought to be safe as such food has been consumed in huge quantities in many tropical countries apparently without problems until somebody frightened us with cholesterol in coconut milk or cream and oil some time ago. Anyway, studies have revealed that such countries as the Phillipines, Thailand and Malaysia were in better health during those coconut- enjoying years.
From the studies made, coconut oil is an anticarcinogenic oil. It is beneficial for prevention and treatment of some heart diseases.
Well, I suppose you can obtain more information about coconut oil benefits by searching for 'benefits of coconut oil' in the internet. Perhaps you may go to: www.coconutoil.com/ray-peat-coconutoil.htm or
www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/coconut_oil.html
All comments or knowledge which you wish to share are welcome. Please do not hesitate to comment as we in The Art of Living Foundation believe we are a 'One World Family'
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Surprising health benefits from coconut oil.
After writing about knowledge I have gained as a result of my interests, my nephew emailed me to enquire about fats, especially saturated fats.
I believe our health is important to us and our children. Without good health and sufficient energy to care for them, our children can be neglected.
As a start, I would like to go into fats and oils as they are consumed by us everyday in our food.
Except trans fat, all fat are necessary dietary components. With fat-soluble vitamins such as A,E,K and fat-soluble antioxidants, our body is unable to benefit from them unless oils and fats are available to absorb them into the body.
We have read that unsaturated oils and fats are good for us because of their essential fatty acid content which is not manufactured by our own body. We have read of Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9 which are needed by our body. They are derived mainly from vegetable or seeds. Some of them possess many health benefits.Some of the more popular oils are flaxseed oil, rice bran oil, groundnut oil and olive oil.
However, we ought to know that, with the exception of olive oil, unsaturated oils can turn rancid very fast, within a few hours after being taken into the body. It seems even ultra violet rays can cause peroxidation in unsaturated fats.
According to a reseacher, many studies have shown a close relationship between consumption of excessive unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer. Seed oils have also been found to block protein digestive enzymes. According to him, it has been established that unsaturated fats suppress the metabolic rate, apparently creating hypothyroidism. This researcher found that excess 'unsaturated oils, except olive oil, inhibit enzymes,feed cancer cells, suppress the immune system, inhibit thyroid function and cause hormonal imbalances, are cardiotoxic, promote saizures, diabetes and aging.
Read more about the above at www.litalee.com/shoexd.asp?id=192
and go to 'benefits of unsaturated fats'.
Trans fats must be avoided as they cannot be processed by our body. Trans fats are artificial food usually produced in factories. Trans fats are created when oils are highly heated. So, deep-frying is not a healthy method of cooking. Through hydrogenation, trans fats are created. In factories, through patial hydrogenation, passing hydrogen through to get the oil solidified, magarine is manufactured. According to studies, consuming trans fat can bring on coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver dysfunction and infertility.So choose your food wisely.
As for saturated oils, we have saturated fats of animal origin. Such fats contain a lot of cholesterol. We should consume as little of this as possible as we grow older.
However, researchers have found that there is a saturated oil which has many health benefits. It is virgin coconut oil.
What is the difference between this coconut saturated oil with saturated oil from animals. The fatty acids or fat molecules can be classified according to the saturation of the fat. It can also be classified according to its molecular length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. There are short-chain, medium-chain and long-chain fatty acids.According to studies, coconut oil is mostly medium-chain fatty acids. Most of the other fats and oils, be they unsaturated or saturated, from animals or plants, are long-chain fatty acids.
Medium-chain fatty acids do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and help to protect heart disease.
Besides, there is no cholesterol in coconut oil. Studies reveals that, unlike most vegetable or seed oils, coconut oil do not turn rancid easily, being stable for at least two years.
The health benefits of coconut oil are plentiful. Coconut oil has an antioxidant effect.
It is the only oil which contains lauric acid which is the same as the lauric acid in mother's milk. This lauric acid keeps infants from getting viral, bacterial or protozoal infections.
In Malaysia where dessicated coconut is available easily, consuming dissicated coconut everyday can supply the body with a little lauric acid. I eat the dessicated coconut with my bread, rice or simply scoop them into my mouth. As they are made from old coconuts, I get truly extra virgin coconut oil as well as fibre together with all the other nutrients. And it is delicious! Of course, I still take at least 2tablespoonful of virgin coconut oil each day. As for myself I use it as a hair tonic, a skin toner and I feel it works as I have always been in good health and I see no bad side effects.
Well, taking coconut this way ought to be safe as such food has been consumed in huge quantities in many tropical countries apparently without problems until somebody frightened us with cholesterol in coconut milk or cream and oil some time ago. Anyway, studies have revealed that such countries as the Phillipines, Thailand and Malaysia were in better health during those coconut- enjoying years.
From the studies made, coconut oil is an anticarcinogenic oil. It is beneficial for prevention and treatment of some heart diseases.
Well, I suppose you can obtain more information about coconut oil benefits by searching for 'benefits of coconut oil' in the internet. Perhaps you may go to: www.coconutoil.com/ray-peat-coconutoil.htm
All comments or knowledge which you wish to share are welcome. Please do not hesitate to comment as we, in The Art of Living Foundation, believe we are a 'One World Family'
I believe our health is important to us and our children. Without good health and sufficient energy to care for them, our children can be neglected.
As a start, I would like to go into fats and oils as they are consumed by us everyday in our food.
Except trans fat, all fat are necessary dietary components. With fat-soluble vitamins such as A,E,K and fat-soluble antioxidants, our body is unable to benefit from them unless oils and fats are available to absorb them into the body.
We have read that unsaturated oils and fats are good for us because of their essential fatty acid content which is not manufactured by our own body. We have read of Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9 which are needed by our body. They are derived mainly from vegetable or seeds. Some of them possess many health benefits.Some of the more popular oils are flaxseed oil, rice bran oil, groundnut oil and olive oil.
However, we ought to know that, with the exception of olive oil, unsaturated oils can turn rancid very fast, within a few hours after being taken into the body. It seems even ultra violet rays can cause peroxidation in unsaturated fats.
According to a reseacher, many studies have shown a close relationship between consumption of excessive unsaturated oils and the incidence of cancer. Seed oils have also been found to block protein digestive enzymes. According to him, it has been established that unsaturated fats suppress the metabolic rate, apparently creating hypothyroidism. This researcher found that excess 'unsaturated oils, except olive oil, inhibit enzymes,feed cancer cells, suppress the immune system, inhibit thyroid function and cause hormonal imbalances, are cardiotoxic, promote saizures, diabetes and aging.
Read more about the above at www.litalee.com/shoexd.asp?id=192
and go to 'benefits of unsaturated fats'.
Trans fats must be avoided as they cannot be processed by our body. Trans fats are artificial food usually produced in factories. Trans fats are created when oils are highly heated. So, deep-frying is not a healthy method of cooking. Through hydrogenation, trans fats are created. In factories, through patial hydrogenation, passing hydrogen through to get the oil solidified, magarine is manufactured. According to studies, consuming trans fat can bring on coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, liver dysfunction and infertility.So choose your food wisely.
As for saturated oils, we have saturated fats of animal origin. Such fats contain a lot of cholesterol. We should consume as little of this as possible as we grow older.
However, researchers have found that there is a saturated oil which has many health benefits. It is virgin coconut oil.
What is the difference between this coconut saturated oil with saturated oil from animals. The fatty acids or fat molecules can be classified according to the saturation of the fat. It can also be classified according to its molecular length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. There are short-chain, medium-chain and long-chain fatty acids.According to studies, coconut oil is mostly medium-chain fatty acids. Most of the other fats and oils, be they unsaturated or saturated, from animals or plants, are long-chain fatty acids.
Medium-chain fatty acids do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and help to protect heart disease.
Besides, there is no cholesterol in coconut oil. Studies reveals that, unlike most vegetable or seed oils, coconut oil do not turn rancid easily, being stable for at least two years.
The health benefits of coconut oil are plentiful. Coconut oil has an antioxidant effect.
It is the only oil which contains lauric acid which is the same as the lauric acid in mother's milk. This lauric acid keeps infants from getting viral, bacterial or protozoal infections.
In Malaysia where dessicated coconut is available easily, consuming dissicated coconut everyday can supply the body with a little lauric acid. I eat the dessicated coconut with my bread, rice or simply scoop them into my mouth. As they are made from old coconuts, I get truly extra virgin coconut oil as well as fibre together with all the other nutrients. And it is delicious! Of course, I still take at least 2tablespoonful of virgin coconut oil each day. As for myself I use it as a hair tonic, a skin toner and I feel it works as I have always been in good health and I see no bad side effects.
Well, taking coconut this way ought to be safe as such food has been consumed in huge quantities in many tropical countries apparently without problems until somebody frightened us with cholesterol in coconut milk or cream and oil some time ago. Anyway, studies have revealed that such countries as the Phillipines, Thailand and Malaysia were in better health during those coconut- enjoying years.
From the studies made, coconut oil is an anticarcinogenic oil. It is beneficial for prevention and treatment of some heart diseases.
Well, I suppose you can obtain more information about coconut oil benefits by searching for 'benefits of coconut oil' in the internet. Perhaps you may go to: www.coconutoil.com/ray-peat-coconutoil.htm
All comments or knowledge which you wish to share are welcome. Please do not hesitate to comment as we, in The Art of Living Foundation, believe we are a 'One World Family'
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Language learning through singing.
Songs are an important aid to language learning. It is effective because it brings joy too. Through the enjoyment of the musical rhythm and the rhymes in the lyrics, words and sentences in songs are remembered easily. Good sentences in songs help your child to remember correct sentence structures; thus helping him to construct good sentences.
Today, we have karaoke video compact discs in which lyrics of songs are given. In following the lyrics, the child is reading words. If the child is encouraged to sing a variety of songs using such karaoke discs, the vocabulary expands as more words are encountered.
As singing is an enjoyable activity, with the assistance of karaoke discs, children can read and gradually remember words as they sing. The remembered words are used again and again each time the child sings. Such type of ‘homework’, remembering words in songs, is a pleasure to do and because it is so enjoyable, this remembering of words is performed so often.
Imagine the amount of benefits parents derive from this activity. Children respond willingly to such learning. The activity can take up a lot of time without the danger of boredom, giving parents time to finish their housework. Words are more easily remembered and learned. It helps the child to express themselves as songs tell stories (folk and children songs) and express love or frustrations (love songs).
And if your child happens to have good vocal cords, he/she may become a singer. Success, popularity and money can soon be on its way. You would have put your child on the road to her success, and a change in your future!
Ah! But do not do it for your future. Do it for his/hers. It is the child’s development and safety that count. Develop the child’s talent without force or haste. Let the child enjoy his/her childhood as well. Many parents fail at this point and we have singers who miss out on this part of their growth. They are forced to mature too soon. Missed forever is a part of their lives. Don't you think so?
That is not important? Well, we will never know for sure. But, I do know that there were young singers who had found fame and fortune, resorted to drugs and a few even committed suicides. Could missing that part of their lives be the cause? Had they taken on too much stress too early in their lives? You are the loving parent. So you decide.But, do think about it!
Today, we have karaoke video compact discs in which lyrics of songs are given. In following the lyrics, the child is reading words. If the child is encouraged to sing a variety of songs using such karaoke discs, the vocabulary expands as more words are encountered.
As singing is an enjoyable activity, with the assistance of karaoke discs, children can read and gradually remember words as they sing. The remembered words are used again and again each time the child sings. Such type of ‘homework’, remembering words in songs, is a pleasure to do and because it is so enjoyable, this remembering of words is performed so often.
Imagine the amount of benefits parents derive from this activity. Children respond willingly to such learning. The activity can take up a lot of time without the danger of boredom, giving parents time to finish their housework. Words are more easily remembered and learned. It helps the child to express themselves as songs tell stories (folk and children songs) and express love or frustrations (love songs).
And if your child happens to have good vocal cords, he/she may become a singer. Success, popularity and money can soon be on its way. You would have put your child on the road to her success, and a change in your future!
Ah! But do not do it for your future. Do it for his/hers. It is the child’s development and safety that count. Develop the child’s talent without force or haste. Let the child enjoy his/her childhood as well. Many parents fail at this point and we have singers who miss out on this part of their growth. They are forced to mature too soon. Missed forever is a part of their lives. Don't you think so?
That is not important? Well, we will never know for sure. But, I do know that there were young singers who had found fame and fortune, resorted to drugs and a few even committed suicides. Could missing that part of their lives be the cause? Had they taken on too much stress too early in their lives? You are the loving parent. So you decide.But, do think about it!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Hobbies motivate learning.
Can you remember a time when you are performing a work of love. In love, there is no tiredness, no boredom and every desire to continue with the work at hand. When you are in love, you do not use anything as an excuse not to be with somebody or something you love. That is an undeniable fact.
In the same manner, when you love something, a subject or an activity, you wait for more opportunities to be with the subject or the activity. An example of such activities are hobbies.
How wonderful, then, if your child has a hobby, especially one chosen by himself, something he/she really loves doing. So let us allow the child to have a hobby. However, to give him or her a hobby fascinating enough to motivate learning, we ought to expose the child to as many types of activity as possible, so that the child has the opportunity to choose one that is aligned to his/her personality, interest and natural inclination. This, I feel, is of utmost importance. Just as we cannot force our love on someone no matter how true or sincere our feeling is, we cannot force our children to love something. To do so can only bring problems.
I know of parents who, with very good intentions, try to have their children cultivate an interest in something the parents feel would be beneficial to their children. They are good parents. There is no doubt about it. Their children, out of love for them, may even try their very best at the activity but they can never excel. Difficult it is to wish to learn more about something which lacks their love.
Furthermore, children can become frustrated when it takes so much effort on their part to just try to be interested. If, like some parents, you do not understand how your children can dislike something you believe is good for them, put yourself into the following situation. Have you ever tried to be interested in a girl or boy whom you have no feelings for? Try it and you will understand this part better. Parents must do no harm to their precious children.
As someone who has a myriad of interests, I find my interests the best motivator to study and learn. I am interested in fish. Wherever I go, I search for aquarium shops to see if there is any fish I have yet to see or know. It is my boast that there are very few attractive aquarium fish I do not know about. I have read so much about them. At the age of twenty-five years I bought the first published book on discus fish at a very high price. I read and reread the book before I saw my first live discus. In 1971, I heard about a shop in Selangor which sells such a fish. I was told I could book unseen discus fish at RM350 per pair. For me, as a teacher, that was equivalent to almost a month’s pay then. Even then I would have bought it if I could see how healthy they were. No, and I was to give a phone number and once they ring me I must immediately proceed to the shop to claim the fish, failing which, the shop could not be responsible for my dead fish! Eventually I did buy some to breed successfully. In those days, discus breeding was a lucrative hobby as very few people had the knowledge to do it successfully.As a result, young discus fish was exceedingly expensive and profitable to the breeder.
As a result of my interests, I studied about finches, canaries, floristry, video-camera filming, edible plants, enzymes, chlorophyll, nutrients, the human body, muscles, tendons, nerves, joints and the latest scientific and medical knowledge on health. Today, I discover there is still so much to live for with so much more to learn. And all this learning comes without effort; in fact it is a pleasure, a joy in a world of discovery of fantastic facts.
Through my pursuit of knowledge of things I am interested in, I was surprised to learn that protein in diary milk may cause osteoporosis, that a saturated fat such as coconut oil has so much health benefits and does not cause health problems, that CLA or conjugated linoleic acids, in grass-fed animals can prevent so many types of tumours, that exercise is the most important factor in ensuring health. I can say that hobbies and my interests motivate me to an even better, healthier life.
My children’s interests have also lead them to read on their own all those subjects or knowledge which interest them. My elder son has a number of similar interests and we often share our knowledge. This brings a greater bond between us. We are closer because of our interests.
As you can see, interests and hobbies bring so much benefit to us and our precious children. So let them be passionate in something. Encourage them, then watch them grow and develop on their own.
In the same manner, when you love something, a subject or an activity, you wait for more opportunities to be with the subject or the activity. An example of such activities are hobbies.
How wonderful, then, if your child has a hobby, especially one chosen by himself, something he/she really loves doing. So let us allow the child to have a hobby. However, to give him or her a hobby fascinating enough to motivate learning, we ought to expose the child to as many types of activity as possible, so that the child has the opportunity to choose one that is aligned to his/her personality, interest and natural inclination. This, I feel, is of utmost importance. Just as we cannot force our love on someone no matter how true or sincere our feeling is, we cannot force our children to love something. To do so can only bring problems.
I know of parents who, with very good intentions, try to have their children cultivate an interest in something the parents feel would be beneficial to their children. They are good parents. There is no doubt about it. Their children, out of love for them, may even try their very best at the activity but they can never excel. Difficult it is to wish to learn more about something which lacks their love.
Furthermore, children can become frustrated when it takes so much effort on their part to just try to be interested. If, like some parents, you do not understand how your children can dislike something you believe is good for them, put yourself into the following situation. Have you ever tried to be interested in a girl or boy whom you have no feelings for? Try it and you will understand this part better. Parents must do no harm to their precious children.
As someone who has a myriad of interests, I find my interests the best motivator to study and learn. I am interested in fish. Wherever I go, I search for aquarium shops to see if there is any fish I have yet to see or know. It is my boast that there are very few attractive aquarium fish I do not know about. I have read so much about them. At the age of twenty-five years I bought the first published book on discus fish at a very high price. I read and reread the book before I saw my first live discus. In 1971, I heard about a shop in Selangor which sells such a fish. I was told I could book unseen discus fish at RM350 per pair. For me, as a teacher, that was equivalent to almost a month’s pay then. Even then I would have bought it if I could see how healthy they were. No, and I was to give a phone number and once they ring me I must immediately proceed to the shop to claim the fish, failing which, the shop could not be responsible for my dead fish! Eventually I did buy some to breed successfully. In those days, discus breeding was a lucrative hobby as very few people had the knowledge to do it successfully.As a result, young discus fish was exceedingly expensive and profitable to the breeder.
As a result of my interests, I studied about finches, canaries, floristry, video-camera filming, edible plants, enzymes, chlorophyll, nutrients, the human body, muscles, tendons, nerves, joints and the latest scientific and medical knowledge on health. Today, I discover there is still so much to live for with so much more to learn. And all this learning comes without effort; in fact it is a pleasure, a joy in a world of discovery of fantastic facts.
Through my pursuit of knowledge of things I am interested in, I was surprised to learn that protein in diary milk may cause osteoporosis, that a saturated fat such as coconut oil has so much health benefits and does not cause health problems, that CLA or conjugated linoleic acids, in grass-fed animals can prevent so many types of tumours, that exercise is the most important factor in ensuring health. I can say that hobbies and my interests motivate me to an even better, healthier life.
My children’s interests have also lead them to read on their own all those subjects or knowledge which interest them. My elder son has a number of similar interests and we often share our knowledge. This brings a greater bond between us. We are closer because of our interests.
As you can see, interests and hobbies bring so much benefit to us and our precious children. So let them be passionate in something. Encourage them, then watch them grow and develop on their own.
Teach our children love.
With adults, some adults find it difficult to express love. It becomes even more difficult when they are hurt although the love is still there.
Fortunately, parents find it so easy to love their children. Even when the children hurt them they go on expressing their love openly.
Love is one of the most important things in life. Love moves your child to follow you, to imitate you, to want you to love him/her, to be the best he/she can possibly be, to care for your feelings, to care about what you think and, thus in this manner, become the best child in the world for you. All these we see in a child who is loved but not in the one who is pampered.
What is the difference between loving and pampering? When we love a child, we want him/her to be the best for himself or herself. To reach this goal, we must love him/her enough to teach him/her to differentiate between right and wrong. It may be difficult, sometimes painful and needs effort to change the bad habits or whatever is wrong, but a parent must do it for the good of the child even if it hurts. It means that there may be the need for punishment.
However, a loving parent does not punish to release any frustrations or anger. The parent punishes to correct the child. Sometimes a disapproving look or tone of voice is enough. Sometimes there may be a need for a light slap on the palm or buttocks just to indicate disapproval clearly. A beloved child will know he/she must not continue with the unacceptable action.
When a child is pampered, the parent loves the child to gain the child’s love. So, everything the child does, right or wrong, is accepted and approved by the parent. The child, of course, in his/her innocence is made to believe that he/she can never do any wrong. Used to acceptance to all his/her wishes and demands, the child learns to be selfish in love. The pampered child learns to throw tantrums to get the parent to accede to demands. Does such a child care for his/her parent’s feelings? Certainly not, but who has taught her such a behavior? Who has taught her this kind of love? Unless someone can change his/her attitude towards love, the child will grow up to be a demanding adult who would always think of himself/herself only, without consideration for others. Sometimes, even the very parent or guardian who is the one who has caused such a problem to arise, may come to dislike the child for his/her unacceptable, selfish ways. It is indeed tragic!
Here is a true, sad story. As a discipline teacher in one school, I once approached a parent to tell her that her child needs her attention and advised her to talk to her child as he was obviously heading towards a problem. The single parent refused to see the problem. She believed her son stayed at home always and was incapable of doing wrong although she was most of the time at work leaving the child alone the whole day to fend for himself. Unfortunately, the problem was allowed to worsen and she woke up to the horrors of a pampered child’s actions only when she was slapped and beaten by her only child. It happened when she discovered that he was the one who had been stealing her money to buy drugs. She came crying to the school to complain but this teacher could only advise her to seek help from the appropriate authorities as the child was absent despite many letters of notification to the parent.
So, love your child for the good of himself/herself, not because he/she was of your own blood and genes. Let your child know that you love because you care and because you care you want him/her to have all the good qualities a child is capable of acquiring. In this way, the child grows up loving himself or herself, you and others, understanding and respecting you and others for the things he or she holds dear to his or her heart.
Thus, parents are very important people. The future of our world lies in the hands of parents. Parents who earnestly aspire to have children acquire the best human qualities are the ones who will ensure our environment is clean and healthy, put forth children who value joy, love and peace, and insures the safety of our planet earth and every individual in it. Do you think this is possible?
Thus, teach our children love so that they love themselves, their parents, their fellow humans, other creatures who have every right to a place under the sun, the environment, our planet and the divine spirit, God. May God bless such loving parents!
Fortunately, parents find it so easy to love their children. Even when the children hurt them they go on expressing their love openly.
Love is one of the most important things in life. Love moves your child to follow you, to imitate you, to want you to love him/her, to be the best he/she can possibly be, to care for your feelings, to care about what you think and, thus in this manner, become the best child in the world for you. All these we see in a child who is loved but not in the one who is pampered.
What is the difference between loving and pampering? When we love a child, we want him/her to be the best for himself or herself. To reach this goal, we must love him/her enough to teach him/her to differentiate between right and wrong. It may be difficult, sometimes painful and needs effort to change the bad habits or whatever is wrong, but a parent must do it for the good of the child even if it hurts. It means that there may be the need for punishment.
However, a loving parent does not punish to release any frustrations or anger. The parent punishes to correct the child. Sometimes a disapproving look or tone of voice is enough. Sometimes there may be a need for a light slap on the palm or buttocks just to indicate disapproval clearly. A beloved child will know he/she must not continue with the unacceptable action.
When a child is pampered, the parent loves the child to gain the child’s love. So, everything the child does, right or wrong, is accepted and approved by the parent. The child, of course, in his/her innocence is made to believe that he/she can never do any wrong. Used to acceptance to all his/her wishes and demands, the child learns to be selfish in love. The pampered child learns to throw tantrums to get the parent to accede to demands. Does such a child care for his/her parent’s feelings? Certainly not, but who has taught her such a behavior? Who has taught her this kind of love? Unless someone can change his/her attitude towards love, the child will grow up to be a demanding adult who would always think of himself/herself only, without consideration for others. Sometimes, even the very parent or guardian who is the one who has caused such a problem to arise, may come to dislike the child for his/her unacceptable, selfish ways. It is indeed tragic!
Here is a true, sad story. As a discipline teacher in one school, I once approached a parent to tell her that her child needs her attention and advised her to talk to her child as he was obviously heading towards a problem. The single parent refused to see the problem. She believed her son stayed at home always and was incapable of doing wrong although she was most of the time at work leaving the child alone the whole day to fend for himself. Unfortunately, the problem was allowed to worsen and she woke up to the horrors of a pampered child’s actions only when she was slapped and beaten by her only child. It happened when she discovered that he was the one who had been stealing her money to buy drugs. She came crying to the school to complain but this teacher could only advise her to seek help from the appropriate authorities as the child was absent despite many letters of notification to the parent.
So, love your child for the good of himself/herself, not because he/she was of your own blood and genes. Let your child know that you love because you care and because you care you want him/her to have all the good qualities a child is capable of acquiring. In this way, the child grows up loving himself or herself, you and others, understanding and respecting you and others for the things he or she holds dear to his or her heart.
Thus, parents are very important people. The future of our world lies in the hands of parents. Parents who earnestly aspire to have children acquire the best human qualities are the ones who will ensure our environment is clean and healthy, put forth children who value joy, love and peace, and insures the safety of our planet earth and every individual in it. Do you think this is possible?
Thus, teach our children love so that they love themselves, their parents, their fellow humans, other creatures who have every right to a place under the sun, the environment, our planet and the divine spirit, God. May God bless such loving parents!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Fostering the desire to learn.
Without the desire to learn there can be no wish to obtain new knowledge. It is because of the desire to know even more knowledge than what our own limited experience can offer that we resort to watching documentary programmes, listening to others who possess knowledge that we have yet to come across and reading books and other materials that give us understanding on subjects otherwise not within our reach.
As we know the importance of the desire to learn, we would certainly like to know how we can foster such a desire? How do we gradually lead the child to want to know more?
Firstly, all learning goes from the known to the unknown. Take, for example, a child’s path to literacy. The child must begin with the sounds for things in his/her environment. When he/she has understood such sounds as ‘flower’, ‘book’ and ‘ice-cream’, then only can he/she proceed to the written word. When he/she has achieved the ability to recognize and read words, he would like to show that he can do it.
When my son first knew how his name, 'Seng’ was spelt, he would point out words having his name on boards bearing the names of shops; names such as ‘ Wah Seng Doby’, ‘Lee Seng Coffee Shop’ and so on. With praise for his ability to read other words too, he would look forward to learning even more words. The desire to improve his vocabulary has begun.
As I have said before, the whole world is the parents’ audio visual aid to assist the parents to teach their children. However, unless we use these freely available aids, they are useless and meaningless. Parents have to be the teachers in this world classroom. Talk to your children. With enthusiasm, point out things the child have yet to learn, name them and tell them how wonderful the things are. If parents do not think flowers beautiful, certain fruits strange(Strange to the children), constructed buildings marvelous, views breath-taking, ponds lovely, the breeze sweeping over the water surface creating linear movement on it exhilarating and such wonders of man and nature fascinating, how can the children be aroused to realise what great, incredible beauties surround us! With such introductions to their surroundings, children can begin to take interest and see the wonders around them. With the interest aroused in them, they would want to learn more. Later when they read of them in books, there is association of the new information with knowledge already established from the actual environment by the parents. Taking children out to enjoy, see and appreciate however much it is possible for parents to offer them is taking the first step to spark the desire for knowledge.
My sons and nephew were taken to the Ipoh zoo. We had one of the most enjoyable days in our lives watching the delightful movements, the beautiful colours of the many creatures and birds, and listening to the various sounds they emit. As parents, we pointed out all these and indirectly have them listen to and imitate as well as use new words; sounds and vocabulary that would otherwise hold no meaning for them.
Then, some days later, at the library, books on animals proved to be interesting, with them pointing to animals they have seen at the zoo, delightfully expressing themselves on what they know of those animals and birds, connecting with the places they were seen. From here, they went on to animals not found in the zoo and parents could arouse curiosity with questions such as ‘Why do you think such animals are not in the zoo we went to?’ Of course, parents may have to supply the answers but that is how interesting knowledge is dispensed to the eager, curious minds. Thus, in like manner, we can introduce other things to our children and continue to sustain such interest with appropriate reading materials and pictures.
When children develop a thirst for knowledge, learning becomes a pleasure which sweeps aside even tiredness. That is the power of the desire to learn.
From here on, all our precious children need is encouragement with appropriate materials such as books, toys and, if possible, the real-life objects such as pet- birds, dogs, cats and fish.
With the care for real things, parents can cultivate a love for such things. And love is one of the most important, beautiful feelings in our world. That will have to be discussed in a future posting. Without love, where can there be purpose in life?
As we know the importance of the desire to learn, we would certainly like to know how we can foster such a desire? How do we gradually lead the child to want to know more?
Firstly, all learning goes from the known to the unknown. Take, for example, a child’s path to literacy. The child must begin with the sounds for things in his/her environment. When he/she has understood such sounds as ‘flower’, ‘book’ and ‘ice-cream’, then only can he/she proceed to the written word. When he/she has achieved the ability to recognize and read words, he would like to show that he can do it.
When my son first knew how his name, 'Seng’ was spelt, he would point out words having his name on boards bearing the names of shops; names such as ‘ Wah Seng Doby’, ‘Lee Seng Coffee Shop’ and so on. With praise for his ability to read other words too, he would look forward to learning even more words. The desire to improve his vocabulary has begun.
As I have said before, the whole world is the parents’ audio visual aid to assist the parents to teach their children. However, unless we use these freely available aids, they are useless and meaningless. Parents have to be the teachers in this world classroom. Talk to your children. With enthusiasm, point out things the child have yet to learn, name them and tell them how wonderful the things are. If parents do not think flowers beautiful, certain fruits strange(Strange to the children), constructed buildings marvelous, views breath-taking, ponds lovely, the breeze sweeping over the water surface creating linear movement on it exhilarating and such wonders of man and nature fascinating, how can the children be aroused to realise what great, incredible beauties surround us! With such introductions to their surroundings, children can begin to take interest and see the wonders around them. With the interest aroused in them, they would want to learn more. Later when they read of them in books, there is association of the new information with knowledge already established from the actual environment by the parents. Taking children out to enjoy, see and appreciate however much it is possible for parents to offer them is taking the first step to spark the desire for knowledge.
My sons and nephew were taken to the Ipoh zoo. We had one of the most enjoyable days in our lives watching the delightful movements, the beautiful colours of the many creatures and birds, and listening to the various sounds they emit. As parents, we pointed out all these and indirectly have them listen to and imitate as well as use new words; sounds and vocabulary that would otherwise hold no meaning for them.
Then, some days later, at the library, books on animals proved to be interesting, with them pointing to animals they have seen at the zoo, delightfully expressing themselves on what they know of those animals and birds, connecting with the places they were seen. From here, they went on to animals not found in the zoo and parents could arouse curiosity with questions such as ‘Why do you think such animals are not in the zoo we went to?’ Of course, parents may have to supply the answers but that is how interesting knowledge is dispensed to the eager, curious minds. Thus, in like manner, we can introduce other things to our children and continue to sustain such interest with appropriate reading materials and pictures.
When children develop a thirst for knowledge, learning becomes a pleasure which sweeps aside even tiredness. That is the power of the desire to learn.
From here on, all our precious children need is encouragement with appropriate materials such as books, toys and, if possible, the real-life objects such as pet- birds, dogs, cats and fish.
With the care for real things, parents can cultivate a love for such things. And love is one of the most important, beautiful feelings in our world. That will have to be discussed in a future posting. Without love, where can there be purpose in life?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Curiosity, the willingness to learn and the courage to take action.
Now that we have seen how important these qualities, curiosity and courage, are from an earlier posting, how do we help our children to strengthen them?
Of course, everybody have such innate qualities and capabilities as a result of their genes having DNA with such qualities. Despite this, such qualities and talents can be subdued by careless parents or people in contact with the children. This is a mistake I made although I knew that parents can suppress their children capabilities.
Firstly, children have an inborn sense of curiosity. Every child wants to know what that strange thing on the table is. Every child would want to touch, feel, see and know about it. Go to a toddler or a baby and show him/her your finger or spectacles. Unless you are a stranger to him/her, the child would want to touch it, hold it or put it into his/her mouth to know whether it could be eaten. Well, you cannot blame them as all they can think of is food, right? Of course, we do not allow the finger or the spectacles to go into the mouth as it can be full of bacteria, but we should not scold or frighten the child in any way. Perhaps we could replace the spectacles with a clean toy which can be held or sucked. We must encourage curiosity.
We must also encourage the desire to learn and to know anything which is not dangerous. If the child wishes to play with the blades of a table fan or electric sockets we must remove the dangerous objects. We do not have to scold. One day, when he/she understands the danger, he/she will not touch them.
Yes, we must encourage our children to learn and to know. Sometimes, it involves having to spend some money and what adults consider wastage. Whatever, it may be, parents have to be patient and understanding. If we understand that it is a necessary part of a learning process, then anger will not arise. In actual fact, we ought to be extremely happy to know that our children are capable of spontaneous learning on their own. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with parents and I myself almost forgot myself because of the amount of money I had to spend for the process to continue.
Well, this is my story. My younger son was very interested in watches when he was about ten years old. I bought him a watch just to discover him opening up every part of the watch to look at the inside. Again, he asked for another watch. The same thing was done to the second watch. After six watches in less than half a year, I became very irritated and told him watches were for telling the time and not to be played with. After that, there was a stop to the removing of the back of watches with a tiny screwdriver.
Fortunately for this father, my son did not stop exploring and learning. Next, he was interested in an electronic toy from Japan. It was expensive. I told him it cost too much money. Then, a few months later, I saw him with a new electronic toy. I asked him about it. He told me he bought it with his own money. Then, he explained that he had bought spoilt electronic toys for a few ringgits each, repaired them and sold them at a good profit. With the profit, he had more than enough money to buy the toy. His curiosity and the courage to go on doing what interested him saw him rewarded. Seeing his interest in electronic things, I started giving him money to buy parts to make his own digital clock as well as other things. Then, he helped a friend to repair her daughter’s alarm clock.
A few years ago, a television which I had condemned as not repairable as it had been to the repair shop a number of times in just three months, was repaired by him just as I was thinking of how I should dispose of it. In fact a new television had already been bought when he wanted to take it apart to search for the problem. He found the problem but did not have to replace any part. Today, the repaired television is still good! My son is studying mechanical engineering in a university. His action towards this end was encouraged.
As for my elder son, it was pets. When he was about ten years old, he was interested in chickens. We bought a hen for him. The hen laid eggs but he would not allow the eggs to be eaten. We were not even allowed to touch them. “Why were there no chicks?” He was curious to know. We had to explain that chicks can only come from eggs when eggs are fertilised by a cockerel. So, a cockerel had to be bought. Then, there were chicks. Nests were found under a bush, above a window ledge and outside our compound. One white chick from the window ledge flew down one morning and was named White Eagle. His curiosity did not stop there. From chicks, we went on to ducks and geese. Later, there were tortoises, roboskies, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea-pigs and hamsters. Nature’s wonders and places with ponds, rivers, waterfalls and sea-sides became his favourite picnic spots. From his interest, he learned so much. His interest and curiosity took him to magazines and books on nature and animals. Today, he is studying to be a veterinarian.
As you can see, they were encouraged. In their teenage years, they learned and developed the necessary knowledge to indulge and further their interests. They were encouraged to satisfy their curiosity in the field they enjoy. Many friends told me animal doctors do not earn as much as doctors who treat humans. Well, I was delighted to hear my son tell me a happy life is more important than earning more money for I totally agree with him. To me, he has made the right move and that is what is important.
Of course, everybody have such innate qualities and capabilities as a result of their genes having DNA with such qualities. Despite this, such qualities and talents can be subdued by careless parents or people in contact with the children. This is a mistake I made although I knew that parents can suppress their children capabilities.
Firstly, children have an inborn sense of curiosity. Every child wants to know what that strange thing on the table is. Every child would want to touch, feel, see and know about it. Go to a toddler or a baby and show him/her your finger or spectacles. Unless you are a stranger to him/her, the child would want to touch it, hold it or put it into his/her mouth to know whether it could be eaten. Well, you cannot blame them as all they can think of is food, right? Of course, we do not allow the finger or the spectacles to go into the mouth as it can be full of bacteria, but we should not scold or frighten the child in any way. Perhaps we could replace the spectacles with a clean toy which can be held or sucked. We must encourage curiosity.
We must also encourage the desire to learn and to know anything which is not dangerous. If the child wishes to play with the blades of a table fan or electric sockets we must remove the dangerous objects. We do not have to scold. One day, when he/she understands the danger, he/she will not touch them.
Yes, we must encourage our children to learn and to know. Sometimes, it involves having to spend some money and what adults consider wastage. Whatever, it may be, parents have to be patient and understanding. If we understand that it is a necessary part of a learning process, then anger will not arise. In actual fact, we ought to be extremely happy to know that our children are capable of spontaneous learning on their own. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with parents and I myself almost forgot myself because of the amount of money I had to spend for the process to continue.
Well, this is my story. My younger son was very interested in watches when he was about ten years old. I bought him a watch just to discover him opening up every part of the watch to look at the inside. Again, he asked for another watch. The same thing was done to the second watch. After six watches in less than half a year, I became very irritated and told him watches were for telling the time and not to be played with. After that, there was a stop to the removing of the back of watches with a tiny screwdriver.
Fortunately for this father, my son did not stop exploring and learning. Next, he was interested in an electronic toy from Japan. It was expensive. I told him it cost too much money. Then, a few months later, I saw him with a new electronic toy. I asked him about it. He told me he bought it with his own money. Then, he explained that he had bought spoilt electronic toys for a few ringgits each, repaired them and sold them at a good profit. With the profit, he had more than enough money to buy the toy. His curiosity and the courage to go on doing what interested him saw him rewarded. Seeing his interest in electronic things, I started giving him money to buy parts to make his own digital clock as well as other things. Then, he helped a friend to repair her daughter’s alarm clock.
A few years ago, a television which I had condemned as not repairable as it had been to the repair shop a number of times in just three months, was repaired by him just as I was thinking of how I should dispose of it. In fact a new television had already been bought when he wanted to take it apart to search for the problem. He found the problem but did not have to replace any part. Today, the repaired television is still good! My son is studying mechanical engineering in a university. His action towards this end was encouraged.
As for my elder son, it was pets. When he was about ten years old, he was interested in chickens. We bought a hen for him. The hen laid eggs but he would not allow the eggs to be eaten. We were not even allowed to touch them. “Why were there no chicks?” He was curious to know. We had to explain that chicks can only come from eggs when eggs are fertilised by a cockerel. So, a cockerel had to be bought. Then, there were chicks. Nests were found under a bush, above a window ledge and outside our compound. One white chick from the window ledge flew down one morning and was named White Eagle. His curiosity did not stop there. From chicks, we went on to ducks and geese. Later, there were tortoises, roboskies, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea-pigs and hamsters. Nature’s wonders and places with ponds, rivers, waterfalls and sea-sides became his favourite picnic spots. From his interest, he learned so much. His interest and curiosity took him to magazines and books on nature and animals. Today, he is studying to be a veterinarian.
As you can see, they were encouraged. In their teenage years, they learned and developed the necessary knowledge to indulge and further their interests. They were encouraged to satisfy their curiosity in the field they enjoy. Many friends told me animal doctors do not earn as much as doctors who treat humans. Well, I was delighted to hear my son tell me a happy life is more important than earning more money for I totally agree with him. To me, he has made the right move and that is what is important.
Perhaps even more important than a formal education.
What could be even more important than being literate? It is curiosity, the desire to learn and the courage to do the necessary. Look around you and you can see a good number of people who are successful although they missed the opportunity for a good formal education through one reason or another.
Nevertheless,whatever the reason may be, without a formal education, certain knowledge may not be within reach and certain careers are no longer possible but success and happiness in life can still be achieved if the urge to know, the desire to gain information and the courage to put all that knowledge into some tangible benefit. So, success and happiness in life need not necessarily be lost just because a person is not literate. Success and happiness are ours as long as we put in some effort to secure them.
Well, I have practiced whatever I have shared here. Of course, for me, with my fairly good formal education behind me, most things were within my grasp. As a result, besides being a successful teacher, I have at one time or another been a Holiday Magic cosmetic distributor and sales agent (1972) before the product was banned not because of its product which was excellent but for its multi-tiered distribution, an orchid planter, a canary bird breeder, a discus fish breeder, a freelance professional video cameraman, a florist, a state-level gymnastics coach and a masseur. And my strong desire to learn even more has not stopped. As a volunteer with a non-government organization, I discover there is still so much to learn and this is what makes life so interesting. And this year, I have learned how to start a blog so as to share my knowledge with as many people as possible and hope others would put in comments so that even more things can be learned here.
How did I manage to be and do so many things? Well, you can do it. It is not difficult. All that is needed is for you to grab the opportunity to learn whenever such opportunities offer themselves. Sometimes such opportunities come in the form of having to do work for others. Some lose the opportunity when they feel being taken advantage of and benefitting others by doing things for others. Many think there is no advantage in working for others especially when there is no immediate benefit in sight; no financial or material gain. For me life is so wonderful with so much precious knowledge and fun derived from just being allowed to participate in it, in the opportunity of living life to the full.
There was a time when I joined a Shaolin martial arts association. They wanted to film the performances of the lion dancers. The association bought a second-hand video camera recorder. I was approached to help. As usual, it was difficult for me to refuse the opportunity. That was in the 1980s. The camera was not automatic. So, I had to learn how to use it, to zoom in and out and learn the various techniques the previous owner had used. By helping out, I was given so much joy and experience. I not only found knowledge and pleasure. Later, someone asked me to partner him to film weddings and birthday parties. And that was how I became a professional video cameraman at one time of my life. Eventually, I stopped as too many assignments were taking me away from my children who needed my quality time.
Take for example, floristry. When I was asked by a friend to help arrange some flowers, the idea of being a florist did not enter my mind. I saw it as just an opportunity to learn something new and being given the opportunity to try my hand at it. I was amazed to find that I enjoyed the work. So, I read books on floristry. Whenever I could, with the knowledge to back me up, I observed how flowers were arranged for opening ceremonies and other certain occasions. Then, years later, when I planted orchids to take part in competition as well as decorate my compound with orchid flowers, I was approached to do floral arrangement for someone’s birthday. I went shopping for all the necessary equipment and my first sale was made. This was followed by floral arrangements for various occasions. I was so successful I even did arrangements regularly for a bank. I gave all this up when my first child was born in 1986. I did not want the spraying of insecticides for my orchids or flowers carrying insecticides to be around my child. That is a sacrifice my wife and I decided on to ensure the safety of our precious children. And all that started by helping a friend without any thought of any gain whatsoever.
Today, I am still learning by doing whatever needs to be done whenever someone wishes to give me the opportunity to do something. Recently, for the 2009 Art of Living Chinese New Year Celebration, I was told about seven hours before the event that a banner was needed urgently. Although I had never done a cloth banner in just a few hours, I told them I was willing to start on it at noon. Well, it was a non-stop effort for the next seven hours, drawing letters, half a sun and two swans, cutting stencils from whatever paper was available, fixing the stencils to the cloth, (From this point onwards I had the help of two other God-sent friends,) and spraying the letters and pictures with paint. By half past six, the job was completed. Well, tired but happy with a beautiful sense of achievement I could never have the chance to feel had I not agreed to help. I have learned how to make a banner using just a few materials.
Well, what about people who have no knowledge from books to help them? Well, In Penang, Malaysia, we had a the Honda company started by a small bicycle shop man who was willing to grab the opportunity to sell the then unknown Honda brand of motorcycles. He became a well-known millionaire.
There is a restaurant in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia. The owner was a poor hawker who became a rich restaurateur through his own hard work and through seizing the opportunity to improve his status in life.
There are many more who found success despite poverty and sometimes hardly any education. You can read about Jay Sorensen, Thomas Chen and Jewel in the
blog:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/21/pf/saving/dreams_q_ragsriches
Nevertheless,whatever the reason may be, without a formal education, certain knowledge may not be within reach and certain careers are no longer possible but success and happiness in life can still be achieved if the urge to know, the desire to gain information and the courage to put all that knowledge into some tangible benefit. So, success and happiness in life need not necessarily be lost just because a person is not literate. Success and happiness are ours as long as we put in some effort to secure them.
Well, I have practiced whatever I have shared here. Of course, for me, with my fairly good formal education behind me, most things were within my grasp. As a result, besides being a successful teacher, I have at one time or another been a Holiday Magic cosmetic distributor and sales agent (1972) before the product was banned not because of its product which was excellent but for its multi-tiered distribution, an orchid planter, a canary bird breeder, a discus fish breeder, a freelance professional video cameraman, a florist, a state-level gymnastics coach and a masseur. And my strong desire to learn even more has not stopped. As a volunteer with a non-government organization, I discover there is still so much to learn and this is what makes life so interesting. And this year, I have learned how to start a blog so as to share my knowledge with as many people as possible and hope others would put in comments so that even more things can be learned here.
How did I manage to be and do so many things? Well, you can do it. It is not difficult. All that is needed is for you to grab the opportunity to learn whenever such opportunities offer themselves. Sometimes such opportunities come in the form of having to do work for others. Some lose the opportunity when they feel being taken advantage of and benefitting others by doing things for others. Many think there is no advantage in working for others especially when there is no immediate benefit in sight; no financial or material gain. For me life is so wonderful with so much precious knowledge and fun derived from just being allowed to participate in it, in the opportunity of living life to the full.
There was a time when I joined a Shaolin martial arts association. They wanted to film the performances of the lion dancers. The association bought a second-hand video camera recorder. I was approached to help. As usual, it was difficult for me to refuse the opportunity. That was in the 1980s. The camera was not automatic. So, I had to learn how to use it, to zoom in and out and learn the various techniques the previous owner had used. By helping out, I was given so much joy and experience. I not only found knowledge and pleasure. Later, someone asked me to partner him to film weddings and birthday parties. And that was how I became a professional video cameraman at one time of my life. Eventually, I stopped as too many assignments were taking me away from my children who needed my quality time.
Take for example, floristry. When I was asked by a friend to help arrange some flowers, the idea of being a florist did not enter my mind. I saw it as just an opportunity to learn something new and being given the opportunity to try my hand at it. I was amazed to find that I enjoyed the work. So, I read books on floristry. Whenever I could, with the knowledge to back me up, I observed how flowers were arranged for opening ceremonies and other certain occasions. Then, years later, when I planted orchids to take part in competition as well as decorate my compound with orchid flowers, I was approached to do floral arrangement for someone’s birthday. I went shopping for all the necessary equipment and my first sale was made. This was followed by floral arrangements for various occasions. I was so successful I even did arrangements regularly for a bank. I gave all this up when my first child was born in 1986. I did not want the spraying of insecticides for my orchids or flowers carrying insecticides to be around my child. That is a sacrifice my wife and I decided on to ensure the safety of our precious children. And all that started by helping a friend without any thought of any gain whatsoever.
Today, I am still learning by doing whatever needs to be done whenever someone wishes to give me the opportunity to do something. Recently, for the 2009 Art of Living Chinese New Year Celebration, I was told about seven hours before the event that a banner was needed urgently. Although I had never done a cloth banner in just a few hours, I told them I was willing to start on it at noon. Well, it was a non-stop effort for the next seven hours, drawing letters, half a sun and two swans, cutting stencils from whatever paper was available, fixing the stencils to the cloth, (From this point onwards I had the help of two other God-sent friends,) and spraying the letters and pictures with paint. By half past six, the job was completed. Well, tired but happy with a beautiful sense of achievement I could never have the chance to feel had I not agreed to help. I have learned how to make a banner using just a few materials.
Well, what about people who have no knowledge from books to help them? Well, In Penang, Malaysia, we had a the Honda company started by a small bicycle shop man who was willing to grab the opportunity to sell the then unknown Honda brand of motorcycles. He became a well-known millionaire.
There is a restaurant in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia. The owner was a poor hawker who became a rich restaurateur through his own hard work and through seizing the opportunity to improve his status in life.
There are many more who found success despite poverty and sometimes hardly any education. You can read about Jay Sorensen, Thomas Chen and Jewel in the
blog:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/21/pf/saving/dreams_q_ragsriches
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Leaving your child with others.
Today many parents are working and have to leave their children with grandparents, kindergartens, day-care centers, maids or child-minders.
If you have grandparents like my aunt, the grandma whom I have told you about in ‘What if parents are not good at the chosen language‘, then you are indeed very lucky where language learning, cleanliness, good attitude, good behavior, good habits and safety are concerned.
However, grandparents tend to pamper their grandchildren too much. A pampered child may grow up thinking only of his/her own self. He/She may then grow up to be exceedingly demanding, and perhaps throwing tantrums whenever his/her demands are not met. This type of person would not find life easy as certainly most people would not give way to his/her demands to have everything suit his/her liking or wishes. This type of person may find himself or herself with very few, if any, friends. Relatives and family members may not like his/her ways. I do know of one such grandmother and certainly would not want any one of my children to end up with her fate. Do we want our children to fall into such a position? Certainly not but unless we realise such a problem early and ensure this does not occur, it may be too late to change the child by the time he/she has become a problem. This is one of those potholes in life that we must look out for.
Unfortunately, it is really difficult to disallow a grandparent to pamper a beloved grandchild. The best solution in such a situation is to leave the child for as short a time as possible with the grandparent. Be very careful in action as well as words for nobody would be happy to see the doting grandparent hurt.
When it comes to day-care centers and kindergartens, parents can always do a search for the best place to put a child. Is the place good, if not excellent, for language learning? Are the people involved kind and children loving? Ask those people who had sent their children there.
Distance should not be the criteria although I have heard parents tell their neighbours the place chosen is the nearest and most convenient, just on the way to the workplace. If need be, parents should spend a little more time and petrol to ensure the right place for their precious children. Their precious children’s whole future may be at stake!
Be it a maid or a child minder, one who can help to give your child a head start in life is certainly the best choice. Besides language learning, there is the safety aspect. Though you may be very busy in the office you could keep an eye on the maid (It’s not that easy where the child minder is concerned as your child would be at her home.) with an installed camera at various parts of the house. Nowadays, I am told you can monitor the camera from your office some distance away. There are parents I know who have just installed such surveillance cameras in their house. Well, it looks like much can be done if there is enough money at your disposal. Ultimately, how careful you choose the maid or child minder is important. If the maid or child minder loves children, the safety aspect is well taken care of. What other factors do you need to consider? Cleanliness is important. So are attitudes, behavior and habits. There is also the child minder’s children to think of. What kind of children are they? Are they lazy, vulgar, argumentative or rude? We ought to remember that all these people can slowly and gradually influence our children in all aspects.
Other factors such as money and perhaps the location are of no importance as far as giving your child the best head start is concerned.
Well, if both are working parents, you have to plan this carefully so that your child will benefit from your actions.
If you have grandparents like my aunt, the grandma whom I have told you about in ‘What if parents are not good at the chosen language‘, then you are indeed very lucky where language learning, cleanliness, good attitude, good behavior, good habits and safety are concerned.
However, grandparents tend to pamper their grandchildren too much. A pampered child may grow up thinking only of his/her own self. He/She may then grow up to be exceedingly demanding, and perhaps throwing tantrums whenever his/her demands are not met. This type of person would not find life easy as certainly most people would not give way to his/her demands to have everything suit his/her liking or wishes. This type of person may find himself or herself with very few, if any, friends. Relatives and family members may not like his/her ways. I do know of one such grandmother and certainly would not want any one of my children to end up with her fate. Do we want our children to fall into such a position? Certainly not but unless we realise such a problem early and ensure this does not occur, it may be too late to change the child by the time he/she has become a problem. This is one of those potholes in life that we must look out for.
Unfortunately, it is really difficult to disallow a grandparent to pamper a beloved grandchild. The best solution in such a situation is to leave the child for as short a time as possible with the grandparent. Be very careful in action as well as words for nobody would be happy to see the doting grandparent hurt.
When it comes to day-care centers and kindergartens, parents can always do a search for the best place to put a child. Is the place good, if not excellent, for language learning? Are the people involved kind and children loving? Ask those people who had sent their children there.
Distance should not be the criteria although I have heard parents tell their neighbours the place chosen is the nearest and most convenient, just on the way to the workplace. If need be, parents should spend a little more time and petrol to ensure the right place for their precious children. Their precious children’s whole future may be at stake!
Be it a maid or a child minder, one who can help to give your child a head start in life is certainly the best choice. Besides language learning, there is the safety aspect. Though you may be very busy in the office you could keep an eye on the maid (It’s not that easy where the child minder is concerned as your child would be at her home.) with an installed camera at various parts of the house. Nowadays, I am told you can monitor the camera from your office some distance away. There are parents I know who have just installed such surveillance cameras in their house. Well, it looks like much can be done if there is enough money at your disposal. Ultimately, how careful you choose the maid or child minder is important. If the maid or child minder loves children, the safety aspect is well taken care of. What other factors do you need to consider? Cleanliness is important. So are attitudes, behavior and habits. There is also the child minder’s children to think of. What kind of children are they? Are they lazy, vulgar, argumentative or rude? We ought to remember that all these people can slowly and gradually influence our children in all aspects.
Other factors such as money and perhaps the location are of no importance as far as giving your child the best head start is concerned.
Well, if both are working parents, you have to plan this carefully so that your child will benefit from your actions.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Leaving your child with other people.
Today many parents are working and have to leave their children with grandparents, kindergartens, day-care centers, maids or child-minders.
If you have grandparents like my aunt, the grandma whom I have told you about in ‘What if parents are not good at the chosen language‘, then you are indeed very lucky where language learning, cleanliness, good attitude, good behavior, good habits and safety are concerned.
However, grandparents tend to pamper their grandchildren too much. A pampered child may grow up thinking only of his/her own self. He/She may then grow up to be exceedingly demanding, and perhaps throwing tantrums whenever his/her demands are not met. This type of person would not find life easy as certainly most people would not give way to his/her demands to have everything suit his/her liking or wishes. This type of person may find himself or herself with very few, if any, friends. Relatives and family members may not like his/her ways. I do know of one such grandmother and certainly would not want any one of my children to end up with her fate. Do we want our children to fall into such a position? Certainly not but unless we realise such a problem early and ensure this does not occur, it may be too late to change the child by the time he/she has become a problem. This is one of those potholes in life that we must look out for.
Unfortunately, it is really difficult to disallow a grandparent to pamper a beloved grandchild. The best solution in such a situation is to leave the child for as short a time as possible with the grandparent. Be very careful in action as well as words for nobody would be happy to see the doting grandparent hurt.
When it comes to day-care centers and kindergartens, parents can always do a search for the best place to put a child. Is the place good, if not excellent, for language learning? Are the people involved kind and children loving? Ask those people who had sent their children there.
Distance should not be the criteria although I have heard parents tell their neighbours the place chosen is the nearest and most convenient, just on the way to the workplace. If need be, parents should spend a little more time and petrol to ensure the right place for their precious children. Their precious children’s whole future may be at stake!
Be it a maid or a child minder, one who can help to give your child a head start in life is certainly the best choice. Besides language learning, there is the safety aspect. Though you may be very busy in the office you could keep an eye on the maid (It’s not that easy where the child minder is concerned as your child would be at her home.) with an installed camera at various parts of the house. Nowadays, I am told you can monitor the camera from your office some distance away. There are parents I know who have just installed such surveillance cameras in their house. Well, it looks like much can be done if there is enough money at your disposal. Ultimately, how careful you choose the maid or child minder is important. If the maid or child minder loves children, the safety aspect is well taken care of. What other factors do you need to consider? Cleanliness is important. So are attitudes, behavior and habits. There is also the child minder’s children to think of. What kind of children are they? Are they lazy, vulgar, argumentative or rude? We ought to remember that all these people can slowly and gradually influence our children in all aspects.
Other factors such as money and perhaps the location are of no importance as far as giving your child the best head start is concerned.
Well, if both are working parents, you have to plan this carefully so that your child will benefit from your actions.
If you have grandparents like my aunt, the grandma whom I have told you about in ‘What if parents are not good at the chosen language‘, then you are indeed very lucky where language learning, cleanliness, good attitude, good behavior, good habits and safety are concerned.
However, grandparents tend to pamper their grandchildren too much. A pampered child may grow up thinking only of his/her own self. He/She may then grow up to be exceedingly demanding, and perhaps throwing tantrums whenever his/her demands are not met. This type of person would not find life easy as certainly most people would not give way to his/her demands to have everything suit his/her liking or wishes. This type of person may find himself or herself with very few, if any, friends. Relatives and family members may not like his/her ways. I do know of one such grandmother and certainly would not want any one of my children to end up with her fate. Do we want our children to fall into such a position? Certainly not but unless we realise such a problem early and ensure this does not occur, it may be too late to change the child by the time he/she has become a problem. This is one of those potholes in life that we must look out for.
Unfortunately, it is really difficult to disallow a grandparent to pamper a beloved grandchild. The best solution in such a situation is to leave the child for as short a time as possible with the grandparent. Be very careful in action as well as words for nobody would be happy to see the doting grandparent hurt.
When it comes to day-care centers and kindergartens, parents can always do a search for the best place to put a child. Is the place good, if not excellent, for language learning? Are the people involved kind and children loving? Ask those people who had sent their children there.
Distance should not be the criteria although I have heard parents tell their neighbours the place chosen is the nearest and most convenient, just on the way to the workplace. If need be, parents should spend a little more time and petrol to ensure the right place for their precious children. Their precious children’s whole future may be at stake!
Be it a maid or a child minder, one who can help to give your child a head start in life is certainly the best choice. Besides language learning, there is the safety aspect. Though you may be very busy in the office you could keep an eye on the maid (It’s not that easy where the child minder is concerned as your child would be at her home.) with an installed camera at various parts of the house. Nowadays, I am told you can monitor the camera from your office some distance away. There are parents I know who have just installed such surveillance cameras in their house. Well, it looks like much can be done if there is enough money at your disposal. Ultimately, how careful you choose the maid or child minder is important. If the maid or child minder loves children, the safety aspect is well taken care of. What other factors do you need to consider? Cleanliness is important. So are attitudes, behavior and habits. There is also the child minder’s children to think of. What kind of children are they? Are they lazy, vulgar, argumentative or rude? We ought to remember that all these people can slowly and gradually influence our children in all aspects.
Other factors such as money and perhaps the location are of no importance as far as giving your child the best head start is concerned.
Well, if both are working parents, you have to plan this carefully so that your child will benefit from your actions.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Help the teachers to perform well.
You are the most important person in your child's life. Then come the teachers. They play an important role in ensuring the success and happiness of your child. How effective the teachers play their role depends upon two factors.
a) The quality of the teachers.
b) What ideas on respect for others you have taught your children.
When it comes to the quality of the teachers, we have no alternative but to presume them good if not excellent unless proven otherwise. This means we must start with wholesome respect for the teachers and place confidence in them to do their job well. Just check on your children's progress as often as you can.
How effective good teachers are depends on the parents' attitude towards teachers. Through words and deeds a parent can convey the wrong attitude causing the child to have no respect for teachers and authority.
If children are taught a healthy respect for teachers, children will be well prepared to accept the teaching of the teachers. Without an obstacle obstructing the flow of knowledge from the teachers to the children, children are more interested in their lessons and progress will be so much faster.
Unfortunately there are parents who slow down the learning process with doubts about teachers. For example, there are parents who caused their children to become confused with what has been taught with: "Your teacher said! Your teacher said! Forget what your teacher said. I am your parent! Now throw those pieces of chocolate wrappers immediately and don't mess up your hands. By the time you take it to the dustbin, your hands will be dirty. Then you rub your dirty hands onto your trousers and this mummy will have to wash it. Now throw it away! I don't care where you throw it, Just do it. I don't want to have to wash dirtier clothes."
And all that damage done to the child's trust in his/her teacher's advise to throw the chocolate wrappers into a dustbin.
The poor child must be confused.Was the teacher wrong and could it be that which makes mummy so angry? Should I follow her teaching again? Poor child! What is she going to do with the next eleven or more years of learning from teachers?
Parents should not allow this to happen to their children. There are parents who unwittingly teach their children not to listen to their teachers.
Yet, later in life when these children have grown up to be litter-bugs and are fined or punished for littering by the law, their parents would be demanding "What have all these years of schooling taught you? Your teachers are useless! A simple thing like throwing rubbish into the dustbin; you're not capable of doing that! Useless school! Useless teachers!
So, parents should allow teachers to do their job and let children learn the correct things even if it means inconveniencing them a little.
a) The quality of the teachers.
b) What ideas on respect for others you have taught your children.
When it comes to the quality of the teachers, we have no alternative but to presume them good if not excellent unless proven otherwise. This means we must start with wholesome respect for the teachers and place confidence in them to do their job well. Just check on your children's progress as often as you can.
How effective good teachers are depends on the parents' attitude towards teachers. Through words and deeds a parent can convey the wrong attitude causing the child to have no respect for teachers and authority.
If children are taught a healthy respect for teachers, children will be well prepared to accept the teaching of the teachers. Without an obstacle obstructing the flow of knowledge from the teachers to the children, children are more interested in their lessons and progress will be so much faster.
Unfortunately there are parents who slow down the learning process with doubts about teachers. For example, there are parents who caused their children to become confused with what has been taught with: "Your teacher said! Your teacher said! Forget what your teacher said. I am your parent! Now throw those pieces of chocolate wrappers immediately and don't mess up your hands. By the time you take it to the dustbin, your hands will be dirty. Then you rub your dirty hands onto your trousers and this mummy will have to wash it. Now throw it away! I don't care where you throw it, Just do it. I don't want to have to wash dirtier clothes."
And all that damage done to the child's trust in his/her teacher's advise to throw the chocolate wrappers into a dustbin.
The poor child must be confused.Was the teacher wrong and could it be that which makes mummy so angry? Should I follow her teaching again? Poor child! What is she going to do with the next eleven or more years of learning from teachers?
Parents should not allow this to happen to their children. There are parents who unwittingly teach their children not to listen to their teachers.
Yet, later in life when these children have grown up to be litter-bugs and are fined or punished for littering by the law, their parents would be demanding "What have all these years of schooling taught you? Your teachers are useless! A simple thing like throwing rubbish into the dustbin; you're not capable of doing that! Useless school! Useless teachers!
So, parents should allow teachers to do their job and let children learn the correct things even if it means inconveniencing them a little.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
How the right circumstances and the need to communicate helped
I am going to tell you how a child learned English in a year’s stay in a strange place.
When I attended a one-year TESL (Teaching of English as a Secondary Language) in University Malaya, I met a married Chinese couple with their only child, a girl aged three years. They were from Penang Island. The husband was attending the same TESL course while the wife was a housewife. They decided to stay in Kuala Lumpur so that they could be with the man of the family.
They thought of a suitable place to lodge and while doing so, the idea of having their child learn English in this new place. However, they were not thinking of placing her in a kindergarten or a boarding school. They realized that their child forced by circumstances to communicate in another language would be able to take on the challenge and overcome any obstacles in her path, emerging with sufficient language skills to survive in such a situation.
With at least a parent nearby, the child would not feel neglected or lost in facing the problem of having to communicate in another language.
How can such a situation be arranged? They determined to search for an English speaking family with no Chinese Language proficiency. With some effort, they did find an Indian family who speaks mostly English with hardly any Tamil language used.
They managed to rent a room there and stayed for a year. The Chinese girl had to listen to and talk to the Indian couple and their children in English. The girl’s mother gave her child lots of opportunity to play with the Indian children.
Soon, a year was over and the little Chinese girl had mastered sufficient English Language to talk, joke, scold and complain about her friends to their parents during the various situations that arise from time to time.
The right circumstances and the need to communicate are strong motivating forces in language learning.
When I attended a one-year TESL (Teaching of English as a Secondary Language) in University Malaya, I met a married Chinese couple with their only child, a girl aged three years. They were from Penang Island. The husband was attending the same TESL course while the wife was a housewife. They decided to stay in Kuala Lumpur so that they could be with the man of the family.
They thought of a suitable place to lodge and while doing so, the idea of having their child learn English in this new place. However, they were not thinking of placing her in a kindergarten or a boarding school. They realized that their child forced by circumstances to communicate in another language would be able to take on the challenge and overcome any obstacles in her path, emerging with sufficient language skills to survive in such a situation.
With at least a parent nearby, the child would not feel neglected or lost in facing the problem of having to communicate in another language.
How can such a situation be arranged? They determined to search for an English speaking family with no Chinese Language proficiency. With some effort, they did find an Indian family who speaks mostly English with hardly any Tamil language used.
They managed to rent a room there and stayed for a year. The Chinese girl had to listen to and talk to the Indian couple and their children in English. The girl’s mother gave her child lots of opportunity to play with the Indian children.
Soon, a year was over and the little Chinese girl had mastered sufficient English Language to talk, joke, scold and complain about her friends to their parents during the various situations that arise from time to time.
The right circumstances and the need to communicate are strong motivating forces in language learning.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
What if parents are not good at the chosen language?
We ought to choose carefully the language or languages we want our children to be proficient in.
An international language such as the English Language is important as the world has become global, especially in the field of trade and commerce. The mother tongue or the language of the place you are residing in is important too as communication in every sphere of life in the ciuntry is essential. Whatever language it is, it is needed to put our children in the foremost path to success. In most cases high proficiency in a particular language determines the future of our children.
Unfortunately, not every parent is proficient in the necessary language. Well, if the language required is English, most probably that parent will not be able to reach this knowledge. However, since the aim of this blog is to help as many parents as possible, I hope those who understand or know this blog can help others to overcome their problems.
Let me tell you a true story about an aunt who helped her grandson learn English.
The parents of this child were very busy with earning a living and this grandma took on the job of caring for her grandchild.
During those days, we had 'Sesame Street' with words taught in an enjoyable way. There were also VCDs for teaching the alphabets with an alphabet song for the child to sing along with. There are so many teaching programmes on discs. On such programmes are big beautiful pictures with somebody pronouncing the names of the things shown.
This grandma would put the child in front of the television with the video player and allow the child to follow the entertaining programme. However, not every programme is good or entertaining. So, grandma got someone good in English to pick the programmes for her.
What are the criteria of a good programme?
1. Such a programme must be entertaining for young children.
2. It must show some kind of suitable activity.
3. There must be some music or appropraite sounds.
4. It has to be colourful.
5. It is good if there are songs for children to follow or sing along with.
6. The language used has to be correct and suitable to the level of the
targeted audience or children.
7. Are the words sufficiently big and clear for a very young child?
8. The pronunciation must be clear and sufficiently loud.
As the child grew, grandma looked for more suitable programmes with more songs, nursery rhymes and cartoon adventures; everyone of them with big subtitles so that the child can follow them. I visited this aunt and found her grandson improving at a tremendous speed.
For parents who are not proficient in the language, there is the kindergarten where teachers help the children with their language learning while there is an opportunity for children to mix and communicate with their peers.
I have seen the excellent language level of a grandson under the care of a grandma who had hardly any proficiently at all accomplishing her task of preparing her grandchild for life in the literate world, just with the aid of a television, a video player, suitable discs, books and the teachers at a kindergarten.
During and after the kindergarten phase, suitable entertaining storybooks were purchased for the child to enjoy and improve.With such aids, children can move one step nearer to success.
(Perhaps, what has been given is not comprehensive enough. Anyone with other means of tackling this problem is invited to put whatever he/she knows his/her comments so that many can benefit from his/her experience. Thank you.)
An international language such as the English Language is important as the world has become global, especially in the field of trade and commerce. The mother tongue or the language of the place you are residing in is important too as communication in every sphere of life in the ciuntry is essential. Whatever language it is, it is needed to put our children in the foremost path to success. In most cases high proficiency in a particular language determines the future of our children.
Unfortunately, not every parent is proficient in the necessary language. Well, if the language required is English, most probably that parent will not be able to reach this knowledge. However, since the aim of this blog is to help as many parents as possible, I hope those who understand or know this blog can help others to overcome their problems.
Let me tell you a true story about an aunt who helped her grandson learn English.
The parents of this child were very busy with earning a living and this grandma took on the job of caring for her grandchild.
During those days, we had 'Sesame Street' with words taught in an enjoyable way. There were also VCDs for teaching the alphabets with an alphabet song for the child to sing along with. There are so many teaching programmes on discs. On such programmes are big beautiful pictures with somebody pronouncing the names of the things shown.
This grandma would put the child in front of the television with the video player and allow the child to follow the entertaining programme. However, not every programme is good or entertaining. So, grandma got someone good in English to pick the programmes for her.
What are the criteria of a good programme?
1. Such a programme must be entertaining for young children.
2. It must show some kind of suitable activity.
3. There must be some music or appropraite sounds.
4. It has to be colourful.
5. It is good if there are songs for children to follow or sing along with.
6. The language used has to be correct and suitable to the level of the
targeted audience or children.
7. Are the words sufficiently big and clear for a very young child?
8. The pronunciation must be clear and sufficiently loud.
As the child grew, grandma looked for more suitable programmes with more songs, nursery rhymes and cartoon adventures; everyone of them with big subtitles so that the child can follow them. I visited this aunt and found her grandson improving at a tremendous speed.
For parents who are not proficient in the language, there is the kindergarten where teachers help the children with their language learning while there is an opportunity for children to mix and communicate with their peers.
I have seen the excellent language level of a grandson under the care of a grandma who had hardly any proficiently at all accomplishing her task of preparing her grandchild for life in the literate world, just with the aid of a television, a video player, suitable discs, books and the teachers at a kindergarten.
During and after the kindergarten phase, suitable entertaining storybooks were purchased for the child to enjoy and improve.With such aids, children can move one step nearer to success.
(Perhaps, what has been given is not comprehensive enough. Anyone with other means of tackling this problem is invited to put whatever he/she knows his/her comments so that many can benefit from his/her experience. Thank you.)
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The role of television in language learning.
Usually, when we think of modern day distractions for children, what comes to mind are television and the computer.
In almost every household, a television is placed right in the living room where children often sit and watch cartoons and films as well as commercials. Actually, cartoons, films and commercials have their roles to play in teaching children how to use language. Although there is no reading involved, there is a lot of vocabulary to be learned or remembered through their usage.
When my children were very young, I showed them 'The Sound of Music', 'Little Orphan Annie' and other films from discs and video cassettes. They were children's favourites. The films mentioned here are loaded with songs which they enjoyed singing. When children are interested in a film, they can watch those same films again and again.My children were not interested in the adult-type stories usually shown on television. Usually such films are not suitable for children. In the mornings, there are suitable cartoons to help the children learn through entertainment.
What about the attractive commercials with their catchy tunes and beautiful rythmic language? They do teach children some vocabulary and how to use language to attract attention to things.
With oral language skills improved through cartoons, films and advertisement, television cannot actually be termed as a distraction at this early stage of a child's life.
However, there will come a time when there ought to be more reading than watching and listening.When the time arrives, how do you shift their attention to books and other reading materials?
If the parents have introduced them to beautiful pictures and big-sized words in books, the pictures in them will atttact the attention of the children. Thus, suitable attractive materials in books is the first answer.
Next is the pride and ego of a child who knows he/she can read. Together with praise for his ability from the parents, the pride, confidence and ego of the child leads him/her to greater interest in the ability to read even more words.Later on, in kindergarten and the first year of formal education, his ability to read can boost his/her confidence to excel in class. Success breeds success; so with his good performance in class, he yearns to be even better.
Third is the excellent selection of children's stories to entertain and keep his/her eyes glued to the stories in the books.Parents must be careful in the selection of suitable entertaining stories.
Parents must sacrifice by not watching so much television. Remember that parents are always in control of situations. Do not turn on the television without a good reason. Do not distract your child from the wonderful stories in books.
As such the television and the disc player have their roles in furthering the language skills of our precious children.
In almost every household, a television is placed right in the living room where children often sit and watch cartoons and films as well as commercials. Actually, cartoons, films and commercials have their roles to play in teaching children how to use language. Although there is no reading involved, there is a lot of vocabulary to be learned or remembered through their usage.
When my children were very young, I showed them 'The Sound of Music', 'Little Orphan Annie' and other films from discs and video cassettes. They were children's favourites. The films mentioned here are loaded with songs which they enjoyed singing. When children are interested in a film, they can watch those same films again and again.My children were not interested in the adult-type stories usually shown on television. Usually such films are not suitable for children. In the mornings, there are suitable cartoons to help the children learn through entertainment.
What about the attractive commercials with their catchy tunes and beautiful rythmic language? They do teach children some vocabulary and how to use language to attract attention to things.
With oral language skills improved through cartoons, films and advertisement, television cannot actually be termed as a distraction at this early stage of a child's life.
However, there will come a time when there ought to be more reading than watching and listening.When the time arrives, how do you shift their attention to books and other reading materials?
If the parents have introduced them to beautiful pictures and big-sized words in books, the pictures in them will atttact the attention of the children. Thus, suitable attractive materials in books is the first answer.
Next is the pride and ego of a child who knows he/she can read. Together with praise for his ability from the parents, the pride, confidence and ego of the child leads him/her to greater interest in the ability to read even more words.Later on, in kindergarten and the first year of formal education, his ability to read can boost his/her confidence to excel in class. Success breeds success; so with his good performance in class, he yearns to be even better.
Third is the excellent selection of children's stories to entertain and keep his/her eyes glued to the stories in the books.Parents must be careful in the selection of suitable entertaining stories.
Parents must sacrifice by not watching so much television. Remember that parents are always in control of situations. Do not turn on the television without a good reason. Do not distract your child from the wonderful stories in books.
As such the television and the disc player have their roles in furthering the language skills of our precious children.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Let your child be familiar with books.
Words cannot become a part of your child’s vocabulary unless there is usage by your child. If you hear your child using correctly the words you have spoken to him/her, then you can be assured that the words have been understood and learned.
Once your child is able to pronounce the words and speak to you with whatever language you have been teaching him/her, it is time to have your precious child become familiar with one of the most important things in his life, books. Let him/her be familiar with books and the pictures, colours as well as the words in them.
A child imitates in order to learn. You are the child’s role model. Let the child see you enjoy the stories in the books. Read to your child. Let him see your mouth form the words so that he/she can do likewise. Once he/she can read simple words, your child can go on to reading stories. Start with very short, simple stories. Such stories are easily obtainable from books from the local library.
That was how my wife and I taught my children and my nephew how to read English books. We took the children to the library, sat them down on comfortable little chairs, and introduced the pictures in the books available there. Before this, we had already talked to them, my children and my nephew, in English. By the time we took them to the library, they could talk with very simple vocabulary. My elder son could say “Water the plants,” as he walked unsteadily around the plants in our compound with a sprayer in one hand. My nephew, about two years older than my elder son, would laugh at him and tell me about what he saw in English. We would teach them the names of things by saying the words and sentences and they would repeat them. Very soon, we had them read words and very short sentences.
Once my precious children and nephew could read simple sentences, we bought the already well-known Ladybird readers. The ladybird series go from easy most often used words to more difficult once, introducing the words gradually and repeatedly use whatever vocabulary which has been introduced earlier. In this manner, a child effortlessly remembers the words.
With such a reading aid, I noticed that my children and my nephew progressed easily and the desire to read more stories in English was well established after a fairly short time, especially when they realized they could read well. My son told me, that realization itself gave him the incentive to want to read even more. Each night, just before bedtime, my sons and my nephew (whenever my nephew stayed the night at my place which was quite often) would eagerly start reading the next outing or adventure of the two children and their dog.
After being able to complete the ladybird reading series, parents ought to make available books with suitable vocabulary for the children to continue this pleasurable past-time.
From here onwards, all that are required are suitable reading materials, perhaps chosen by the children themselves, with praise of the children's capabilities whenever visitors to the house offer opportunities to do so.
And reading is obviously one of the most important ways to learn, to gain knowledge, to know other civilizations, to understand other humans on this earth and to harvest the benefits of other people’s experiences which may take too many life-times to experience personally.
Thus, I consider the ability to read and understand one of the most important ways to put our precious children on a strong footing for success in life.
Once your child is able to pronounce the words and speak to you with whatever language you have been teaching him/her, it is time to have your precious child become familiar with one of the most important things in his life, books. Let him/her be familiar with books and the pictures, colours as well as the words in them.
A child imitates in order to learn. You are the child’s role model. Let the child see you enjoy the stories in the books. Read to your child. Let him see your mouth form the words so that he/she can do likewise. Once he/she can read simple words, your child can go on to reading stories. Start with very short, simple stories. Such stories are easily obtainable from books from the local library.
That was how my wife and I taught my children and my nephew how to read English books. We took the children to the library, sat them down on comfortable little chairs, and introduced the pictures in the books available there. Before this, we had already talked to them, my children and my nephew, in English. By the time we took them to the library, they could talk with very simple vocabulary. My elder son could say “Water the plants,” as he walked unsteadily around the plants in our compound with a sprayer in one hand. My nephew, about two years older than my elder son, would laugh at him and tell me about what he saw in English. We would teach them the names of things by saying the words and sentences and they would repeat them. Very soon, we had them read words and very short sentences.
Once my precious children and nephew could read simple sentences, we bought the already well-known Ladybird readers. The ladybird series go from easy most often used words to more difficult once, introducing the words gradually and repeatedly use whatever vocabulary which has been introduced earlier. In this manner, a child effortlessly remembers the words.
With such a reading aid, I noticed that my children and my nephew progressed easily and the desire to read more stories in English was well established after a fairly short time, especially when they realized they could read well. My son told me, that realization itself gave him the incentive to want to read even more. Each night, just before bedtime, my sons and my nephew (whenever my nephew stayed the night at my place which was quite often) would eagerly start reading the next outing or adventure of the two children and their dog.
After being able to complete the ladybird reading series, parents ought to make available books with suitable vocabulary for the children to continue this pleasurable past-time.
From here onwards, all that are required are suitable reading materials, perhaps chosen by the children themselves, with praise of the children's capabilities whenever visitors to the house offer opportunities to do so.
And reading is obviously one of the most important ways to learn, to gain knowledge, to know other civilizations, to understand other humans on this earth and to harvest the benefits of other people’s experiences which may take too many life-times to experience personally.
Thus, I consider the ability to read and understand one of the most important ways to put our precious children on a strong footing for success in life.
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