I got back to work part-time when she turned 18 months and entrust her in a childcare centre. For the first 2 months, it pained me whenever I dropped her in the childcare centre every morning as she would start crying. The initial phase was hard as she has to adapt to the new environment and also fell sick very often. My colleagues who had gone through the same phase would console me that it was alright and that she would get used to it soon.
After work, I would rush home. Fixed dinner, fetched her and gave full attention to her. I try to make full use of the moments I have with Joyce and make her special. I’ll ask her if she is happy today and what are the fun things that have happened in the childcare centre? She would usually open up and I’d learned about her day, her thoughts and feelings and impart moral values of sharing, kindness, forgive and forget, etc if there is any opportunity. I try to reach out to her daily as we go about our everyday chores. I’ll engage her help in putting the pegs on the laundry when I’m hanging them. If she wants to show me her artwork she had done, I’ll take a good look and praise her good work or give constructive feedback for improvement. With kids, we need to grab these moments. Otherwise, she might not even bother to show us stuff from school next time if I appear to be too distracted to care. We’ll read, play, practice music, do art and craft work, etc together.
We remember moments, not lifetimes. Even the busiest working parents can give the gift of memories to their children that will last a lifetime. Toys get lost and broken but memories last a lifetime. My dad, a taxi driver, was always busy working to support the nine of us. Hence, I cherished and can still remember those family fun times in my childhood when my dad would take the whole family out to the zoo, Haw Par Villa, Chinese Garden, etc during Chinese New Year. We would all pile into his yellow-top taxi. The younger would sit on the elders’ lap and we had a great day together.
Likewise, I always wanted to give Joyce some memories of things that we did as a family that were out of the ordinary daily routine. We would get out every Saturday morning with my parents and youngest sister to Sembawang Park, Botanical Garden, MacRitchie Reservoir, East Coast Park (very often), Labrador Park or shopping centre on rainy days. We would stroll, kick ball, play discus, card game & fly kite. It also imparts the moral value of filial piety to Joyce when suddenly one day, she said to me that she will take care of me and also bring me out when I am old. These thoughts really warmed my heart.
After work, I would rush home. Fixed dinner, fetched her and gave full attention to her. I try to make full use of the moments I have with Joyce and make her special. I’ll ask her if she is happy today and what are the fun things that have happened in the childcare centre? She would usually open up and I’d learned about her day, her thoughts and feelings and impart moral values of sharing, kindness, forgive and forget, etc if there is any opportunity. I try to reach out to her daily as we go about our everyday chores. I’ll engage her help in putting the pegs on the laundry when I’m hanging them. If she wants to show me her artwork she had done, I’ll take a good look and praise her good work or give constructive feedback for improvement. With kids, we need to grab these moments. Otherwise, she might not even bother to show us stuff from school next time if I appear to be too distracted to care. We’ll read, play, practice music, do art and craft work, etc together.
We remember moments, not lifetimes. Even the busiest working parents can give the gift of memories to their children that will last a lifetime. Toys get lost and broken but memories last a lifetime. My dad, a taxi driver, was always busy working to support the nine of us. Hence, I cherished and can still remember those family fun times in my childhood when my dad would take the whole family out to the zoo, Haw Par Villa, Chinese Garden, etc during Chinese New Year. We would all pile into his yellow-top taxi. The younger would sit on the elders’ lap and we had a great day together.
Likewise, I always wanted to give Joyce some memories of things that we did as a family that were out of the ordinary daily routine. We would get out every Saturday morning with my parents and youngest sister to Sembawang Park, Botanical Garden, MacRitchie Reservoir, East Coast Park (very often), Labrador Park or shopping centre on rainy days. We would stroll, kick ball, play discus, card game & fly kite. It also imparts the moral value of filial piety to Joyce when suddenly one day, she said to me that she will take care of me and also bring me out when I am old. These thoughts really warmed my heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment