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Showing posts from April, 2014

7 tips on handling tantrums

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I must read this article. Cayen is usually very sweet but he can also have a fiery temper at times.  Why your child has temper tantrums A temper tantrum is the emotional equivalent of a summer storm – sudden and sometimes fierce. One minute you and your child are in a restaurant enjoying your dinner, the next minute she's whimpering, whining, and then screaming at the top of her lungs because her straw is bent. Children between the ages of 1 and 3 are especially prone to tantrums. Though you may worry that you're raising a tyrant, take heart – at this age, it's unlikely that your child is throwing a fit to be manipulative. More likely, she's having a meltdown in response to frustration. Claire B. Kopp, professor of applied developmental psychology at California's Claremont Graduate University, attributes much of the problem to uneven language skills. "Toddlers are beginning to understand a lot more of the words they hear, yet their ability to produce  language

Baby doesn't like milk

Cayen doesn't like milk . While we try to give him 500ml per day, he ends up having only 300+ml per day. The last we measured his height, it was only 10% precentile though his weight was 50% precentile. Hence, I decided to buy this supplement for him as a backup for days that his intake is only 300ml+. I opened the  Childlife Liquid Calcium  bottle today and was a tat surprised to see that it is a thick creamy looking syrup that is orange flavour. I decided to dilute it a bit before feeding baby, around 1:1 proportion. Good thing is that he loves it! Now at least I need not worry anymore that he is not having enough calcium though my priority would be to have him eat more high calcium natural foods. Btw, if you are first time customer, receive $10 off 1st order of $40 & up, or $5 off on smaller orders, when using code:  HQT301. 

Fatigue and Jealousy

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Today Cayen woke up very grouchy today. I didn't know why because I didn't hear much from him last night .. Maybe I was so tired I slept through. Anyway, by 9+ am, he fell asleep in school for one hour plus. The teacher asked why was he so tired , what did he do last night?  After he woke up, he was quite alright in class till he saw his favourite chinese teacher carry another kid. He was so upset he threw his head backwards and hit the floor.  He apparently cried for a while before resuming activities. Wonder what went through his little head but he must be feeling so jealous ..  Also, if you ask him, 谁是阿爸阿妈的宝贝, he will say 阿 yen (for cayen). Haha. 

Hungry babies = angry babies

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Have you seen a room of crying babies ? If not , try being late with their lunches. Apparently, the food delivery truck broke down. Hence, the children didn't get their food on time. So teachers have to activate their cornflakes Ration in an attempt to calm the hungry/ angry babies down.  As my mum had arrived at 12 plus , she brought Cayen home for lunch since it had not arrived even at 12.30pm. For the first time in a very long time, he wolfed down his lunch. (And got it all over his face) Today, he also tried to read to Grandpa the hungry caterpillar story.  Unfortunately grandpa didn't know what he was trying to say. Haha.  Also, he appears to know right from left (ah hem, Godma, pls note). I will test him to confirm again tomorrow. 

First play - how to catch a star

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Given that Cayen likes stars, (though not as much as the moon and cloud), I thought it's quite opportune to catch the children's play "How to catch a star" that's showing today. While I didn't win the lucky draw for free tickets, I got a 20% discount for participating in their Facebook competition. The play was quite interesting for the kids as these interaction with the actors on stage as the kids will be asked to help "blow" the boat away, or say "where is the star" etc. Cayen stared the whole way (which is much better than a movie where he would start squirming very shortly) and also smiled a few times. I think the play is quite good for those three and above though the younger ones can certainly start to nurture their interest in the arts .. Next, we met family for lucky at Mohammed Sultan for some Cantonese fare. Unfortunately, once again, we managed to pick a restaurant that's now closed. So we had to adjourn to the res

Saturday break

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Cayen would go to the wet market every other day . But now that he is attending school, Saturdays would be the only day he could go. However, for some strange reason, he was quite a terror this morning . He attempted to remove his shoes and went around wrecking havoc. Grandpa, usually the one with the highest patience threshold, also was rather annoyed. The bad behaviour continued when Godma and I brought him to the musuem today. He would insist on roaming on his own (almost like he was liberated) without holding hands or insist on me carrying him only. It was so tiring that we had to adjourn at Food for Thought so that we could take a break. There, he finally quietened down a little. When his plastic spoon dropped, as he was getting impatient again, I just passed me a big metal spoon. It was rather heavy as he needed two hands to hold it properly but he still wanted to use it. Strangely, he preferred that to the plastic spoon as he threw away the replacement plastic

Fifth day of school - kanna complaint

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Today is the 5th day of school, I eagerly awaited news of his day to see if my draw-and-tell has any positive effect. By noon, I heard that he has been complained about by his Chinese teacher . He has demanded her to carry him on and off for quite a few hours - not sitting , must be standing. Hence, her arms were aching like crazy thereafter.  Oops! 

Fourth Day of School

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Today is the 1st day where we will not be hanging around in school so it's the real test of how Cayen will fare. Unfortunately, at 10am + after his morning fruits, he started to cry and looked for familiar faces again. Teacher has to carry him for around 2 hours till 12 noon till Grandma and Ah Pa picked him up. When they asked him why he cried, he said 'Mama", and when they paraphrased the question 'you cry because you are looking for ..?" , he was firm and insisted "Mama!". When I heard this, I didn't know to be happy or sad. So at night when I returned, I did a draw-and-tell with him : - At 7 o'clock, Cayen wakes up. - At 8 o'clock, Cayen goes to school and eat breakfast - At 10 o'clock, Cayen eats fruits like nana, apple, pear. - At 12 o'clock, Cayen eats rice, it's hot so Cayen blows. And Grandma and Papa come and take Cayen home. - At 7 o'clock, Mama comes home and read storybook with Cayen.  After we re

Third Day of School - to the zoo

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It was the third day of school and it was his first field trip .. to the zoo! Unfortunately, Papa was sick so Grandma had to stand in last minute. Two classes of students went, the playgroup and the nursery one group. First part of the trip was in an interactive classroom when a zoo personnel talked about rearing pets at home and how to take care of a guinea pig and a rabbit and how we shouldn't keep a hedgehog at home. I didn't hear much of the talk as Cayen was squirming non stop. He really kicked up a fuss when he saw the rabbit as he wanted to touch it (but we couldn't until the short talk is over). Then, without hesitation or fear, he reached out to touch the hedgehog (but I didn't think he liked the sensation very much) and subsequently the rabbit. I wondered very much how much the playgroup kids are understanding the whole lesson but I guess an outing beats the routine classroom training anytime.   Next, we spent the next 90 minutes or so walking around the