Tag Archives: toddler

Child’s Play and Alphabet

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A child learns best when he’s free to learn in his own pace and in his own ways.

Mr. Two shaped my breast pump tube into this and he said, “Mommy, letter G! G for [his name]!”

Ask me how and where my Mr. Two first learnt about letters. He was almost 1.5 years old then. It was in a hotel in Manila. There was the “EXIT” sign on the lower part of the hallway wall. He traced each letter with his fingers while saying “Mommy?” or “Daddy?” as if he was asking us what it was. After only a couple of “trips” to that “EXIT” sign, he already knew that those four letters were E-X-I-T or T-I-X-E or I-T-X-E (yes, keep on reshuffling…it doesn’t matter).

I treated those “trips” to that sign as purely play but it turned out to be a learning opportunity for him.

As time went by, he would ask us the letters that he could see around. He’s now familiar with alphabet. He would usually name the letters that he’s seen…not always correct but he is most of the time.

Do I ask him to sit down and study or memorise the alphabet? No. Never. Is he a genius? I don’t think so.

How have I made him familiar with the alphabet? I let him be the child who plays and explores. I build up his curiosity. I take him out. We ride on a bus and train and ferry and I let him hold the tickets, which have letters and numbers printed on it. I give him the receipts from cafe or supermarket.

And of course, we sing the alphabet songs.

His fingers and the window with condensation are his pen and paper in the morning.

So in case you get frustrated because your four- or five-year-old child can’t tell you what letter it is that you are pointing at, play with him. Let him play. Let him explore. Go out. Find a stick or twig, use it as your pen and start writing the alphabet on the ground. Go to the beach and write the alphabet on the sand with your fingers or rocks.

Learning can be fun. Let learning happen naturally. Let your child learn how to learn. Let him have fun in learning. Let him play while learning. Let him learn through play. Let him be a child!

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining

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“Somehow, you need to cling to your optimism. Always look for the silver lining. Always look for the best in people. Try to see things through the eyes of a child. See the wonder in the simplest things. Never stop dreaming. Believe anything is possible.”
Richie Sambora

 

I am not always an optimist. I have my dark days too. I get stuck in dark tunnels too. When I cry, I cry hard and I cry for a long time…quietly. I cry when the whole world is asleep…

So that when everybody wakes up the next morning, all they see on my face is a smile… the smile of victory. I smile because deep inside I know I have defeated the pessimist me. I smile because I have begun moving forward again towards the light at the end of the dark tunnel where I got stuck.

It has been over a month now when I felt like something stole the motherhood in me. But recently I have realised that motherhood has never been stolen away from me. Although I have not been able to do almost everything that I used to do as the mother of my children, the mother in me has always loved them so dearly.

They say GBS has no cure. I say these two boys are the cure that any medical experts haven’t discovered yet.

I have realised that I have still sacrificed a lot as their mother. Putting them in a childcare centre has been a huge sacrifice for me. It had never been part of my plans to put them under the care of other people. However, it has been what is best not only for them but also for me and their Daddy. My husband has somehow been able to work for a little more hours for two weeks now (still not full time since he needs to take me to doctor sometimes). And I have been able to focus more on my recovery — therapies and my most needed rest.

My very young boys happily enjoying their freedom to explore the world away from me and their Daddy

Moreover, the best thing that has ever happened these days is how my young boys have seemed to be able to show their resilience and adaptability during this tough time that our family has been facing. I have even received a lot of overwhelmingly high praises about them. Nowadays, the world has seemed to make me realise how blest I’ve been with very beautiful children.

Yes, my children have always been the positive motivating force since they came into my life. I remember I even told my neurologists while I was crying to them for several times: “I wouldn’t mind and I wouldn’t care if I stay like this for the rest of my life if I’m not a mom. I could even die anytime soon. But I am a mother, you have to know what’s really going on because I’m sure once you know it, you’ll be able to tell me what we have to do and I will do every single thing that I will be asked to do.”

So now, I have three or four therapy sessions a week and I have different  sets of exercises that I need to do several times a day. And I don’t mind doing them all because that’s the only way for me to get back to being the kind of mother that I used to be.

Yesterday, I was able to hold my baby upright for several minutes…while sitting, of course. ❤❤❤

These days, I’ve been able to play a little with my boys when they are home. I’ve been able to (partially) change their nappies and clothes sometimes. And yesterday, I was able to hold my baby upright while sitting for several minutes after my husband handed him over to me. It was such a blissful moment!

Indeed, every cloud has a silver lining… even the darkest one. Yes, even the darkest cloud has a silver lining.

My 2.5-Year-Old Son Made Me Cry Tonight

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If you have managed to read my very long first post here, you already know that I have Guillain Barré Syndrome.

GBS has made it hard for me to stand up from low-levelled seats. It has made it hard for me to sit up from lying position. It has made it difficult for me to swallow. It has made it difficult for me to shampoo and comb my hair.

Worst is that it has made me so incapable to lift and carry my two sons. It has made it impossible for me to play with my sons the way I used to.

Yes, GBS has made me feel so USELESS!

Who would want to be in the same situation that I’m in nowadays? Who wouldn’t feel sad? Who wouldn’t feel bad? Who wouldn’t wish to just die?

But each time that I see my very young boys, I can’t help but pray for a miracle. I pray that, in just a blink of my eyes, I am back to my normal self. I pray that, as I take my very next breath, I am strong enough to lift and carry my baby. I pray that, within a millisecond, I can dance, jump and run again with my toddler. I pray that all of these have just been parts of a bad dream and that, as soon as I wake up, I’ll feel that I have never experienced the wrath of GBS.

I know how and how much my sons have been affected by what has happened to me. My 5-month-old baby was crying earlier and my husband had a hard time to make him stop crying. We could hear our baby say “Mom-my! Mom! Mom-my!” Being able to hear my baby call “Mommy” now would have been a song to my ears. But how could it sound like a beautiful song to my ears if he’s saying that while he’s crying yet I couldn’t do anything? It became a torture to my heart!

And my toddler was making different sorts of requests that I could have done and given should I have not been suffering from GBS. This whole experience has stolen motherhood from me!

So tonight as I put my toddler to sleep, I whispered to him, “Sorry, Mommy got sick. I know it’s been hard for you.”

“Don’t worry, Mommy. I love you!”

He said. Then he touched the back of my neck and pulled me towards him and hugged me so tight. All I could say was “thank you” and I started to cry so hard. With that he replied before kissing me on my forehead,

“It’s OK, Mommy. Don’t worry, be happy. Gabrian here. I love you.”

 

I then realised that I must have done something really good in my life.