I Wrote a Parenting Book – Brainchild!

The first ever career aspiration I can remember having was to be a writer. I have been writing from as far back as the days of the Apple IIe when my work was saved on 5 1/4 inch floppy disks. It was a child’s dream and I honestly never believed I would ever see the day when my first book would be published. I always thought I wasn’t good enough although it didn’t stop me from writing because I love writing. I would still do it even if nobody read a word of it but I won’t deny that it’s a nice feeling when someone enjoys the stuff you write.

It has only taken me some 30 years but I am finally here. My first book is going into publication after 11 years of writing on the Internet. I guess it’s true what they say: it’s never too late.

Admittedly, I always thought that I would write fiction. It wasn’t until the arrival of my first son that a deep-seated interest in child development awoke within me and continued to grow as my children have grown.

Although I have been learning and writing about child development for the past 9 years (longer by far than any other career I have ever had), I confess that I still do not feel qualified to lend my name to a book about child development. Then I remembered the lesson I learned when I first became a parent – many of us never really feel ready to be a parent. Even when we are parents, we inevitably question what we’re doing and if we’re doing it right. Nevertheless, we continue to bumble along until one day our children are grown and we realise that we’ve done it.

If I wait until I felt ready to be an author, the chances are that I may never write a book. So here I am with a message to other parents:

To be a parent is not to be perfect but to aspire to be the best that we can be and to always be open to learning. I do not write this book from an ivory tower, sitting on a high horse, waiting to judge any parent who chooses a different path. I know that there is often no right way, only a preferred way.

While I believe that everything I have written in my book is for the betterment of our children, I won’t pretend that this is the household I achieve with my children because it isn’t – although it is not from a lack of trying. You may agree with me or you may not but I do sincerely hope that there will be something you can take away from my book.

And now I’ve arrived at the part where it is time to let the world know about my book and I do so with no small amount of trepidation.

In the Bookstores

When will it be available? Some time in June, my book will be appearing in the bookstores – most notably MPH since they published it. I don’t have an official book cover I can share just yet, but here’s a snapshot of the title page:

About Brainchild

Our children begin life with promise and potential. With the wide array of programmes, classes, curriculum and systems that promise to unlock the brilliance in our children, where do we begin? Simple, your child’s chance in brilliance begins with YOU and a few basic necessities.

Dr. Shen-Li Lee, founder of figur8.net has been scouring educational and development resources since the birth of her first child in 2007. In this time, she has discovered that providing the best in the fundamental basics to survival is key to unlocking excellence in your child.

Brain Child explores the importance of providing optimum fundamental necessities such as sleep, rest, nutrition, touch and security to your children so that they can focus on being the best that they can be.

Backed by case studies and various research findings, Brain Child provides you straight-forward insights on how to get the best results from your child in anything that they commit to do. YOU are the key to unlocking their excellence.

About the Author

Yes, that’s me…

Dr. Shen-Li Lee is best known for her parenting website, Figur8 – Nurture for the future. Formally trained in dentistry, Dr. Lee found her calling upon the birth of her first child in 2007 when she quickly discovered the challenge in seeking consolidated resources for raising a ‘whole child’ in Malaysia. Garnering more than 20,000 views every month, Figur8 is a chronicle of Dr. Lee’s experience in raising a child who is self-motivated to excellence by nurturing their heart, mind and body.

Brainchild Book Events

I had a soft introduction to my book recently at my boys’ school when I conducted a talk on “Raising Successful Children in the 21st Century” (click on the link to see that topics discussed).

Thanks to some very supportive parents – you know who you are – I was blown away with a full house! I confess that speaking in front of a group of people has always terrified me but it is certainly better than speaking to no one so I am extremely grateful to all the people who made this talk possible.

The next event will be the book launch which will be taking place early June – date to be confirmed. Stay tuned!