Being Obedient vs Doing the Right Thing

As a parent, I want to raise children who will do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because they seek approval or that they fear the punishment or consequence. Having been brought up in an Asian culture, I fear that we place far too much emphasis on obedience. When children do

Some of the Best Lessons are the Hardest to Learn

G1 had sports day recently. It was… um, not too good. He was extremely disappointed about coming last – in every activity. Coming last wasn’t the bad thing. It was his poor sportsmanship that was appalling. It would have been a terrific learning opportunity for G1 – if only he could see it for what it was. The

Books: Character Development – Beyond Academic Achievement

The education of children should not only be about filling their heads with knowledge. It should also be to teach them how to live. If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there is order

Teaching Happiness: The Gratitude Project

A friend on facebook tagged me recently to participate in “the gratitude project”. It seems to be among the latest meme craze on facebook. Everyone’s posting about stuff they’re grateful for. Obviously, there are people who think it’s a great idea – they’re doing it after all! But there are others who are cynical about it. I

I Throw Like a Girl Because I am a Girl – You Got a Problem with That?

I wanted to share this because I have three lovely god-daughters whom I hope will never feel that doing anything “like a girl” should be something they ought to be ashamed of. “You throw like a girl!” What does it mean to you when you hear that? “Always” posed this question to several people and asked

Books: Give Me a Hug

I stumbled on this book while I was at the bookstore and thought it was just the perfect book for G1 who’s always been a bit of a “glass half-empty” boy. Give Me a Hug: 8 Life Lessons from Nick your kids cannot miss It tells the story of Nick Vujicic – an international motivational speaker who was born

Lessons for Kids: Be Careful with What You Say and Do

Children often need something visual to help them identify with the abstract lessons we teach them. I loved this idea so much, I’m borrowing it to recreate with my boys…   It reminds me of the story of the bag of nails… There once was a young boy with a very bad temper. The boy’s father wanted

It’s Time to Start Taking Responsibility and Be Accountable

The Missing Bags G1 lost his swimming bag at school last week. He had an after-school activity and he said he must have left it at the playground. All it had in it were his wet swim clothes, googles, swim cap, towel, comb, sunscreen, and flip flops. I couldn’t imagine that anyone would want a

Character Development: What are We Subconsciously Teaching Our Children Through Movies?

What is the Bechdel Test? There is something I learned about recently called “The Bechdel Test”. Alright, we’re late on the bandwagon since this rule has been around since 1985 when it was first introduced by Alison Bechdel in her comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For“. The rule is basically about the unequal representation of

Parenting: Adversity Breeds Success

I love movies about sports. They’re always really uplifting and there is so much to be learned from the experiences of the players. These are the kind of movies that provide plenty of talking points you can raise with your children… We watched another movie about baseball recently – MoneyBall. It is the story of Billy