Mothering Corner

It’s a Chinese custom to give out angpao money to young children, or elderly during Chinese New Year. My kids love the angpaos, especially since there is money in it! Normally, I will take out the money and let the kids keep the red packets for fun. I’ll get hubby to bank in the money back home, in my boy’s account, when he’s going back this weekend. We let the kids share one account so far, and haven’t got one for my gal. I know it sounds unfair, but we will get this done in the future. If I manage to get a work permit here, after taking over hubby’s company, I will try to get an account for her in Bangkok. So far, I can’t get my own account here either.

I guess we will bank in the equal amount of money into her account, just like her brother’s. By doing so every year, the kids might have quite a lot of money by the time they are 18 years old. Then, they can decide on what they want to do with the money. Hopefully, my boy won’t spend all on Ferrari parts and my gal won’t spend all on design brands.

My kids are picky with veggies, especially my gal. She only likes broccoli, carrot, and spinach, so if I cook other veggies, she will give me tonnes of excuses not to take them. I’ve tried these tips suggested, but they don’t always work. LOL!

So, these days, I will just tell her that, if you want to have pretty skin as nice as Snow White, you better take your veggies. If not, you might have to figure out how to treat acne if you have an outbreak next time because your daddy has problematic skin and you might inherit that from him.

I stumbled upon this article when I was searching for family life insurance lead online. Since there are some mothers who are interested in packing bentos for their toddlers (or even if you don’t pack any), please check out this article on forbidden baby and toddler food from Parents.com.

Infants and young children have trouble chewing completely, so certain foods pose a choking hazard until they reach age 4. Check out our list of foods to avoid giving babies and toddlers — plus tips for worry-free, healthy eating.

 

Skip: Large Chunks of Meat, Cheese, or Fruit

Smart Solution: With a little more preparation time, meat, cheese, or fruit can be fine for children to munch on. Cut meat into pieces no larger than the length of your fingertips. Cheese can be sliced into the same size or shredded. For fruit, serve well-cooked apple or chunks of very ripe pear.

 

Stay Away From: Whole Grapes

Smart Solution: Babies can eat thinly sliced grapes (not just cut in half). Or take an extra precaution and puree fruits before mealtime.

 

Watch Out For: Hard, Gooey, or Sticky Candy

Smart Solution: Candy is too small and slippery for your little one, but KidsHealth.org recommends trying French toast without the egg white as a healthier sweet snack.

 

Pass Up: Globs of Peanut Butter

Smart Solution: Sticky peanut butter is especially dangerous for children younger than 2. The Mayo Clinic’s tip for satisfying a toddler’s sweet tooth is to give your child fat-free pudding instead.

 

Cut Out: Popcorn

Smart Solution: For a dry food that isn’t as tough for babies and toddlers to chew, KidsHealth.org suggests a 1/2 cup of low-sugar breakfast cereal as an easy alternative.

 

Steer Clear Of: Raw Vegetables

Smart Solution: While babies are learning to chew or gum their food, skip crunchy raw vegetables and give them soft-cooked peas, beans, and carrots.

Forgo: Whole Hot Dogs

Smart Solution: The University of Michigan Health System suggests buying safer nitrite- and nitrate-free hot dogs and cutting them into noodle-like strips.
Copyright © 2008 Meredith Corporation.

All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.

 I still remembered those days when I had to peel off the skin of the grapes and cut them into tiny pieces, so that my toddlers could eat well. The carrots sticks must be blanched to soften them before serving. Not to mention, I went out with a pair of small scissors in my handbag which I used to cut the food, especially veggies and noodles. Gosh… LOL!

BTW, like most mothers, I do have concern about wieners, ham and other processed food. But if possible, get safer nitrite- and nitrate-free hot dogs (if you can find) like suggested above. For me, I try to get from “reputable” food manufacturing company which strict compliance rules, and control the serving portion.

I think it’s best to prepare the cheese at night lately. It’s getting hotter now, and the sun rises as early as 6am. I feel that I’m rushing to put the cheese in place before it melts. LOL!

I always have some spare time after dinner as hubby is the one who’s in charged of washing the dishes. So, when I took out my bento tools last night, my kids wanted to join in the fun. Frankly, I didn’t have anything in mind last night, so I decided to fix anything they like for today’s bento. My gal is eager to see my parents, who are coming soon to take care of them, so I prepared the faces with cheese for her. As for my boy, he wanted lions.

After I had done with my part, my kids took over the leftover and had fun with the cutters.

My gal was paying full attention with her “work”. She’s using a mini star cutter from the alphabet set, and the pin to push out the cheese.

My boy handles cutters much better now, so he wanted to practice with the tweezers.

I wonder if there are smaller tweezers for kids?

Some of their work went to today’s bentos, but most of them were eaten. LOL! That’s the thing about having my kids around the table when I’m preparing the bentos, most of the food don’t have a chance to get into the lunch boxes but into their mouths.

So, I only had to steam the corn and sweet potato, and cut the fruits this morning. Most of the details were cut last night, and I just had to punch some nori. Here’s the end result:

Gong gong (the one with glasses) and po po are coming! Yippie! My gal has been waiting for her Ribena sweets for months, and my parents promised to get some for her. Funnily, I can’t find Ribena here in Bangkok. She will have corn, watermelon, strawberries and grapes when she’s back from school.

Oh ya, my kids are going through a “carrot-and-broccoli-eating” game, which they will be rewarded with stars if they finish their veggie. So, I packed some for my kids today. This reward system seems to be working for my gal. Upon having 20 stars, she can get a small gift.

My boy’s bento with a lion and a cub. He will have the same bento meal as his sister, but with some extra sweet potato.

Those tiny little stars and hearts were cut by them. Both of them seemed very satisfied with today’s bento, maybe they feel a sense of achievement huh?

I found that bathing babies are easier than bathing toddlers or older children. When my kids were young, I bathed them in a baby tub and they would not climb out of it. It’s so easy to keep them occupied as long as I placed some rubber toys in their tubs.

But once my kids are older and mobile, they refused to bath in the baby tubs which are too small for them. They keep moving around in the shower area, playing with their bathing toys and I always have a heart attack when they slip and fall! I have to resolve to using anti slip mats in the bathroom, but sometimes, accident still happens.

I don’t have a bathtub in my home in Bangkok, if not it might be easier to bath my kids as long as we keep them in it. If we are getting a house, I hope that we can have at least one bath tub at home. It’s not only for bathing my kids, but I would love to have a nice warm bath too.

I found a few nice designs by Better Bathrooms, and if you are interested to get some Bathroom Furniture, check out the link provided. There is a special offer of discounted bathroom furniture, including basin units and toilets, so don’t miss them out.

I wonder if I can find someone to install a bathtub for me? But my bathroom is too small for one!

My new additions from Chooi Peng. I really have to thank her for reselling the smiley punchers for me and send my stuffs ASAP due to my short stay in Penang.

So, I quickly made good use of the Hello Kitty rice mould sets for lunch, and what do you know, my mom is out of nori!!! My kids finished all the nori last night. Gosh… all 3 packs of nori gone. LOL! So, it’s a bit ugly without the eyes and details. I tried to use the cutters on black fungus, but it won’t work. Thus, I just leave the rice as it was.

No eyes for Hello Kitty and Melody. How ugly. LOL! In each kiddy plate, there were some broccolis, cauliflowers, pumpkins, some fried fish (hidden) and half an egg. I gave them some gravy too, when they were eating.

I like to see how my kids eat, especially for the first 5 minutes. They really enjoy eating on their own and munching on the food.

Makan makan…

But after awhile, my gal ran away and I had to feed her the rest. If I do so, my boy might ask me to feed him as well. I try not to feed them in Bangkok as my hands are pretty tied up with things at home. But over here, I just spoil them la…

As excepted, my gal can’t finish her portion. She ate half a big banana, given by my mom before lunch. Their grandparents will just give them anything they want, even if I object that it’s too near meal time…*slap head*

Leftovers…My boy didn’t leave much, but my gal still have a few mouths to go.

My mom is so good, she said she will finish the leftovers. Aiyo, I try not to do so to avoid overeating. My “food disposal” aka hubby will finish the food most of the time. LOL!

 It’s the last day of my children’s holiday camp and they won’t be back to school until 2 weeks later. They will be late for the new term, but I guess they can still pick up when we are back from Malaysia. My kids skip school a lot since we moved here, but they are still young, so we are less worry about how much they have missed. Furthermore, most schools here apply a relaxing and fun play approaches when it comes to teaching children, so most children will be able to learn at their own pace, instead of lots of writing homework, like my boy’s previous kindergarten.

Both of my kids enjoy school, and my boy even asked me to pick him up late so that they can play with their friends in the indoor playroom, outdoor playground or sandpit. The kids are always so sweaty and dirty, and happy when we pick them up. There were a few times when I saw them happily cycling with their friends as the school provides lots of tricycles for the children. They even played football or catching with Baseball Gloves with the teachers, who take care the children while waiting for the parents to pick them up. The teachers don’t mind if the parents pick up late out of emergency, and if you call them in advance. They can easily make arrangement to take care of the children for a little longer.

I think my kids will continue studying at this school for another year. Then, they will transfer to international school. Hopefully, it’s not going to be hard for my children to start over again at a new school.

My kids will be going to international school in 2 years, and the school fee is worrying me. For a 6 years old, you can expect to pay RM50k and above for a year school fee, excluding extra classes, admin fee, and other expenses. That’s how expensive education is in Bangkok! It gets more and more expensive until the kid graduates from high school.

That’s why homeschooling comes across my mind, but hubby doesn’t agree on that. He prefers to kids to go to school like most children so that they don’t miss out their school life. I know that kids can still have friends if they don’t go to school, but then I feel that that’s a difference.

It’s like we are paying for my kids’ college fees in oversea at least 15 years earlier, and we need to have a solid financial base for that. I guess getting an online university degree won’t cost as much as paying for elementary at international schools in Bangkok huh?

That’s why I dare not think of having a nice holiday or buying anything expensive. Our kids’ school fees is our main priority now.

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Sometimes, I prefer the kids to spend Saturdays at home. That’s the only day they can stay at home doing whatever they want. But hubby likes the kids to follow along so that we can go some place together if we leave early. I feel that our home is just a hostel or hotel because we hardly spend time at home!

My kids are at the kiddie room in our office now, enjoying their bentos (which will be posted later) and watching Tom and Jelly. But still, I think they will have more fun at home with all their toys and books. Maybe we should really bring them to the park or indoor playground later for some fun. So boring going to coming to work with us…

If they go to indoor playground, mommy can go shopping for a while. LOL! Let’s see if I can find anything nice than Beautifeel shoes…

Mornings can be rather stressful when I have to put breakfast on the table, get the kids ready for school and prepare their school bags. Hubby helps a lot but not with my gal. My gal has always been a mommy’s girl since she was a baby. She is going through a learning state when she wants to do everything by herself. Even if she can’t button her uniform, she still insists on trying so.

At first, we were struggling with her to help her out so that we won’t be late to school, but now, I let her have her own way. She is given time to help herself with bathing and dressing, while the rest of us get ourselves ready and take breakfast without her. LOL! When she finally asks for help, then only I will attend to her. It’s much easier for everyone and we don’t end up with a grumpy kid early in the morning.

She’s going through self-caring now, and frankly, I’m happy with her achievement. Of course, there are times when she’s driving me up the wall, but I keep telling myself that kids go through this state. If she wants the pens, just give them to her instead of taking them away. If she wants to try her way out, let her be. As long as she’s not hurting herself, she will have the space and time to try things out.

Dealing with defiance can be tricky and we need to be more patience. If you are interested to know more about self-caring and defiance, check out the articles at Baby Center. I think they are quite useful.