Some Baby Photos of Jason

Hi,

I found these photos when clearing my drawer and found them in my old filofax, which has been replaced by gadgets like PDA and calendering in mobile phones or MS-Outlook.

And this is a photo of Jason playing in my brother's home in Melbourne, Australia.

BTW, I bought myself a scanner to convert my film images into digital images but have yet to use it. I used to take one whole roll of 36 exposures of Jason over a weekend....! Rather than scanned the printed photos, I want to scan the original film negatives instead.

Merry Christmas again!

David

Christmas - Best Time of The Year

Hi,

Why it is the best time of the year?

Jason will be asking for his presents, of course.

Or rather, he will be asking for things that he wants throughout the year and we will buy them as Birthday or Christmas presents in advance! But then of course, we will still buy him a surprise present for the actual day itself too!

If I follow this rule strictly, I think we have bought him presents for many years in advance already! Ha..ha....

Now as parents, it is difficult to say 'No' at times especially if you can well afford it.

Even if parents cannot afford it, I think we are likely to save on our expenses and save enough to get them what they want, most of the time.

I would say that we spoilt Jason more when he was much younger, say 10 years old and below, compare to his teenage days. I suppose the reason being that we can reason with him and get him to make decisions or choices even if we can afford all the items he wants.

As I mentioned in my earlier posting, I told him that he can have either the ME-20 for his electric guitar or the Wii Console for this Christmas. He decided on the ME-20 and we bought it in November so that he can enjoy it during the school holidays and wrapped up the box and it is placed under the Xmas tree now.

(BTW, the Wii consle is more expensive but I think he will benefit more from the ME-20. So he made a wise decision, with a bit of influence from me...?)

To be fair to Jason, he started to buy us something though he may not very well know what we want and he also has a very tight budget ( his only savings are from his Chinese New Year red packets ) as I just give him enough pocket money for his daily use.

This year, he bought me a musical CD and a hair pin for his Mum. He actually asked us for a list of 5 items that we would like to have. Mum said that she wants nothing so I bought the present on behalf of Jason instead when Mum & I were shopping in KL recently.

At the end of the day, it is his thoughts that count. We normally tell him that we wants hugs and kisses for our presents.... this worked well when he was below 10 years old and he gave it freely , of course!

2 years ago, he bought me a pair of sandal costing $70.....! It was for my birthday and he decided on the spot and paid me when we reached home. So I proud of him.....!

Well, we will not help him next year and see what he will come up with.....?

We will open our presents this Christmas Eve evening and there will be a few surprises for him.

As parents, we are happy to see them surprised and happy with what they got.

So let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2009.......!

David

Gaming Consoles like PS2, Xbox, PSP

Hi,

I wanted to buy Jason a PS2 as it seems like the standard gaming console that most kids have then and I was also curious about this gadget too, being an IT man and also started gaming on the PC.....!

But Mum would not have any of it for fear that it may get out of hand for Jason. We have heard of parents having to lock up the console and only let their children play on weekends only. So when the weekend comes, the children refuse to go out with the parents as it is playtime with the gaming console...ha..ha..ha...!

But one day we met my wife's uncle who just returned from his posting to Hong Kong and China, and he told us that he has been playing such gaming console as it was family entertainment and it was the thing that kept him sane after work in a foreign land...... He was a bachelor then though but he still play them with his children now.

After some convincing and influence from this uncle, we bought Jason a PS2 console but we told him that we do not want to have to lock it up but regulate the playing time instead.

( In fact, we bought it one year later as we decided to donate the money to a girl who was dying from her illness and she wanted to buy a notebook or PC to use before her days were up. Her case was reported in the papers and we were proud that Jason was agreeable to it. I think Jason was only 5 or 6 years old then. )

Initially, my wife insisted that he completed his homework before playing it but it caused more problems as Jason could not focus on his work and thinking of the PS2. I decided to switch strategy and let him play 1 hour first and then start his homework.

We never have serious problem managing him playing on the PS2. He grew out of it eventually. We also got him an Xbox one Christmas but it was my idea though. Both these consoles have been sold to our Philipino housekeeper now and kept.

Jason has moved on to PSP and I was the one who suggested to have one! Now, his Mum is also playing a game most evening.

I was curious about PSP as I read about adults and celebrities having one. I was looking for an external storage for my digital photos when we travelled. It did not meet my expectations so I never used it until yesterday when I decided to watch a movie that he asked me to convert for him for his recent trip to Ipoh. I was watching it on the MRT and I found that the quality was good and it helped to 'kill' time.

>PSP is a fantastic gadget...!

This Christmas, Jason wanted a Wii console to play 'Guitar Hero' and I also thought it was a good idea as the family can play tennis, golf and Wii Fitness together at home. But when I worked out the cost of it and then he also wanted a ME-20 for his electric guitar, he has to choose either one and not both as they are really expensive. Well, he chose the ME-20 and I also think it is a better choice too as he should benefit more from it than Wii console.

So at the end of the day, I think we cannot avoid these gaming consoles but must learn how to manage it and use it for the family entertainment purposes rather than let your children yearn for it and lost control over it.

I have attended a Parenting Talk and I was shocked that there are parents who banned their children from watching TV and no PC and gaming in total. They shared that when the children went to school and got exposed to other kids, her children were amazed or thrilled to learn of Power Rangers, PS2, etc and started to yearn for them since they are not available at home. Their children also seems 'strange' to their classmates.

Now do not get me wrong as I think parents have to decide what is best for their family and I do not blame them for their actions. A family counsellor was also in support of such actions and that to keep the children away from such undesired elements as long as possible. And they based it on studies done in US.

In my opinion, I think we need to move on with the changes in the world and we, as parents, should exposed such changes to our children and guide them in today's world and not run away from them. We cannot hide them from the world outside there but to help prepare them for the challenges ahead of them.

Just my opinion only.

Happy parenting..... and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2009

David

Early Exposure To PC Gaming

Hi,

There was some news on gaming addiction in the papers so here is my experiences with Jason.

Be prepared to be shocked....!

As I am in the IT profession, I have a PC at home for work.

I was keen to introduce Jason to educational software and I bought a few especially those on learning Mandarin.

During one visit to Challenger at Funan IT Mall, Jason was watching some kids playing the game, The Age of Empire. He was interested and got me keen on it too. BTW, I was not into any gaming at all then.

So I bought it and then we tried to play it. I was no good at it and Jason was still not schooling yet so he cannot read the instructions on the screen. Jason cried when our soldiers got killed! I was up to my wits as it was my first time on gaming. I actually went to the Internet to buy an instruction manual to learn how to play, for USD5 I think. Downloaded it and read it in one go but it did not help much other than giving me the bakground to the game but did not teach me how to fight and not die!

Somehow, we managed to overome the problem and it motivated him to learn to read English else cannot follow the instructions on the screen,

Importantly, I made him rest after every hour and since he did not know how to switch on the PC then, we only played in the evening.

He never really spent much time on all the educational software so I gave up on it and father and son got into playing more games. Mum also got into a few of his games and played with him, one of them is Road Runner I think. It is a game where you are riding on a motorbike and using weapons to beat your opponents who are along on their bikes too....! Ha...ha..... Shocked?

I would have to played with him and showed him how to go about it as he was only 4 years old then! I know many of you may not approve of it ...!

I think the important thing is to be involved and educate your kid what is good and bad or what is real and entertainment only, as you cannot escape all these things in our daily life. You cannot paint an unreal world where there is no such thing as violence or bad guys or things out there but you create awareness and teach the kids how to deal with it.

Anyway, Jason got me sucked into gaming and sometimes he would have gone to bed by mid-night but I would continue playing till 1am to move up to the levels. It also became a distraction from my work stress. It may looked like I was addicted to it for a short period but importantly, I was able to walk away from it anytime and not ignore my family or work.

One observation though. As Jason was exposed to PC gaming early under our guidance, he was able not to be addicted to it and took it as another learning experience or phase in his growing years. His cousins or friends who were only exposed to it or learned about it when they started Primary school, became so intrigued by it that they neglected their school work. Whereas it was like no big deal for him as he has been playing PC games years ago.

I think early controlled exposure is good provided the parents are involved and give adequate guidance. But you have to decide on it based on your own principle and background or beliefs, what is good for your kids.

Similarly, for watching TV and other console gaming like PSP, Ninendo....

Jason's Baby Photo - Playing On Bed

Hi,

This is one of our favourite photos of Jason when he was a baby.

As mentioned in my early posting, we always played with him on the bed before we slept.

Night was and still is the best time of the day as the family gets together in the master bedroom for some playing when he was young and sleeping with us, or having a chat now before we sleep.

Jason may grab a mattress to sleep with us sometimes too, these days, and we could be either watching EPL soccer or a late night movie to sleep, or somtimes talk a bit with the lights off.

Here is another photo of him playing on the beach along East Coast Park. He was scared of the sea water and the small wave so we just let him playing with the sand. He was a few years older in this photo.

My wife and I have to think of places to take him outdoors during the weekends and to expose him to the outside world too. More of this later....

David

Watching Your Baby Sleep

Hi,

I used to carry Jason a lot to put him to sleep especially when he was a baby less than 2 years old.

There were many occassions that after I have put him to bed, I would look at him in his sleep.

He, and I believe all babies that age, would look so cute and peaceful.

I would look at his facial features ( from eyebrow, eyelashes, tiny nose and mouth, ears too,.... ) and then touch his tiny hands and fingers, and his feet and toes.

So do take some time and appreciate how lovely your baby can be.

I still remember that there was one occassion where we were lying in bed but I have his head on my left shoulder and my left arm cradling him. Jas was sleeping so peacefully and I dared not move, for fear of waking him up. We kept our position for at least an hour before my wife came in and saw us in such a loving position. All that while , I was watching over my tiny fragile baby in my arms.

Even today, I would crawl into bed with Jas when I am trying to wake him up and hold him for a while. Also, took a few minutes watching him and see how much he has grown since then.

So parents, no matter how tired you are or many tasks at hand, find the time to watch your baby sleep.

It is very refreshing and comforting indeed......

Happy parenting..!

David