You have to admit that most of us dont remember wat life was like when we were kids. I mean we remember where we stayed, how our parents whoop us half to death, why we got mad with our parents but we dont really remember the emotions. Also why do Asian parents up to the 80s like to whoop their kids half to death??? Is there something in the penal code we didnt know about that exist today but not then that says they can do that before the 90s???
Anyway, I noticed that whenever I try to teach my kids their homework and I get agitated that they dun know simple things like "How many 5 cents are there in 40 cents?". We tend to forget how difficult it was for us when we were asked this question in our lower primary. I got real frustrated and was on the verge of yelling at my poor daughter when i remembered the living nightmare I had to go through with my dad.
Dont get me wrong, I loved my dad immensely. We had a great relationship that went intoa dark period because he forgot how difficult school can be. He was very tough and always had a cane with him whenever he taught me. I really dreaded it whenever it came to study time with one specific memory standing out. The multiplication table. Every wrong recital earned a stroke from the cane.
It's also been a while since we learned something new. So when my children wanted to take up music, I was very cautious not to give too much pressure. Think back the last time you learned something new? Mine was in college when I touched the PC for the first time. So have to learn to cut them some slack.
Also now my son is growing up...super fast. Last nite he was dis baby drooling all over and eating his own snot and today he is dis thinking, scheming, caring, funny, delightful, wanna kick him in the crotch, 11 year old boy. I dun want to whoop him at dis age, so i punish him by grounding him and taking away his priviliges. I first give him an opportunity to explain himself, then punish, then explain why he was wrong. I also do something my parents didnt do. Apologize when I am wrong. I remembered at his age, I wanted to be either James Bond or a lawyer. A lawyer so that I can sue the ass off my parents......then come home to sleep, hv dinner and collect pocket money la. If that didnt happen, I can be James Bond and got the hell out of trouble!!
Kids got through an interesting change in phase as well. When my son started appreciating TV ard 2, he was very into Bugs Bunny. Not so much Mickey or Donald but Bugs and gang. Then he evolved to dinosaurs, T-Rex and animals dead for millions of years. The bigger the better of coz. It's a guy thing. You think my son loved T-Rex or Brontosaurus bcoz its diverse habitat can teach us much of the ancient world? You gotta be kidding. He is essentially a mini-guy and he loves these creatures becoz they can stomp anyone flatter than a tosai!!
Then came the Great Pokemon phase that never totally left. It comes and goes. Power Rangers surfaced a while. Yu-Gi-Oh was next. Then X-Men, Transformers, Batman and it is now back to Pokemon again. At this stage, he is getting more involved into sports like football, basketball and badminton. He supports Liverpool and Brazil...just like his dad...sniff*! Everytime he goes into a phase, I have to lug my life saving to dis big corporation called Toys R' We-are-heck-lot-more-expensive-than-everyone-else and start a investment portfolio in action figures, equipment and jerseys. At dis point, I have more invested in my son's Toys R' We-Taking-All-Your-Money toys than my retirement fund.
So who remembers what it was like to feel terrified bringing home a terrible test result, losing pencils and erasers in school, breaking something of your parents and then becoming mini-CSIs to hide the evidence, going out without permission and not doing your homework? That horrid day when your parents are called to school to see the teacher. I certainly don't but my kids remind me more often than not. I hope it helps me be a better parent and in turn teaches them to be better people. So if you see an 11-year old boy struting ard in his Liverpool jersey, holding some action figure and Pokemon DVDs and sometimes being a little rascal, do cut him some slack. His dad is still learning.
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