April 28, 2015

Admiring the view at Tam Shui

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Travel, Wordful Wednesday Dam Shui, Taiwan

The scene at Dam Shui

During the last trip to Taiwan we visited the port city of Tam Shui. We set off for the place after breakfast and had a casual walk along Tamsui Old Street and waterfront (淡水老街) before the lunchtime crowd came.

The waterfront

Walking along the waterfront reminded me of being in Stanley , Hong kong as they too had a really lovely waterfront to walk along.

The other view from the waterfront

It was really nice to see both the hills and the water together at the same place.

Street Art

While walking along the streets at Dan Shui we came across this art work embedded in a sidewalk.

The church across the street

It was really interested to see how art resembled the actual building with both directly opposite each other. I didn’t get to go inside the church as there was a mass on.

A monument of Dr Mackay along the street

There is a lot of focus on culture and history in the area as we saw many statues of famous people while walking along the streets. This particular one was of Dr Mackay who was the first foreign missionary to be commissioned by the Canada Presbyterian Church (predecessor of both the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the United Church of Canada), arriving in Taiwan on New Year’s Eve, 31 December 1871.

A colorful building

I could see beautiful art work everywhere we went. This particular corner store had the windows and walls all painted with lovely portraits.

Fort San Domingo

Built by the Spaniard back in 1644 this building now houses a museum which gives one an insight to how life was back then in the olden days.

The other building in the compound

The famous Lover’s Bridge

This is one of the main attractions in Dam Shui- The Lover’s Bridge.

We didn’t walk along the bridge as it was rather hot and it didn’t seem that romantic as it was nearly afternoon when we were there. Maybe if we were there in the evening it would be a different story.

Another view of the same bridge from the water

The ferry we took back to the Train station

We had the option of taking the bus or this ferry back to the train station. For about NT$60 one could take a 20 min ferry back to Tamshui waterfront.

The view of the opposite island from the ferry

The view of waterfront from the ferry

It was great viewing the place from the ferry as it gave me another perspective of the place that we visited.

Where have you been to lately?

April 23, 2015

Parenting with Presence

Dominique Book Review, Parenting and Kids, Parenting Views parenting book

Parenting with Presence Book Cover

Parenting with Presence: Practices for Raising Conscious, Confident, Caring Kids (An Eckhart Tolle Edition) by Susan Stiffelman is one book which I recommend parents to read.

It isn’t easy being a parent however with these tips from Susan it will make your journey as a parent much smoother.

In the 11 chapters of the book Susan brings the readers through how it is growing up while raising kids, communicating with them, cultivating them and helping them coping with stress.

She shows how Happiness is an Inside Job and shares with the readers Tools, Tips and Strategies on coping.

The way that we interact with our kids maybe a reflection of suppressed emotions that we have due to our own childhood experiences. Sometimes these get manifested when our kids unknowingly hit our trigger buttons.

If one able to identify why certain behaviors emerge in you as a child you would be able to address that first before tackling and correcting your child’s behavior.

Through listening and being fully present in the presence of your child you will be able to gain his cooperation. Accepting him as he is will prove that you genuinely care about him and gain his alliance.

This will prevent the relationship that you have with your child from disintegrating and help build on the existing bond that you have.

“When we cannot shield our children from painful
experiences, the next best thing is to be fully present to them,
helping them through the process by letting them feel their
sadness and disappointment.”

I find this paragraph very insightful. As a parent we wish to shelter our children from unpleasant experiences. However if we do this all the time they will not be given the opportunity to grow and learn to cope with these not so nice situations on their own.

There are questions at the end of each chapter which the reader can go through and do some self reflection on how he/she has been doing as a parent in that particular area of focus.

With the question and answer section one gets an insight and suggestions on how to deal with problems in given scenarios.

Susan believes that through our engagement with the kids they get to learn and pick up the values which we wish to instill in them. By giving them an idea on how they can and should behave they will grow up to be better people.

My thoughts

I found this book to be a very insightful read. I especially love the paragraph below.

Our kids deserve to know that even if we can’t always meet their needs or offer them the validation they long for, they are still wholly lovable and uniquely brilliant just as they are.

What we do as a parent directly affects their ability to grow into adults themselves. There are many things that we as parents are able to do to guide our children through their childhood.

I agree with a lot that Susan had shared in her book. Being a parent we have to be vigilant at all times about our demeanor. Our kids emulate how we behave and are always watching us to see how we perform in different situations.

We need to demonstrate to them what are good manners through our daily living and also be good models for them. Through our own behaviour they learn how to cope with the stressors of life and deal with the different obstacles which they may face as they are growing up.

Do grab a copy of the book Parenting with Presence: Practices for Raising Conscious, Confident, Caring Kids (An Eckhart Tolle Edition) by Susan Stiffelman if you are interested to know more tips from her.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are 100% mine. This post has affiliate links.