Bringing up Junior Properly

Dominique Thoughts

Today I am participating in Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. It has been quite some time since I last joined one of her writer’s workshop. Now that we are having school holidays I have slightly more time to do more posting here at Dominique’s Desk.

I’m writing based on the #3 prompt-

What current event do you feel strongly about? Write an opinion post!

Ryan playing with his trainset

The past month has been a rather reflective month for me. I have been reading a lot of articles of youths misbehaving, indulging in undesirable behaviour and getting into trouble with the law. A lot of these problem youths come from broken families or unsupervised families.

As with the rigours of having both parents working to support the family. Many households are heavily reliant on domestic helpers or grandparents to take care of the young kids. Most of the time these kids end up as spoilt brats or society misfits as they are not properly guided and groomed during their childhood.

I shudder when I think of the possibility of my own kids falling into this category. Parents too busy working to earn money to actually spend quality and quantity time with their own kids. Most of the students in my form class has mothers who are  busy working mom. They are sent  to aftercare, grandparents house or leave their kids to the maid when they are at work. They rarely get to see their parents.

Some of my students complain that they do not see their parents during the week even as they come back very late and way past their bedtime.  As a result they are unable to get forms signed and returned promptly. This has been rather stressing for me when I have to meet datelines regarding form submission.

I have suggested to some students to paste the form with a big note  ” SIGN ME” on their parents room door or the bedroom wardrobe to get their parents attention and the form dutifully signed.  I think that this act may have worked as the next few times form submissions came around ( which is like monthly for our school) his/her form came back promptly signed.

I  really pity the child as he/she has to resort to such actions to get their tired and exhausted parents to communicate with them.

The degeneration of the family nucleus and families ties between parent and child is a real issue nowadays.  Some parents are too caught up chasing the almighty dollar or climbing the corporate ladder that they outsource their parenting responsibilities to maids/grannies/tutors & teachers.

Many of these parents also believe that money will be able to solve most of their problems. This is certainly UNTRUE!!

It is a dismay to see many parents taking the “easy way out” and as a result end up with rebellious, uncouth and hard to handle kids.

As the parent you should be the one MOST responsible for the development of the child and not the domestic helper or grandparent.

If one as a parent  do not put in effort to discipline and understand your own child don’t expect another person or the state to do your job for you.  You have to start to build your relationship with your child since birth and constantly work at maintaining if not improving your relationship with them through time.

I strongly believe both the father and the mother have to play an active role in the development of a child during their childhood. This will certainly help them grow up into independent and self-reliant individuals which can contribute to both their families and society.  Having both parents around will certainly help to bring up a well-balanced child who is able to relate both peers and other individuals.

For my kids I do intend to be there for them throughout their childhood. Work and career are secondary to me compared to their development.  It is certainly not worth it to spend my time and effort in my job and my own kids get neglected in the process. Time lost can never be replaced as they will only go through childhood once.

My children are my 1st priority and to groom them from birth is essential for me. I want to be there for them when they need me the most and be able to inculcate good moral and civic values within them as they are growing up. They deserve my time and dedication and I will not be shortchanging them.

How do you feel about parenting?

Thankful Thursday- A reflective meme

Dominique Thoughts

In this day and age we get so caught up in the daily grind of life to take a step back and reflect on all the gifts  and bonuses which God has given us.

This Thursday I am spending some time to reflect on how blessed I have been.

1. I have good friends who I am able to turn to for advice and are willing to lend me their listening ear.
2. Am currently working in an environment which is one of the BEST since I started teaching. ( Good colleagues, bosses..and students are not too overtly troublesome based on my experience with much more toxic school environments)
3. I have two  healthy , wonderfully smart kids who can get into a lot of mischief at times and a little girl who will make her appearance this September.
4. I am still able to cope with the rigours of work, housework, child rearing and still have some time for couple time and me time.  I’m sure that GOD will give me the strength to deal with the extra workload when the baby arrives.
5. I have parents/parent-in-laws who are  financially self-sufficient and take care of their health and well-being.
6. I have a husband who tried to spend his time bonding with the kids and helping out in the household as and when it is possible.
7. We have a roof over our heads and food on our table and do not need to worry about our housing and food.

What are you thankful for this Thursday?