Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Still learning

Seeing more of eldest these days as she spend most of her time at home studying before the 'A' begins in Nov. In one of the mum and daugther chat she told me that most of her friends envy her. At 17 and 18, many of her girlfriends do get serious dressing down, nagging or worst still caning when their exam results are not up to expectation. I beg to differ. At 17, eldest is as tall if not taller than me. I can see and I know how much effort she puts into her studies. She spent most of her time at home since her CCA came to a halt. Her only de-stressing pastime is watching her favourite taiwanese serials for an hour or two. She tries her best, and I believe that words of encouragements and comfort are far more effective.
Son will be sitting for his 'O' level this Nov too. Was very harsh on him as I felt he was not focused. Then, it dawn on me. He is trying his best in school. From the time he leaves home at 6.30am till 4pm when he returns, too exhausted to expect him to sit and study. He too needs time to destress. Last thing he needs is a nagging mum. Every child is unique in their ablities, capabilities and character. Every professional has a basic degree of sort but there's none for being a good parent. I am learning every day.

2 comments:

seefei said...

A and O are stressful times. good if we can fix a cable tv so the kids can watch tv. but must have channel 56, so can watch all the hilarious bring the house down taiwanese talk/comedy show.

kids have it easier than our times but their sets of challenges are different from us. to recognise that is important. so wat are we to nag about but our insecurities?

iml said...

SeeFei
We sometimes forget we were once in their shoes too. They need to be given a chance to experinment and chart their own path. Our job is to give moral support and encouragement when they fall.