Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Oh my.

The youngest one in our home is no longer a baby.

And to think that Vai will be three years old in two weeks time makes me miss those baby days.

[I know I’ve been asked about this a lot, and the answer is, no there are no plans for a third one. Heh.]

Anyway, here are a few quick updates on our little guy :

Language

He talks a lot. In Indonesian and in complete sentences.

He uses a lot of Indonesian slangs too (words like, ‘deh’, ‘loh’, ‘ah’, ‘dong’). Some words are not yet clearly pronounced though (and somehow I’m totally fine with this phase, because pretty soon, those babyish words will be gone and deeply missed by me!)

Character

He’s very cheeky and animated. He can suddenly make silly moves and pull his face while we’re in a supermarket. He can sit on a bus, turn around, look at the stranger sitting behind him, and make funny faces towards him!

He can be shy too, blush and hide behind my arms when he’s sitting quietly and a stranger looks at him and smiles.

Sleep

In the past two weeks or so, it’s been (more) difficult to get him to settle down and sleep (in the afternoon and at night)

He’d play with his sister. Or if his sister is trying to sleep, he’d do all sorts of silly stuff to annoy her.

And sometimes, he’d slowly come out of the bedroom with different excuses.

I want to pee.
Daddy, can you please check if I’ve pooped in my diapers?
I need a drink (and the water bottle is already in the bedroom!)
Mommy, I can’t find my yellow car.
Daddy, I want my fireman hat and I can’t find it anywhere.

Usually, he’d fall asleep by himself within 30 mins to an hour (from the time we first leave the bedroom)

Challenging Behaviours

Vai is quite a ‘happy-go-lucky’ kind of guy, who has strong characters and temperaments as well.

For example, in the past two weeks or so, when he asks for something (eg. can I have some MORE sweets?) and doesn’t get it, he can show his displeasure by slapping (though not too hard) the wall, the bed, the table or whatever that’s near him. And he does it while looking straight at me!

[He went through this phase when he was about one year old. And I think he sort of came up with it himself because we ourselves don’t do that]

And when he actually does it, I’d stop, look at him in the eye, take him to a separate corner by the hand, and sternly tell him that what he does is disrespectful, how God has given him hands to do good things (like eating, helping others, patting his sister on her back), and not for things like slapping or hurting others, how I love him and that’s why I can’t give what he asks, and that I’m not happy with his behaviour.

If his behaviour continues, I’d take him to a corner, tell him to stay put, and I’d leave. Usually when I return in 1-2 mins, I talk to him about what’s happened and he’d say sorry (usually only after I say, ‘and do you have something to say?)

Recently, if I talk to him and he’s not happy with what I say, he’d raise his hand, but stop in mid air.

And most of the time it’s because I’d stop talking (upon seeing his raised hand), look at him seriously in the eye, and ask, ‘Yes? *long pause*. And if he doesn’t put his hand down, I’d say something like, ‘I can’t talk to you yet if you choose to be disrespectful. I’d be outside until you can.’ And if he still chooses to act as if he’s about to slap the wall, I’d give him another serious look, turn my back and leave.

I’d return in 1-2 mins and ask if he can now be respectful, and very most likely he’d then say, ‘Yes’.

Now that it’s been two weeks since I first implemented this approach, I’m glad to say that it’s been much better.

Milk

He now drinks about 3 – 4 times a day (220 – 240 ml each time).

And the good news is, for the past 2 months or so, he happily drinks his milk straight from a glass, all by himself. And in general he’d finish it all up in less than 3 minutes! *mom so happy*

[What a contrast to how super difficult it was to get him to drink milk when he’s much younger!]

Height and Weight

He’s 17kg last month. And is about 100cm.

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There are lots of ups and downs when it comes to our little Vai.

He’s funny and silly, but he also is the one who gives us ‘more headaches’ (like when he went INSIDE our wardrobe, SAT on the wooden shelf and it all collapsed!)

But we love him as he is. With all his unique characters and temperaments.

And now that he’s bigger, asks more questions and observes (and absorbs) his surroundings more, I know we both need to be even more aware of how we teach and interact with him day to day.

We want him to grow up and be a man who gives his personal best in everything he does, who is not afraid to do something new and different, who continues to explore his talents and potentials so that his life can be a blessing to others and bring glory to God, his Creator and Saviour.

And with all that in mind, we know we need to always rely on God to give us the needed perseverance, strength and wisdom to be the kind of parents God wants us to be for both our little ones.

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[Photos]

All photos (except for the ‘milk drinking’ and ‘nose picking’ shots) were taken by Daddy, who’s testing out his creative lighting photography.