CNY celebration at home (Kuantan)

Where else would you be allowed to ride a bicycle indoor, other than at grandma's place

The kids had a great time back home visiting their grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts, next-door neighbors, pop's favorite barber, somewhat-average-fishball-soup noodle stall owner, and everybody in between.

This Lunar New Year was especially meaningful for us, as we missed the previous family reunion twice in a row. And we made it a point to prepare a special compartment in our belly for all the New Year goodies. Sorry, no after meal photos.

Friendship forever hug, signed Eager Beaver and Bubbly Froggie

Train + Sleep = Learn

Do you recall the many times when your classroom teachers told you that having enough sleep is really important. That not having enough sleep and not eating healthily are just as detrimental to the body of a young boy or girl, as not going for all those piano lessons or extra-curricular activities. Yes, I do remember. But what I remember more vividly were those life-sapping marathon burn-them-midnight-oil sessions right before exams. Yes, during those very hard times, all words of wisdom were forgotten, as happy-go-lucky days were turned upside down.

Well, did you know that there is a scientific reason for needing that golden sleep. In my previous post, I talked about how punishment reinforces learning. Apparently that's not the whole story. In trying to expose the secrets of the brain, scientists have found that sleeping actually plays a major role in helping us remember what we have learned during the day [1].

Unlike the computer hard-disk or flash memory, which can save information in an instant, the brain needs time to process and carve our experience as memories. For the brain, this happens when we are asleep. So just when you thought that sleeping is needed only to regain physical strength, out comes a revelation that it is good for mental growth as well.

So, in case your 6 year old finds out about this little article and tries to be a smart alec when questioned about his/her excessive sleeping. Just tell them that, "No sleeping doesn't make you smarter. First of all, you must put in the effort to get those information in the brain (for sleep to do any good)".

[1] G. Cacalano et al., "Neutrophil and B cell expansion in mice that lack the murine IL-8 receptor homolog," Science, vol. 265, pp. 682-684, Jul. 1994.

Should I expose my 6 year old daughter to video games?

There have been many arguments going back and forth about the effects of video games on young children. I was blissfully ignoring this problem, until now. Phoebe, who will turn six soon has been bugging me to get her a DSlite, ever since last Christmas. Should I get one for her? What do I do? At wits end, I turn to fellow gamers for advise. I found a lively discussion on the internet regarding putting a gaming console into the hands of a young child. And I agree with this poster that the parent should remain in control of how their children spend their time. I quote,

Now, I know for a fact that she would love to play Animal Crossing on the DS. But whether or not she will love it is not the point. She would love to eat potato chips and ice cream for every meal, but being a responsible parent is not about giving your kid what makes them happy moment to moment...

What insight. How can you disagree with that. But then, I cannot agree with the same poster regarding the ill effects of electronic games on the development and creativity of young and impressionable kids. Yes, the time spent on playing games takes away the time for other "more productive" activities like drawing, writing and reading. I myself being a young gamer, was exposed to computer games at a young age. I feel that computers is a modern tool, just like how the pen and brush was to children many ages ago. I think that computers should be explored and taken seriously, even for a six year old. In the past, they say that the pen is mightier than the sword. But if we look into the future, I see that the keyboard will definitely be greater than both.

As such, I have decided go ahead and get her that DSlite for her 6th birthday. It will surely make Phoebe (and me?) happy, I hope...