Sorry, I think it is a terrible idea.

Alamak! Of course none of the above. $800 better cook and eat at home or pack from home! Do you know the selling price of cooked food is generally 3 times the cost of the raw ingredients? And bring your own water from home, no canned drinks or bottled water.

Hahaha…my son complains of stinky armpits. We threaten to remove all sweets if he dares utter that in public. (slap backside)

Teach the hanyu pinyin and give occasional practice, but put more emphasis on learning to write characters. That is what I did. Don’t tear your out over it. By P2 and P3, they transit over to words anyway.

chibi:

she often ask me tho, why is she so sensitive to loud noises and strong smells? i told her , mummy is also very scared at times if a smell gets so strong, but mummy knows how to cover her nose and control her sensitivity .

Chibi,
I tell my sons (one doesn't like loud noises one doesn't like strong smells) with their help, I can definitely survive in the jungle because one can smell all danger and one can hear all preys and predators.

I share with them the importance of our senses - smelling helps our ancesters determined what food is still safe to eat, to detect fumes etc. I also inform them of jobs such as perfume making where a very keen sense of smell is prized. It is NOT a bad thing. They just have to be aware that other people do not have as keen a sense of smell and adjust their expectations of others. If your daughter has a keen sense of smell, cultivate it! Let her smell the different flowers. Smell food and see if she can tell the ingredients that went in through the smell. Learn about the different notes in perfume and let her explore!

For sound, again, it is not a bad thing. They are valuable commodity if we are living in a rural setting. (erm, for boys you can tell them they will make excellent hunters and spies.) Cultivate their ear - learn to distinguish different instruments, and at the same time, teach them to politely move away from noisy environments to give themselves a break.

How about using plants as analogy? Different plants need different types of soil and different climates to thrive but are all part of our landscape and have their uses. you can go on and on from there or keep it basic, and kids can see the differences in plants with their own eyes.


At 4 plus, it is not her job to tell the rest that she is different. That is the teacher’s job but if she is inexperienced, she may need some guidance and tips from you. My son’s kindy teacher explained to them that their special needs classmate is younger and needs more help and will seat the child next to someone who has the temperament to help.

Yes, no need to splurge on baby’s stuff or renovation. Keep things to necessities if possible. My parents always tell me how they started with a flat with no furniture except a bed and a table. They didn’t even have chairs. For us it was just a bit better - we had chairs, a sofa, and a TV and that was all. I was glad we were prudent because baby had a congenital condition and we paid 15k for the two operations. It was the sum I was just paid for my last project, and the money goes so quickly when there are medical issues. My husband was then a fresh grad waiting to start his contract and had zero savings, and I really pat myself on the back for my financial prudence over the years.


But you know, kids grow up and financial situations do improve as long as one is prudent, so once you have done your calculations and see where you can save, don’t worry too much.

After rainy days, there will usually be lots of mosquitoes near my place. I will use the Baygon vaporizer near the windows, and put some zambak on one of my kids whom mozzies seem to love. I even know where they will bite him so I apply it on those areas. Seems to work. I also keep the windows closed at night as advised by old ladies in the neighbourhood.


After a few weeks, I did not have anymore mosquito problems.

The dyslexia testing at DAS took over 2 hours for my son. It has some ablity testing, but is meant to tease out areas that the child may be having problems with. They usually test until they hit a ceiling of sorts and the tester said it took longer than usual because my son knew so much. I think it cost around $500.


The IQ assessment that my son did at a private psychologist also took over 2 hours. Again, the test goes on for as long as the child can go on. It cost around $600. After this he was sent on for other screening at the OT and also recommended for further screening by the OT at a vision therapist.

My friend’s child was assessed for ADHD/ADD and sensory integration by an OT in an assessment that took about 4 hours. I think the child was also screened for hearing and vision. It cost around $1000.

I really don’t see how they can cover everything in so little time unless it is an overall screening, after which you go for further testing to understand problem areas. For example if ADHD/ADD shows up as a potential area of concern, the child is sent for further screening in vision and hearing because these can lead to the appearance of ADHD/ADD, and also affect schoolwork.

The tester should explain to you what tests are used, and why they were selected - ie what are we looking for. It can be a line of investigation. Before you can really help the child, you need to really pinpoint what the problem is.

It is so controversial and I don’t deny that vaccines have saved many children from devastating diseases. But my child became very lethargic in the days that followed after one of the shots, to the point where he only sat glumly and stared in the air the whole day. We discontinued the process immediately even though his then-pd thinks it’s just coincidence. He was then 7 or 8 months old. Over the next few years, he turned out to have multiple food and environmental allergies. He is now under the care of another allergist and will be doing selective shots in a hospital setting at her discretion when he is older. She does not think he’s ready for the rest yet as we have other allergy issues to sort out.


His kindergarten is very understanding when we explain the situation. I have been worried about primary school, but there is no way I will take this particular child to just any clinic for the immunization just so that he can go to school. For the record, my elder child was fully vaccinated as he had no unusual reaction at any point. I did delay some of his shots.