SingaporeMotherhood | Parenting
December 2015
Diana Ser, TV personality and creator of Crazy About Chinese
We all probably know Diana Ser as a veteran television presenter and former broadcast journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry. She is best known for being the presenter and producer of the high profile current affairs series, “Get Rea!” and “What Women Want, Really”, which aired on Channel NewsAsia. The mother of three children – Jake, aged 9, Christy, aged 7 and Jaymee, aged 4, is married to former Singaporean actor James Lye. So what has the 43 year old doting mummy been up to recently?
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Diana has gathered all her skills in a big cauldron and birthed “Crazy About Chinese” – an online edutainment series for parents and caregivers that is aimed at making the experience of learning Mandarin an immersive and fun one. The series which is targeted at parents and caregivers of tots aged two to six, follows Diana and the youngest of her trio of kids, Jaymee, on their journey to incorporate Mandarin learning in their daily activities and real-life scenarios. Education experts are also invited to share their tips and advice, along with other parents who will share their experiences.
We have seen Diana Ser as the suave presenter on television, but what is she like as a mother of three? Eager to find out? Read on then!
How would you describe your parenting style?
Tough love. I am quite strict with them in terms of work ethic and routines, but I try to communicate more openly with them. For example, if I make an unpopular decision, I try to engage them about that decision at a later time, for example when we are having a cuddle.
What have you learnt about yourself as a parent?
Much as I hate to admit it, I am just like my mom! I think the way we were raised influences our parenting styles a lot. Of course, education, personality and our spouse’s influence also come into play. As a mom, I am super vulnerable because, well, you hurt my kids, you hurt me. Yet, they are also an endless source of strength because a mother will do anything to protect her brood.
How has becoming a parent changed you?
It has changed everything. In fact, parenthood is far tougher and more demanding than any of the skill sets I would put in a resume.
I thought I was prepared for parenthood, but it was only after my three pregnancies that I found out that no one can ever be prepared enough.
Pregnancy was empowering, yet humbling at the same time. I loved working (I still do!), but my babies will always be number one in my book. I also learnt that it’s possible for a mother to function with very little sleep!
What’s a typical family day or weekend like?
Weekends involve grandparent visits and church. During exam season, it’s revision! We try to give the kids as much outdoor time as possible, so lots of visits to parks, pools and playgrounds!
Complete the sentence: “The best thing about being a parent is…”
Their young lives represent so many possibilities, and this makes me feel hopeful about life in general.
Since Diana has come up with the “Crazy About Chinese” program, we can’t help but wonder whether she has any horror stories to share with us regarding her own Mandarin learning experience back in the days. Not quite. But, she recounts, “I remember someone not being able to read the Chinese character for cat. I was amused because most of the time, we pick up animal names first as kids. Then she shared that she had got a good grade in school for Chinese. And I thought: How did that happen?!” Following that confession, we had more questions for Diana regarding the Mandarin learning scene in Singapore.
What was your own experience like learning Mandarin when you were in school?
I remember having to memorise more than a hundred Chinese idioms during secondary school! It was tough, but interesting to learn about the stories behind those idioms and what they stand for. My favourite one was “僧多粥少”, though there’s no particular reason why. It literally translates to ‘having too little gruel for too many monks’, and simply means that there’s too little of something to go around.
How are your older children coping with learning Mandarin in school?
Sadly, they don’t like Mandarin at all, though they do get pretty decent grades at school. Mandarin shouldn’t be just a grade on a report card, but embraced as part of our everyday lives.
Why did you decide to produce your “fourth baby”, ‘Crazy About Chinese’? How did the inspiration for it come about?
Essentially, it’s because Chinese was driving me and my kids nuts! I thought I did a lot for my two older kids when they were younger to lay the foundation for Chinese learning, but it turned out that I wasn’t doing nearly enough. They’ve gotten fairly decent grades in school so far, but they still didn’t like Chinese. Jaymee, my third, gave me one more chance to try and do things differently. “Crazy About Chinese” is basically a platform to share with other parents what I’ve tried, tested, failed and succeeded at times.
What do you hope to achieve with this online edutainment program?
With “Crazy About Chinese“, I hope to demonstrate that learning Chinese can be fun, and it is not that hard to get our kids to like Chinese a little more. With fun activities to pique their interest, guided play will be great for fostering parent-child bonds and family ties while encouraging purposeful learning. The activities are meant to be short and simple, so busy parents are not daunted. On top of that, I also hope to foster a community where parents and caregivers can help each other out and be each other’s “cheerleaders” when the going gets tough. I also look forward to exchanging ideas with other parents – it’ll be a great learning opportunity for me as well!
Why is advocating bilingualism an important cause to you? How has being bilingual helped in your career and everyday life?
In a world where talent is global, why speak only one language when you can do two? In Singapore, we are fortunate to be positioned to learn two languages easily. Moreover, being bi-cultural makes you more interesting, and removes many cultural barriers. Being effectively bilingual has also presented me with many opportunities, having presented for both English and Chinese programmes when I was in media. I was also presented with the opportunities to produce my own shows on Channel NewsAsia and host ‘live’ shows.
What are your struggles as a parent in trying to promote Mandarin learning?
The biggest struggle is that you don’t see results quickly as it takes time for them to show. I felt discouraged at times when I didn’t see progress despite all the hard work put in, but Jaymee has improved a lot gradually and I am very proud of her. It will take time for the seed to grow and bear fruit. The best parenting advice I have ever been given is this: Just keep investing, and do not expect any ROI (returns on investment). Someday, your child will show you what he/she has internalised.
Tell us more about any interesting happenings you have faced while producing “Crazy About Chinese” with Jaymee.
The most challenging part is, of course, working with kids! Jaymee gets tired or fed up when there are repeated takes. When we filmed the Christmas episode where Jaymee decorated a Hansel & Gretel House of Candy themed tree, she refused to return the decorations because she loved them so much. I had a hard time prying the decorations away from her hands, and had to get the retail assistant to act as “security” to get her to return the items.
Each “Crazy About Chinese” webisode lasts two to three minutes, and will be uploaded weekly on Diana’s website. Apart from videos, Diana will also feature other Chinese- learning materials and articles, such as “How to Use Podcasts to Promote Mandarin”, “Respect Your Child’s Attention Span”, amongst others. Start getting ‘Crazy About Chinese’!
All images courtesy of Diana Ser.
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