SingaporeMotherhood | Parenting
December 2012
What We Talked About in 2012
As we vroom through the last weeks of 2012, let’s take a look back to see what the year brought us in terms of parenting.
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TRACKING OUR KIDS
A slew of online reports about alleged child kidnapping attempts surfaced in
March this year. On mother posted on her Facebook page that a woman had taken her child’s hand and tried to lead him away. A grandmother reported that a woman had tried to lure her grandson into a van. As parents got progressively paranoid, retailers stocked up on child locator devices amd signed up for mobile phone-based trackers like Locator. But really, as a parent, please be alert about child safety wherever you go. Finally, just hunker down and teach your child about stranger danger already. Better to be safe than sorry, or have cause to panic.
MORE PLAY THAN HOMEWORK
In his National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged parents not to hothouse their young children. “Please let your children have their childhood… Instead of growing up balanced and happy, he grows up narrow and neurotic. No homework is not a bad thing. It’s good for young children to play, and to learn through play.” His words struck a chord with Singaporeans of all ages and “no homework is not a bad thing’ became the most re-tweeted tweet from his Twitter account. It had been re-tweeted more than 1,800 times within three days, my paper reported.
BOWS AND ARROWS
Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games does it. So does Merida from Brave. Thanks to these two lovely lasses, young Robin Hoods and little-Merry Men (and Women) are popping up all over Singapore. Archery isn’t just a hot sport; it builds focus, concentration, and discipline. Aspiring archerers can take a bow at the Archery Club of Singapore, which conducts lessons for children from aged seven onwards. Archery-themed birthday party, anyone?
HAIRCUT MUM
Ryan Ang, a 12-year-old boy, had his hair cut by his teacher in school an hour before his PSLE oral examination in August. His sales manager mum Serene Ong, 39, filed a police report and complained to the Ministry Of Education that the teacher has ruined her son’s $60 coiffure. Apparently, the boy was too distraught and embarrassed to step out of his home for two days after the event. Mum had to spend another $60 to have his mop top restyled.
BREASTFEEDING ROOM BOYS
A mother went to the nursing room at Woodlands Regional Library to breastfeed her infant, but found it occupied by two boys. Asked to leave, one of the boys (holding a gaming console in his hand) said, “I’m also breastfeeding my baby” , and proceeded to spew vulgarities at the mother. A librarian later helped to escort the boys out but as he left, Console Boy warned the mother not to post the video she had taken of them online. “My parents are very important people. They are really big people,” he apparently said. Unsurprisingly, the video went viral.
BREASTFEEDING ROCKS!
We know that it’s the best for your baby, but the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) National Breastfeeding Survey in 2011 showed that only 50 per cent of mothers continue to breastfeed exclusively by the time they are discharged, and only 30 per cent do so for at least two months and beyond. Five maternity hospitals in Singapore — National University Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital and Thomson Medical Centre — are working with the HPB to earn certification for the “Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative” by the World Health Organisation. Among others, this includes encouraging breastfeeding on demand and supporting breastfeeding post-discharge. Breastfeeding also staked its claim on Orchard Road at Latch On For Love, the first-ever breastfeeding flash mob in Singapore. There was also that provocative Time magazine cover of a mum breastfeeding her almost four-year-old son as he stands on a chair to reach her breast. Cue controversy, mummy blog flame wars, and playdate debates.
PSLE HUSH
We know what this year’s top PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) score is, but who is the top PSLE student? The Ministry of Education’s move to shift focus away from academic results meant that for the first time, no one knew who the top scorers for the national exam were. But that did not – and probably will never — stop parents from speculating how many there were and which schools they came from.
WONDER WOMAN
In local lingo, you could say that Marissa Mayer ‘spoil market’. The Google alum was already six months pregnant when she took on her new role as Yahoo CEO – the youngest of a Fortune 500 company. She went on to give birth to her baby boy MacAllister in September, took a notoriously short two-week maternity leave, and raised the ire of harassed mums everywhere when she said that her baby was “easy”. Really, we’re just jealous.
ROYAL BABY AHEAD
If you are currently pregnant and have a 2013 EDD (Expected Date of Delivery), you are in good company. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Prince William and Kate Middleton) are expecting as well. She was hospitalised for severe morning sickness, but Kate’s now home and we’re looking forward seeing how this style-meister takes on maternity fashion. This will be one baby bump to watch!
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