Today, I’ve finally gave in and enrolled my son for tuition in his Chinese Mandarin Language and Mandarin Mathematics. It has been 5 months since the beginning of Standard One and it’s getting tougher without someone to guide him in Mandarin. Since enrolling him into a Chinese medium school, I had anticipated problems with his Mandarin related studies, but had hoped that he will catch up with it after a few months.

It’s not easy - it’s a difficult language to conquer - but being a chinese, of course I would like my son to know the language well. I’ve spent a long time thinking of whether to enroll him into a national school or a chinese medium school, and the latter won not because I am a chinese, but because Mandarin is still very widely used in the business world, not forgetting that China is also the major economy in Asia for years to come.

Children of other races are beginning to enroll into chinese medium school, so why can’t we being chinese ourselves, learn the language?

I have all along opposed to tuition for children at such young age. I see other parents ferrying their children from tuition to ballet to art lessons, etc. and I pity the children who are pressured this way. I remember being a child and having time to run about, climb trees, and having fun being a kid. Kids nowadays mature too fast and are too house-bound.

But I’ve come to accept the fact that we need help of a professional as a proper guidance is going to help him cope with his Mandarin studies and to set his foundation. This tuition fees cannot be saved.

What do you look forward to after a hard day’s work? 

For me, all my worries seem to evaporate when I pick my daughter up and being a child, she always rejoice upon my arrival and readily drop whatever she’s doing to come to me with a big smile and return my hugs not knowing that they are my pillar of strength that keeps me going every day.

Some of you might choose career over family.  At some point, I think this is true but I’ve come to a stage where I realise that if everything material that I have is lost, and if I am at the lowest point in my life, the most precious and dependable people that I have are my family.

So, love your loved ones and be happy.

Nowadays, it’s normal for kids to be exposed to computers at a young age.

My daughter is three years old and knows how to operate a mouse and play games like feeding frenzy.  She also asks for Tom & Jerry, and Jungle Book cartoons which can be found at ‘youtube’.

I have done nothing to encourage this ~ actually, she observes and picks up quite fast from her brother who is seven years old.

Should I control their use of the computer or internet?  They have  certain time of when they can use the computer, and I explained to my son that not everything he sees or finds on the internet is real, some not suitable for children.  Of course I do not expect him to understand what I’m saying, but for now I do not see how else to have certain control over his use of the computer and internet unless I want to totally ban him from using it.

Microsoft Windows Vista has built-in parental controls which allows parents to control how long the computer may be used, which games can be played and I heard there’s also surf filters available.

How good or effective is it?