Family Meals
by: Paolo Punzalan

I grew up eating dinner by myself or with our helper. Because my mom and dad split up when I was 1 year old, mom had to work even late nights. Family meal times were some of the things I missed growing up. So I decided that when I have my own family, it is something I’d like to implement. Read the rest of this entry »

Training Kids to Be Leaders
By: Linette Paras

After school one day, my 8-year-old daughter came up to me with a smile. She said she was given the role of a “Team Leader.” I nonchalantly congratulated her and asked what her duties were. She answered, “When class starts, I distribute their books. When we’re finished, I collect them and put them back in the cubbyholes.” As expected, her kuya butts in: “That’s not a leader, that’s a slave!”

Teachers too often call on the usual outspoken students to act as leaders, and the rest of the class simply accept their ‘follower’ roles as a given, until they graduate. In the few years I’ve taught, and even as a trainer in the corporate setting, I’ve always made it a point to draw the shy ones out of their shells. Whether it’s an honest-to-goodness project planning task or a simple monitoring assignment, everyone should be given the chance to take a shot at assuming responsibility and making decisions for the group.

What, then, are the qualities of a good child leader, and how can you develop these in your own kids?

A leader is liked and respected by the group. Usually, respect follows exemplary academic achievement. However, if your child is an average student, he can earn brownie points in the likeability department instead, by being helpful to his peers.

A leader is often asked for suggestions. When at home, always have healthy discussions about topics that interest your kids and make sure each one can put in his two cents’ worth.

A leader can sense the needs of others. A leader does not impose what he wants but instead collates everyone’s input and helps them accomplish what they want. Observe how your child interacts with peers during playtime: You’ll see that leaders come in many forms – there’s the one who assigns roles, and one who modifies the rules to make the game more exciting; there are even those who interject that the rules are unfair to the physically smaller kids – these are the ‘nurturers’ – and nurturers make great leaders as well, because they are concerned about the welfare of others.

A leader jumps at the chance to participate in activities. I belong to a group composed of Gerry Roxas Leadership Awardees – these are the students who have been selected as the outstanding leaders of their high school graduating classes. Unlike other groups I’m a member of, this one is particularly unique because there is no need for finger pointing when it comes to selecting a group leader – they eagerly volunteer. Suggestions freely pour forth, and the challenge is not how to elicit ideas but how to rein them in!

Getting passive kids to participate, much less lead, in classroom or extracurricular activities takes some effort on your part. You can develop a sense of responsibility in him by giving him important chores, such as writing out this week’s grocery list or organizing an out-of-town family trip. If the job is done well, compliment accordingly to boost his confidence.

Above all, always instill in your child good moral values, as these are what many so-called leaders of our society today sorely lack. It’s never too late to help your child grow into an outstanding leader – after all, leaders are made, not born.

*Linette Paras is a freelance writer and editor. She has a degree in Microbiology, is a licensed professional teacher, and is currently working on her thesis towards an MA in Education. She authored an ebook entitled The Internet Freelancing Manual, which she hopes could help other parents successfully work from home and in the process spend more quality time with their kids.

Beat the Traffic
By: Dennis and Monica Poliquit

“Traffic… too bad nakakabad-trip!”

Being stuck in traffic is not the best way to spend one’s day, but take this opportunity to bond with your kids. Here are some things you can do with the family while waiting in the car: Read the rest of this entry »

Top 3 Concerns of Parents
By: Randell Tiongson, RFP

If anyone claims that being a parent is easy, that person is either not a parent or is in denial. Don’t get me wrong, being a parent is one of the most fulfilling things that can ever happen to us.

The joys of parenthood can’t be explained by words, one must experience it to be able to understand how parents like me can feel blessed. Still, parenthood is no walk in the park. A few days ago, my friends and I were discussing our fears as parents and it was one energetic discussion, if I may say. There were many parenting issues we discussed, from letting our kids date, allowances, teachers, books and even canteen food. When we parents start talking about our kids, we can get to be very passionate. Read the rest of this entry »

SCHOOL TALK PHILIPPINES PRESENTS:

Today’s Issues on Academic Excellence, Values Formation & Education Funding

A parenting seminar that talks about parenting issues on: Academic Excellence, Values Formation & Education Funding.

Date: Saturday, August 15, 2009
Time: 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Eastwood Cinema
City/Town: Quezon City, Philippines

Featuring:

The Educator – QUEENA CHUA LEE

The Personal Finance Coach – RANDELL TIONGSON

The Inspiration Guru – FRANCIS KONG

To register, join our forum and just input your FULL NAME and e-mail address in this post (click the link).

NO REGRETS
by: Francis J. Kong

At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the sport of canoe racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favorite team in the four-man canoe race was the United States team. One member of that team was a young man by the name of Bill Havens. As the time for the Olympics neared, it became clear that Bill’s wife would give birth to their first child about the time that the US team would be competing in the Paris games. And so Bill found himself in a dilemma.

Should he go to Paris and risk not being at his wife’s side when their baby was born? Or should he withdraw from the team and remain with his family? Read the rest of this entry »

Protecting children’s “Superteeth”: Food to avoid
by: Dr. Bu Buenazedacruz

First off, I really appreciate the comments readers left after reading the first installment of the “Superteeth” series. Thank you for that!

Last week I answered the question “When should we brush our teeth?”. This time, I’d like to go deeper into oral care by tackling preventive measures to help take care of those Superteeth.

Most of dental patients, after having finished all their dental works ask the dentist, “What should I avoid eating to have good oral health?” Read the rest of this entry »

The Gift of Gab
by Cherry Pua-Africa

“Mom, please sit down, let’s have a chat.” I was in my usual screensaver mode, with eyes ogled in front of my monitor. My peripheral vision caught the beguiling image of my 5 year old daughter with her mouth open, impatient to let the kernels of her story be heard.

“Please wait, I need to finish….”

“But mom! This can’t wait!” I knew even before I finished my sentence that this was not an acceptable answer. I’ve lived with my daughter 5 years, 2 months, 14 days and 5 hours enough to know that when she wants to host a talk show, everyone has to listen. The last time I checked with Dr. Spock, parents are still expected to hold regular family bonding sessions. And for our family, bonding times consisted of conversations and storytelling sessions. These were sacred rituals to us. To keep the important occasion of telling stories from slipping away too quickly, we’ve spiced up our family story times by gathering together around a mat and reciting the storyteller’s chant. Everyone in the family has to share a story — an office story, a fairy tale, a story about friends or even a tall tale. When it’s time to transmute our fabulous ideas into the viable format of a storyline, all eyes, ears and hearts have to be committed to the process. Read the rest of this entry »

Parents and their role in protecting children’s “Superteeth”
by: Dr. Bu Buenazedacruz

Our teeth are considered to be the strongest and hardest part of our body. But even the strongest one, like Superman, has a weakness. While Superman has kryptonite, our strongest tooth also falls apart with one weakness— dental caries, or what we more commonly know as cavities.

But the solution is simple: brush teeth. When? Every time we eat or drink, especially flavored beverages. Read the rest of this entry »

The Achievement Wall
by: Linette Paras

In the corporate world, we are familiar with the maxim: “Praise in public; criticize in private.” This ‘rule’ becomes even more relevant in the context of the home, where our children’s confidence and self-esteem are first nurtured.

I come from a large family, and there was a time when my dad, a hardworking government employee, was sending seven kids to school simultaneously. Mornings were chaotic and so was dinnertime, when we would each clamor for the chance to relate our day’s small successes. Now that I have five kids of my own and we don’t always get the chance to have dinner together, we make full use of what I call “The Achievement Wall,” where the kids and I put up veritably anything that’s a source of pride for us. Read the rest of this entry »

Learning Through Play
By: Dennis and Monica Poliquit

A few weeks into my “informal” homeschooling, I asked my 5½ year old daughter Gaby how she likes our program so far.

“It’s ok, Mama, but sometimes it’s boring,” she shared.
“Boring?!?” I asked.
“Yeah. You should put more activities.”

I had forgotten that my daughter was a child. I’ve been concentrating on checking my list of things for her to learn, that I forgot to put in more activities or play time in our daily schedule. Read the rest of this entry »

Should we choose the college course of our children?
By Mia Mapa Tiongson

As parents, we are always concerned about the welfare of our children. Since birth, we have cared for them and have nothing but the best intentions for them. It is also in the prayers of every parent that their children will have a good future.

Sometime ago, my daughter was in a dilemma as to what she will be taking in college. Just when I was about to talk to my daughter to persuade her to take courses that I think are great and starting to have the ‘mothers know best’ instincts, I resisted. Read the rest of this entry »

Who Can Afford Education Nowadays? (part 2)
By J. Randell Tiongson, RFP®

So what’s the problem with the pressures of education? Well, if we put nearly all our resources in it, we tend to neglect other things that are important, such as retirement. Let me use myself as an example. I have four kids. If I opt to send all of them to über-expensive schools at our current income level, I will not only neglect our retirement, I will be broke. My wife and I will not have resources to be able live a quality life after our kids leave the nest. As my youngest graduates, I will be retired. The pressures of financing their education will drain us to a point that as soon as I retire, my wife and I will be dependents. The question is, dependent on whom? Our kids? Isn’t that unfair to them? With the pressures of surviving, it will be severely difficult for them to take care of us while making a life for themselves. Isn’t that very irresponsible of me and my wife, as well? Read the rest of this entry »

The truth about lying
*By Paolo & Jen Punzalan

Sarah, a 4-year old girl was given a clear directive by her mom not to get cookies from the cookie jar for it was almost time for supper. But since Sarah loved cookies so much, she was tempted to sneak into the kitchen and try to get at least one piece. But as she was sneaking one out from the cookie jar, her mother comes in the kitchen and asks, “Sarah, what are you doing?” Quickly putting both hands behind her back to try to hide the cookie she said, “Mom, what do you mean? There’s nothing in my hands. I don’t have a cookie behind my back.” Of course, her mom confronts her and tells her that she was caught in the act. To this, Sarah replies, “But mom, it’s really not my fault. Really! I was just trying to smell the cookies but it got stuck between my teeth.”

How can kids come up with these kinds of stories? Read the rest of this entry »

A closer look at home schooling
*By Jill Quimpo-Paredes

The unconventional has often caught my attention—and that’s probably how my interest in home schooling began.

Before compulsory school attendance laws were implemented, most children were educated at home, by their own parents. That, quite simply, is what home education or home schooling is—the education of children at home rather than in an institution such as a public or private school. Sadly though, today, education is left mainly to institutions and simply overseen (if at all) by parents.

In the recent years I have had a chance to interact with numerous home-schooled children from different year levels and classes of life. These experiences have shattered the ever-popular notion about a home-schooled child being shy. I found them to be quite normal—no, actually many were exceptionally confident in speaking with adults and their peer. They were respectful, curious, friendly, caring…even funny. Could it be because they have more opportunities to interact with different kinds of people and not just their classmates, day in and day out? Read the rest of this entry »

Who Can Afford Education Nowadays? (part 1)
* By J. Randell Tiongson, RFP®

People say that it is quite a challenge to send our kids to school nowadays and I agree 100%!

Just how difficult is it? About 14 years ago, our eldest daughter Billie entered preschool. I can still remember her anxiety. . . how she didn’t want to be left alone in school and how she clung to her mom’s legs so tightly out of fear of her new environment. . . great memories indeed. Two years later, our second daughter Gabbie had a different experience. . . she didn’t have the fears of her ate and entered the school like a very confident little girl.

Aside from their first-day school experiences, I also remembered their tuition. My first child’s Kinder 1 tuition at her school was about P35,000, and my second daughter’s slightly increased to about P38,000. Today, me eldest daughter’s tuition is now about P 195,000 a year while my second daughter’s tuition is about P 105,000 – that’s a whopping 457% and a 176% increase respectively in a span of over a decade. These figures are not inclusive of books, uniforms, etc. — just tuition! By the way, I don’t have just 2 kids, I also have 2 more sons. Read the rest of this entry »

Kids Today
*by: Francis Kong

The greatest challenge for parents is to deal with their teenaged children. I know this as a fact of life because I am raising up teens of my own. Perhaps this is the reason why one woman said, “Now I know why certain animals eat their young!”

Two college kids were arrested for public and underage drinking. The arresting officer told them they were entitled to a phone call, since he was unable to reach either parents. Some time later, a man entered the station and the sergeant said, “I suppose you’re the kids’ lawyer.”

“Nope,” the man replied. “I’m just here to deliver them a pizza.”

Sometimes teenagers do not know what is important. Their priorities are all so messed up. I came across an interesting article that compares teenagers with cats. I don’t have cats in the home but perhaps you would identify. Read the rest of this entry »

Experience is not the best teacher!
*By Chinkee Tan

Since the time of our parents and grandparents, parenting skills were learned from the extended family. If parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles didn’t live in the same house, they usually live within the proximity. Unfortunately, it is a ‘hit and miss thing’ and we are the ‘guinea pigs’. As much as our parents are very sincere in training us, sincerity is not enough to yield success. My question is — what if our parents were ‘sincerely’ wrong?

There’s one great thing my wife Nove and I learned that we are using with regard to parenting – experience is not necessarily the best teacher; learning from other people’s mistakes along with experience is our best teacher. Read the rest of this entry »