Prayer of Faith
Firstly, I thank God for using J to remind me of the importance of prayer. Once as I was driving, I remarked that I was on the wrong lane. J was concerned and asked, "Mama, shall we pray?" Since then, he has often prayed when I lose my way whilst driving (which happens quite often due to a poor sense of direction). When parking lots are scarce, he would also suggest praying for a space.
Recently, we went on a family trip to Taiwan. J made a three-year-old friend called D. The following conversation took place between the two boys after they witnessed fireworks being released into the sky:
D: I am scared of fireworks.
J: Don't be scared. Just pray to Jesus.
D: How can you say that to me?
J: Jesus is very strong.
I was so touched upon hearing the conversation. May God preserve this child-like faith that J has and as he evangelises, may God use him mightily to reach out to others.
Helping Others
During the same trip, I went through a devotional with J. At the end of the devotional, the reader is challenged to offer help to someone. J went to his papa and asked if he needed help. When told that help was not needed, J replied, "Papa, when you need help, just call me and I will quickly run to you."
Facing Rejection
There were seven children on the Taiwan trip - three pairs of siblings + J. Most stuck to their own siblings, but on the third day, J made firm friends with D, whose sister also appeared to take to J. Later, another boy took to D and his sister soon followed suit. Towards the end of the trip, the last pair of sibling also showered D with attention.
The day before the trip ended, the seven children were at the back of the bus. J was the first there and D had gone to look for him, thus luring all the other children to the back of the bus. I was unaware of what was happening as the adults had decided to let the children converse and play on their own. When J abruptly appeared in front of us, I sensed something was wrong. He did not say anything and went back to join the children. A while later, he came to us again. This time, I walked to the back of the bus to find out what was happening. The older boys had surrounded D and refused to let J through. They complained that J had hit them and had climbed on D. A little bit of thinking led to my conclusion that all J wanted was to sit next to his friend D. When the other boys vied for that seat, J started hitting them. The older boys thought they were upholding justice by protecting Dasher from J. At the end of the whole saga, D said he did not want J to be his friend. Poor J burst into very miserable tears. I was on the verge of tears too. I think no one intended to be malicious, but J was experiencing his first rejection in the world.
We brought J aside and explained the situation to him. We told him that he should not have hit the older boys to get to D and that he should apologise. However, he was so hurt during the episode that he burst into loud sobs again when he saw the other children. I pray that J will have favour with God and men and that he will experience the blessings in Deut 28.
Only-Child Syndrome
During a church retreat recently, J was trying to play soccer with other children. Everyone was just running after the ball and whoever got to the ball first would kick it. J was amongst the youngest and could not easily reach the ball. When he did, he picked up the ball and ran. He was reprimanded by the older boys. In the end, he got frustrated and lamented that no one wanted to play with him. I had to explain the game to him and point out that everyone was just running after the ball. I guess he expected the ball to be deliberately handed to him like it would at home, since our games usually only involved him and one or two adults. I really pray for a second child.
Progress Report
Key:
VG - Very Good
G - Good
AV - Average
I - Improving
J's progress report from the childcare centre arrived two days ago. I went through it and was surprised that there were a number of Average. This time, for ability in Chinese, he was even rated I. Am I relieved that the centre did not use the ratings A to D, otherwise he would have received his first Ds even before turning four!
Upon closer scrutiny, I concurred with the teacher's rating for most of the items. However, he was only rated Good for recognising numbers and counting. He can recognise three-digit numbers by now and can also count up to 100 and these are in the Primary One Syllabus. The Husband says that as long as we know his academic abilities, we should not be too concerned about how the teacher rates it. I had to agree it was true, although at first I thought that the report book was one of his earliest documents recording his development and it should accurately reflect his ability.
I never would have imagined myself being so uptight about my child's progress report. It is a reminder to me to write kind and thoughtful remarks about my own pupils. I am also beginning to question if we should send him to a school with a Montessori-setting which stresses more on communication as we are helping him academically at home.
Dad, Mum
Yesterday, J suddenly called his papa "Dad". I was surprised and asked him why he did that. He looked at me cheekily and said, "Mum." I found the whole scenario amusing and wondered if he was attempting to be grown up, since the Husband and I addressed my in-laws as "Dad" and "Mum".
What is the Best Advice?
J's cousin A has been teasing J by threatening to pull down his pants. It frustrates J and he will say a long "No". I taught him to say "Don't do that!" firmly, then went on to teach him an alternative defense - to threaten to pull down A's pants back. The Husband frowned at my second advice. Indeed, when J heeded it, the two boys ran around the house after each other. The Husband then took matters in his hands and told J to firmly tell A not to pull down his pants. This worked today.
I just do not want J to be bullied and sometimes am stuck where the giving of advice is concerned. We usually tell him to turn the other cheek but I have seen malicious children bullying unscrupulously. I pray that God will grant J wisdom and favour and that I will also have the wisdom to advise him when needed.
Prayer
Lord, I commit J into your hands. He belongs to you. Help me bring him up in your ways. Help me be patient with J always.
No comments:
Post a Comment