Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i Young Parents

Would you take your kids to a Third World country to help the underprivileged? Not many Singapore parents would. But the few who have say it teaches kids – and themselves – important lessons. Take Kye Yue, 11, and her brother, Mu Yu, nine, who followed their parents on mission trips to rural areas of Thailand, Cambodia and Batam. Grace, their mum, says: “My daughter tells me that sometimes when she thinks about the things other kids in Singapore have, which she lacks, she reminds herself of the lives of the children in the village. “They have much less than her… and while they hardly have any toys and yet find ways to play and have fun.” Read more of our story on three families who volunteer overseas on page…

Why does my child dislike learning Mandarin? Two factors are vital in creating the ideal learning environment. First, there must be motivation to learn. Then comes interest. An interested child will learn subconsciously, without realising he’s learning. It is very easy for an overenthusiastic parent to damage a child’s motivation and interest through unrealistic expectations. If a child feels he has let you down, he is unlikely to want to repeat that experience, and resistance to the language can develop. Children have short attention spans: Two- and three-year-olds have an average of five minutes, while three- to four-year-olds have 10 minutes. Instead of criticism or negative comments, celebrate his success with joy and laughter. If learning the language becomes a pleasure, it will lead to a lifetime of enjoyable communication.…

First time snapping professional pics with Baby? Newborn photographers share their tips on how to prepare for a shoot. START PLANNING EARLY Once your baby has arrived, things can get busy and challenging. Consult your photographer while you’re still pregnant, Boon from Picture With Love suggests. SHOOT WITHIN THE FIRST 14 DAYS According to JJ, this the best time to capture baby in her newborn state, before the chubbiness kicks in. “The highlights and shadows of a newborn’s features will be prominent during this period,” he says. CHOOSE A TIME OF DAY WHEN BABY IS HER BEST Know your baby’s routine and when she is most likely to be in good humour. “Try to arrange the shoot in the morning, and avoid scheduling it after a vaccination or doctor’s appointment,”…

What did your kids do during the June school holidays? Some lucky children started the month-long break at Pony Adventure @ UE Square on June 2. At the family-friendly mall in River Valley, they enjoyed pony rides and pony feeding sessions, body painting, playing with coloured dough and creating works of art with Hama beads. Some families came dressed in their best cowboy and cowgirl outfits for a photo souvenir. Their kids stood a chance to appear in a Young Parents fashion spread. Here are the highlights of the event. Follow our Facebook page at www.fb.com/youngparents for more fun family events.…

EXPLORE A MEGA-PLAYGROUND IN MACAU Located in the City of Dreams, an integrated resort in the entertainment district of Cotai, the newly opened Morpheus was designed by the late award-winning architect, Zaha Hadid. The guest rooms at the high-end hotel feature an array of luxuries, like Dyson hair dryers, Nespresso coffee machines and Hermes and Acqua di Parma toiletries. There are 770 rooms, suites and villas in all, including three pool villas and six duplex villas. The hotel also houses two restaurants by Michelin-starred French chef Alain Ducasse, a gravity-defying pool located 130m above the city and a contemporary art space. Your little ones can create their own adventure at Kids’ City, a 17,000 sq ft indoor and outdoor playground with four zones – Explore, Excite, Create and Dream –…

Worry about children’s narrow eating habits is one of the most common concerns of parents of two-year-olds. At this age, your child is quick to reject the food you give her at mealtimes, unless it is exactly what she is used to. It’s infuriating when you try to widen her taste buds, only to see her respond by pushing away that plate of food that you just put in front of her. Or maybe she just sits and stares, with a sad expression on her face as if you are trying to poison her. What started as an innocuous attempt to get her to eat a broader range of foods soon become a source of frustration at best and battle of wills at worst. Here are 10 ways to get…

You grew up believing that looking at greenery and not reading while lying down would help prevent myopia - but how true are these beliefs? Considering the fact that Singapore has one of the highest rates of myopia in the world, with 65 per cent of Primary 6 pupils suffering from the condition, Young Parents asked Dr Jovina See, clinical director of Shinagawa Eye Centre, to dispel the misconceptions surrounding myopia in kids. MYTH Looking at green things can help lessen or prevent myopia. FACT Experts think that intense prolonged work that is done up close may cause myopia in children. Exactly how isn’t yet known, but the eye needs to focus (accommodate) harder in order to see up close, and experts believe that this accommodative effort causes the eyeball…

I work out because… I want to stay healthy and because I enjoy the post-workout endorphin rush. To me, being a good mum means… loving my children for who they are and providing them with a safe and nurturing environment to grow up in. The thing I love most about being a mum is… waking up to my girls, watching them smile and grow up and finally understanding what true and unconditional love is. My children make me… a happy and contented person. My biggest time-saving tip is… to exercise during lunchtime at work. If I only have five minutes to work out, I will… pick up a skipping rope and skip. When other mums tell me they don’t have time to work out, I say… it’s about prioritising. My…

HANDBLENDER Boasting an 800-watt motor and a wide range of accessories, the MSM88160GB handblender is a powerful and versatile tool for all your cooking needs. There are 12 speeds to choose from, as well as a turbo button. The blender has high quality stainless steel housing and is easy to operate, thanks to the large buttons, a SoftTouch surface and a patented click connection mechanism. It comes with an extra-large chopper and whisk for whipping cream, egg whites and light batters. OVEN The Autopilot feature in the HBA5780S0B oven is so clever, it automatically cooks dishes to perfection. Choose from 30 pre-set programmes, and let it do the rest. Its 3D Hotair feature distributes heat optimally on up to three levels at the same time, and the oven has an…

Good news for mummy fans of Huda Kattan! Named one of Time magazine’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet, the Hollywood-trained makeup artist parlayed her social media fame into Huda Beauty, which is now available in Sephora Singapore. The collection here ranges from foundation and primer to false eyelashes and lip glosses. Prices range from $40 for a lippie to $100 for this Beauty Rose Gold Remastered palette, which features 18 intensely pigmented eye shadows in four textures with a melted metal finish that’s great for date nights with Hubby. Buy them from www.sephora.sg or Sephora stores.…

We were wowed by the smart features of Samsung’s new Family Hub fridge, which include syncing your family calendar and reminding you what to buy. We joined the little ones at Pat’s Schoolhouse Claymore for its National Day celebration. Celebrity couple Kate Pang, who is 3M Scotch-Brite’s new ambassador, and Andie Chen shared time-saving tips for doing household chores. The Kumoya X Mr Men and Little Miss cafe offers Singapore-inspired dishes, including Mr Bump nasi lemak and Mr Strong chilli crab pasta. We sampled Singapore’s best desserts at the recent Cake Club pop-up event at Marina Square. It was orchids galore at Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Dome where the biennial Singapore Garden Festival returned. Follow us and find out what the Young Parents team is up to.…

What happens when you can't make it in time to give birth at the hospital? Ryan Kwak, 30, and his wife Valerie Cher, 28, were put in that shocking situation on June 27 this year. The Korean-born Singapore citizen found himself delivering his baby girl by the roadside, in the rain. Recounting the events, Ryan says Valerie, who was in excruciating pain, woke him up at 5.19am. She was then 38 weeks pregnant. “I hurried downstairs to get the car parked right under our block and went back upstairs to get Cher,” Ryan, a principal and founder of a Korean language school, shared in an Instagram post . By then, Valerie was lying on the sofa groaning: “The baby's gonna come out! I can feel the pressure of the head!”…

Toddlers love tearing, pinching, poking and squeezing, which is why many parents think they’re forces of destruction around the home. But Coreen Soh, deputy general manager at The Little Skool-House International points out: “These actions are important fine motor skills that must be developed to improve their independence and dexterity.” Here’s how to turn your tot’s energy towards more constructive actions that can improve her fine motor skills too: Get her assistance when removing sticky tape or price tags. Challenging but stimulating, activities that require her to help out with chores provide a sense of inclusion. Try this variation: She can repeatedly stick pieces of masking tape over price tags and removing them. Ask your kid to tear up junk mail or flyers before you discard them. Let her scrub…

A HOLIDAY FOR GOOD Dr Claudine Pang, 38, is a consultant ophthalmologist and medical director at Asia Retina Eye Surgery Centre, and Aaron Tan, 38, is lead data architect at Singapore Exchange. They have two kids, Nathanael, six, and Sophie, three. As a young doctor, helping the less fortunate who have no access to medical care has always been on the forefront of Dr Claudine Pang’s mind. It was also one of the reasons she pursued a medical degree. Armed with her medical skills and knowledge, the 38-year-old ophthalmologist has volunteered in rural areas in Sri Lanka, China and Cambodia, where she conducts eye health screenings, treats eye diseases and performs sight-saving cataract surgery. Now a mum of two kids aged six and three, Dr Pang hopes that her passion…

Your infant’s transformation during this first year – from a baby who has almost no control over his head, hand, leg and body movements at birth, into someone who may have taken his first step by the 12th month – is one of the most visible signs of development you will ever see. The enormous progress in physical maturity that occurs during this very short period in your baby’s life is visibly striking. And although some of these remarkable changes in your baby’s control over his movements seem to occur spontaneously, there is lots you can do to help (though you need to be patient with him). Here are eight ways to boost your baby’s motor development in his first year. Position him suitably When he is a young baby,…

The three notebooks are filled with doodles, comic strips, riddles and little stories, rendered and written in pencil. One quirky drawing has a parrot mouthing its response to the poser: What do you get when you cross a centipede with a chicken? Answer: Drumsticks for everyone. The illustrations spring from the fertile imagination of Evan, the eldest of Doreen Kho’s four children. The 43-year-old businesswoman says her son once asked her: “Mum, do you know why I started to draw comics? Because my comics will make people smile and laugh.” Ironically, Evan himself wrestled with depression and was often teary. The condition led the 11-year-old to hurl himself from the 16th floor of a condominium in central Singapore in November last year. His heartbroken mother says: “It’s difficult to say…

I work out because… it improves the quality of my life and sets a great example for my children and those around me. To me, being a good mum means… being able to carry out my duties and promises to my children, and inspiring them to be amazing individuals. The impact is not there when you’re telling them to exercise and eat well, and you’re doing otherwise. The thing I love most about being a mum is… knowing that no one can ever take my place in my children’s hearts, and hearing them tell me “I love you, Mummy”. My children make me… always want to be the best that I can be. My biggest time-saving tip is… online grocery shopping! I dread waiting in line for anything. If I…

The birth of a new baby is a miraculous, joyful occasion. Tiny, fragile and oh-so-cute, your newborn will grow all too quickly, leaving his baby days behind for good. It’s little wonder, then, why many parents want to capture their newborns’ early days with professional photos. Young Parents rounds up eight newborn photography studios in Singapore, each with their own unique style. Some count celebrity parents and influencers among their clients, while others have a more simple, no-frills approach, but all are passionate about helping you and your family preserve the memories of your precious newborn. PICTURE WITH LOVE Husband-and-wife team Boon and Tian are driven by their desire to help other parents remember their newborns’ first fleeting moments. They favour natural-looking photos with minimal re-touching, and place safety as…

According to the National University Hospital’s website, fewer than 1 per cent of births happen this suddenly, with no labour symptoms or intermittent contractions. Dr Kenneth Wong, consultant and director of the Obgyn Centre, says in a New Paper interview that based on statistics alone, most natural births are safe and without mishap. “Though uncommon and frequently unanticipated, the births usually happen very fast and often to low-risk patients.” But he cautions: “Complications, though uncommon, can occur to even low risk mothers and when they do, they can be rapid and catastrophic. Therefore, they are best carried out in a hospital setting for the safety of both mother and child. “The first thing to do in such emergencies is to take the patient to the hospital as soon as possible,…

Start off with a “Level one” type of trip That would be a wiser and safer approach to get yourself and your children acquainted with overseas volunteer trips, instead of say, jumping right into volunteering in a high-risk area like a disaster zone, says Jonathan How, chief executive officer of Relief Singapore. Consultant ophthalmologist Dr Claudine Pang advises parents to start off by joining a group of families with children. Consult the relevant non-government organisations before embarking on any overseas volunteer trips, Jonathan adds. They would be able to advise whether the trip is suitable for families with children. Be aware of safety and security issues Not every place welcomes foreigners, so make sure that your local contact is reliable and that communication with this person is not too difficult,…

Your six-year-old is at an amazing stage of development. Here are some of the main milestones that you are likely to see during this year: She has literacy and numeracy skills Your kid can read and write her own name without needing to copy it, and the foundation of literacy skills is firmly established. Her number skills have also improved and she copes with simple arithmetical calculations that were previously too challenging for her. She can draw her way out of a maze When given a drawing of a maze (two parallel zigzagging lines roughly half an inch apart), she can draw a line while keeping the tip of the pencil inside the lines of the maze. She has sufficient hand-control and concentration to cope with this, without making a…

Dr Ong Say How, senior consultant and chief of the Department of Developmental Psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), says: “There isn’t a centralised system in Singapore which keeps track of data on all children diagnosed with depression in the public and private hospitals and clinics. “But from 2013 to 2016, IMH’s Child Guidance Clinics, which see patients aged six to 18 years old, saw an average of 190 new patients per year with depression.” Depression, he adds, can strike at any age. Citing a 1996 review paper by Dr Boris Birmaher, an international expert on mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, he says that prevalence rates of depression range between 0.4 per cent and 2.5 per cent in children and between 0.4 per cent and…

She ran a marathon while pregnant As a former school gymnast for 11 years, Yvonne Chee has been active her whole life. The 38-year-old has always enjoyed sporting activities and switched to leisure running when she was older. Yvonne completed her first marathon in 2007 and in 2013, she crossed the finish line of the Antarctic Ice Marathon and became part of the 7 Continents Marathon Club – an elite group of runners who’ve ran a marathon on all seven continents. Globally, there are only slightly over 200 members who qualify. Her next goal? Conquering the North Pole Marathon. Since she’s such an avid runner, it seems unsurprising that Yvonne has already completed 17 marathons to date. Her last one in March 2017 saw her representing Singapore at the New…

Did you know that passengers in cars breathe in air that’s nine to 12 times more polluted than the air outside? That’s because of pollutants such as cigarette smoke, mould, dust and airborne allergens, which can increase the risk of respiratory conditions in children. One way to combat that is with 3M’s Vehicle Air Purifier Plus, which removes up to 99 per cent of pollutants and airborne particles like dirt, pollen, and smoke in your car. It also gets rid of up to 93 per cent of harmful gases as well as bad odours from food, sweat and other sources. Buy it for $299 (with GST) from www.lazada.sg , www.qoo10.sg/shop/AveonLiving  and www.autobacs.com.sg.…