Category Archives: Parenting

When Hugs Are Not Enough

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I often hurt myself by running around and bumping into tables at home when I was young. I would cry and my mom would come to the rescue, smack the furniture, and say, “Bad table. Bad.”

That was her way of easing my pain. ?

Poor table. ?

Sometimes, it was the wall too. “Bad wall. Very bad wall.” (Smack!)

It wasn’t the wisest way to empathize with kids. But for the little me, back in the day, it was very comforting.

To see my mom get mad at an object and put the blame on it instead of on me? Oh, it would hush and calm me down. It was not my fault, right? I wasn’t clumsy or naughty. That furniture! Those walls!

???

To this day, I still trip in the most unlikely places. My pinky toe also gets stubbed all the time as if it has a mind of its own, deciding not to go where the rest of my body is going. But of course, I have matured and I don’t blame the grocery cart with wobbly wheels for it. Or the door that was left open by someone else. Or the hallway lights that weren’t on.

??? Continue reading →

Our Kids Need To Play MORE – here’s why

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My trips to the playground often teach me a lot of things. This past week in particular, I’ve noticed that many kids (ours included) are not good at playing yet.

It sounds weird. How can they not be? Playing is something that comes naturally to kids, right?

Well, supposedly. But since gadgets are now the new toys of this generation and it keeps kids indoors, most kids today do not know real play.

For example, when it was Mia’s first time to play Langit Lupa (Heaven Earth Tag game), Continue reading →

How To REALLY Prepare For A Baby

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If you are expecting or planning to have a baby, I’m so glad you are on this page because today, I’m sharing tips on how to REALLY prepare for mom and dad life.

This is a “special” rehearsal checklist that you won’t often find in baby books and if you manage to tick off every thing in this list before your due date, I can guarantee that you’re going to rock motherhood (or fatherhood) ! ?  Continue reading →

Question To Ask To Get Your Child Talk About His Day

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One way to know how our kids are doing in school is to ask who their FAVORITE and NOT SO FAVORITE playmates are for the day and WHY.

I tried this many times with Mia and I get interesting tiny details I would have no way of knowing if my question is just the usual, “How was your day?”

It also gives me an idea who she often hangs out with and if there might be kids who are bullying her. Ding ding! Continue reading →

Why Your Preschooler Can’t Sleep At Night

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If you’re wondering why your preschooler cannot sleep at night and you’ve already eliminated sugar high, new toys, scary movies, illnesses, or overstimulation, it may be because there are little things bothering him in school. Yes, just like adults, they think about their troubles at night too.

The school is a social environment and oftentimes, kids get anxious or confused as to why teachers and classmates act in certain ways.

The only problem is they don’t tell us right away. It could be because they cannot talk very well yet or we’re probably not asking the right questions to bring it out. Continue reading →

Could Our Advanced Kids Be Losing Their Childhood?

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Can you still recall what you were doing when you were 5 or 6? 

I remember being outdoors, chasing dragonflies, running around with our neighbors, blowing plastic balloon together, sipping the nectar off the stems of santan flowers, eating aratilis, munching on haw flakes after saying body of christ (oops), and shouting Pink 5 after four other kids yelled Red 1, Green 2, Blue 3, and Yellow 4. Continue reading →

I Call Her Ninong, GIRL.

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This is Em.

Jewelry Designer Em Mariano

Jewelry Designer Em Mariano

And yes, you’re not mistaken, that’s Ms.Krissy and Kim Chiu on the set.

He is a long time friend of ours and we couldn’t be more proud of how far he has reached with his jewelry line. I tell you, his handmade pieces are STUNNING!  (Quick look at his designs HERE.)

Anyway, the reason he’s here today is because my 4-year-old is confused about why his godfather acts more like a fairy godmother. Continue reading →

When The Misbehavior Is A Cry For Help

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It was a Monday afternoon, I was on my desk, when I suddenly heard our daughter shrieking and slamming her toys while playing with our helper.

(This was 3 days after I wrote To Spank Or Not To Spank and it could have been a perfect example for the post had I not published it yet.)

I don’t normally come to the rescue and I just wait for things to calm down when this happens. But Mia was unbelievably angry and my nerves told me to intervene.  Continue reading →

Do the highs outweigh the lows of parenting?

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If you have a difficult child, you are not alone.

We may seem happy on Facebook and all but that’s because the good times are the only ones I get to capture and post.

The bad ones, well, they are bad. The last thing I can think of during a full-blown tantrum is to take a snapshot. Most of the time, we are in an intense state correcting bad behavior and worrying afterwards if we are actually doing things right. Continue reading →

Are There Rules on Taking Turns?

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First kid grabs a toy and all the other kids want THAT same toy even if there are tons of other beautiful toys around to choose from. Sounds familiar? Second kid finally decides to grab a different toy and they all of sudden ditch the first toy and go with the new grab. Why kids, why? LOL.

This always happens to us whenever we hold or attend playdates. The kids gravitate to a favorite and fight over it. ALWAYS. If they can’t resolve it on their own, we break them apart and tell them to take turns.

But how exactly is turn taking done? When does one’s turn end and start? Continue reading →

climbers on the playground

To Share Or Not To Share (Part 2)

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The other day I posted how Mia cried over a Frozen book that a little girl at the mall refused to share with her. That was Strike 1. In case you missed that, here it is: To Share Or Not To Share (Part 1).

Just 2 days after that, we  met another non-sharing kid again, this time at the playground, whose unexpected meanness opened our eyes as to how families differ in views when it comes to sharing.

Strike 2: Play day at the park. Continue reading →

In A Snap!

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Preschoolers. One minute they’re as sweet as candy and the next minute, they’re an unstoppable volcanic eruption. It really drives me crazy.

Do you have days like this? When everything is going so smoothly and in just a snap, boom! Gone. They go limp and it’s suddenly thunder and lightning.

A few days ago when I picked Mia up from school, I was surprised how our quality time was cut short.

Continue reading →

Mia with her violin

Why Timers Are My Sidekick

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DING!

For some magical reason, our daughter obeys that sound more than my voice.

That may have sounded like it’s not in my favor but if you have been reading my posts, you can tell that I’m all for easy, tear-free, and no-fuss methods. Anything that can do those, I’m willing to test.

So when I heard that timers help ease transition from one activity to another, we gave it a try. As always, I was skeptical about it Continue reading →

The Best Way To Your Child’s Mind

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Thinking_MIaEven if we have an early talker, there are times when I still can’t get the answer I need, such as when I ask how school was or what they did on certain days. All I get is, “Umm many things” or “It was okay.” Well… that’s not okay.. Moms need detailssssssss.

To solve this, I incidentally found a way that does not involve rephrasing our questions but teaching them one character trait. And it is.. (drumroll please) Continue reading →

Kids Do Everything to Delay Bedtimes

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“Read one book before sleeping Mommy. I promise to read just one book. Not two. Promise. Read one book please. Just one book, promise..”

This was after we had a full day at the mall and I knew she was already too tired and sleepy. She knew I wouldn’t agree because she doesn’t want to read just one, but two, or three books! We will totally be off schedule if I give in. So NO.

“Once there was a little old woman and a little old man..” Continue reading →

5 Things To Add To Our Parenting Duties

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kids choresThere are plenty of things I learned from my mom that I would certainly apply in raising our daughter. I remember telling her while I was still pregnant that I wish I could raise this baby the way she raised us. I admire how she provided our needs without spoiling us, and how she gave us the freedom to play and explore and yet kept us disciplined. I have always thought that those were really hard to balance.

However, as I’ve come to get to know myself more and reflect on my weaknesses as an adult,  Continue reading →

Is Your Child Over-Praised?

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I was pretty much in awe with how fast babies grow and develop during the first year of life. I cheered like a stage mom for all her developments – first roll over, first crawl, first solid foods, first words, first steps, and all the other cute things babies do. We kept on praising as she discovered and gained new skills. It was fun and amazing to watch.

When she was nearing her 2nd birthday, however, I noticed that we were probably overdoing it already. I would hear myself say Very Good to her several times a day even on “not so” very good things. Continue reading →

Ice CreaMedicine

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ice_cream_popsiclesOh how I hate it when babies get sick. Not only do we have to deal with all day crankiness, but also have to force their mouths open and swallow awful tasting meds. Not just once, but often thrice a day, for about 3 to 7 days!

Giving medicines wasn’t a serious problem for us before. And this was because we seldom feed her sweets (except for fruits which are naturally sweet). That may have sounded weird but infrequent exposure to sugary food made the syrups appealing to her as it has a sweet mix into its bitter taste. So with just a bit of explaining that it would make her better, she happily swallowed!

But not until she had Impetigo and we were prescribed antibiotics. Continue reading →