Valid for the classroom, valid for the home!

Welcome back! Your child has been horrible!

Have you ever been welcomed by complaints on incidents upon which you have no possible power?

There are times when a parent who picks up her child at school is greeted by such interjections. Chances are this parent had a rough day too, maybe something to put in perspective when considering why the child has been acting up especially on that day.

In most cases, the parent grabs the child by the hand, forgetting that this was probably the moment for which the child had waited impatiently all day long, mumbles to the teacher and marches on to the car. Some angry minutes later, the pair enter home and Mum spills the news to an equally tired husband, only for she does not have all the elements and gets upset when the father rationally expects and asks for more details.

The evening is ruined, the bed routine is slapped on the child, because, let’s face it, it is all his fault, or the teacher’s fault, which amounts to the same as far as the hug good-night is concerned.

This carries on to the next morning, with a tired Mum dropping off the said child at school, either avoiding the teacher, or snapping at her.

The nightmare goes on. Chances are great that the child will act up again, pushed by all kinds of negative emotions that he cannot express, and Mum will get yet another dose of “horrible”… “fighting”… “naughty” and the like.

Teachers have a duty to ease the day of anyone in their care. They often compare their actions with parents’ and they should not, for they are not in the same position. They get paid to do the job and parents give their child everything they have with no guaranty that it will pay off at one point or another.

Teachers have an amazing chance to see the big picture, because their vision is not clouded by emotions and needs. So, why is it that they find sympathizing so difficult to do? Is it a matter of training?

I don’t think so, on a personal side, I feel it is more a matter of humility and looking at the world with the willingness to come out from under the banana leaf. As far as the professional side is concerned, it is necessary for teachers to distance themselves from the emotions and negativity and look at what impact a behavior has on the individual. Thinking outside of the box in these cases means focusing on what the child can do, did achieve in one day, rather than retaining only the small mishaps of his day. 

Want to make a difference in your kid's life? Try the Chinese granny technique!

In this day and age, my kid measures up to any other kid in his school: he has access to every bit of technology before I even know how to use it, you name it: computer, Ipad, Android phone, digital notebook... and here comes the toughest for me: at will TV, 3D TV (no, we don't have one!), sound surround, XBox, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, etc.

With all that equipment, force is to realize that kids still manage to do exactly the same thing we did when we were kids, and remote controls had not even been invented yet, (let alone day TV, ha-ha!), they get bored, don't know what to do, don't like to write to grand-parents, disagree on what to play and the like... sounds familiar?

Yes, indeed, there is no need to be worried that computers will kill the good old fashioned card hand-writing, because kids don't like emailing more than we liked to write, and they still watch the same Scoobi-Doo with 150 channels to chose from as we did right before heading back to school after lunch.
So, don't let the appearances fool you! Kids might look like they don't care and we bore them to death with our supposed to be cultural-familial-lesson, but they do take notice all the same. They like the old-style ball kicking game and shooting dummies in the back yard, kids are kids, technology or not, when they hit the fields, there is no telling whether they are 21st century prodigies or not.

So, is there hope on the Web for this new generation of lazy Toms and Harrys out there (I actually have a friend called Tom and one called Harry, no pun intended, guys!)? Of course there is!
I am working on a website for kids called "Life's 2 short." Life's too short for what? you might ask. Well, too short for just about anything that takes more than fifteen minutes. Homework, for one, and all kind of adult advise: on girls and boys, friends and foes, etc.
And what about recollections of past stories which parents tell whether there is a need or not? Kids actually love those, it helps them figure out what is going on at the present, by relying on Mum or Dad's old adventures. But who has time for this? Definitely not a pre-teen, who is running after time like a dog chasing a Frisbee. "Wait!" and "Later!" are their joker words for "Leave me alone, but keep talking." You'd better believe it, kids want to hear it, but while they're putting on their shoes or brushing their teeth, so that they won't "waste time," precious minutes of their "à la Tom Sawyer" day.

This is what the web can do for them: give their parents some tools to keep feeding these lessons to them while they are on the go. Have you ever witnessed a Chinese granny feeding her toddler grand-child? The kid is on the move and she is on the move after him, chopsticks balancing the chicken strips and Bai Cai in the one hand, and the bowl of Bai Fan in the other. Man, these people are skilled! This is what we parents must become! So, grab your chopsticks and chase after that kid, chance are you might get some of the chicken strip-knowledge into him before he's out of sight.

In this day and age, my kid measures up to any other kid in his school, and in the world, challenge is: do I?