I couldn’t stop my tears (of excitement) from flowing for a couple reasons.

I read about a story of a 14-year old girl, Tee Hui Yi, getting a heart transplant after waiting for the right donor for more than a year.

Definitely it’s good news for Hui Yi who has been using a luggage-like mechanical heart all this while. It’s also an exciting moment for her parents who have never stopped praying for her fast recovery.

As a parent, I share in the joy too. The transplant gives a huge relief to her parents.

But what really touched me was more than that.

I feel so proud for the father of the donor - a 15-year-old boy who has been confirmed brain-dead after a road accident.

It really touched my heart when he said this after he received a telephone call from a doctor telling him that his son’s heart had been successfully transplanted to Hui Yi:

“Although I have lost a son, I now feel like I have a foster daughter.”

On why he agreed for his son to be an organ donor, he said: “My son was God’s gift to me. Now, it is time to return the gift to God.”  

The moment I read this, my tears started to flow uncontrollaby.

I truly believe that Hui Yi would agree with me that this is a gift of life that is so full of love and selflessness.

I wish more people would pledge to donate their organs to save more lives and help others live a better life.

It occurred to me when I was young, my mom always asked me to stop crying whenever I cried.

Now that I am a dad myself, it's only natural that I follow my mother's footsteps. But I realize there's something wrong to ask a child who is genuinely sad to stop crying.

Men don’t cry mentality is a misconception. We should throw it out of the window. Crying won’t make men a sissy. Rather it makes you stronger.

If you have cried before as I did on a few occasions, you know the "high" feeling that comes after a good cry. Not to mention the feeling of relief. Hard to describe but it's such a great feeling!

Now let's talk about crying children.

Lazy to read about pregnancy? Why not listen?

Thanks to Sinead of Breastfeeding Mums who has created some wonderful podcasts.

The good thing about podcasts is you can download the audio and listen while driving or cooking.

One of the topics touched by Sinead is Early Pregnancy Symptoms. 

Other topics include Preparing for Pregnancy and Pregnancy and Morning Sickness.

For future podcasts, remember to check back often here.

How could I miss this important day?

I was tipped off by Megan Bayliss of Imaginif that today is Bloggers Unite – Blog Against Abuse Day.

It’s important that bloggers get together to spread the message of love and care toward children. With the increasing number of child sexual abuse, assault and murder, this has become even more important than ever.

I am really pissed off by news of this nature. One such recent example is Nurin Jazlin.

I urge you to spread the word about Blog Against Abuse Day and ask your friends to write something about child abuse on their blogs.

Or you can submit a story to Megan’s blog here. No story is too trivial to share. Submit it now.

Do your bit and let’s work together to make this world a better place, especially for the young and innocent children. 

I was startled when my friends asked how I got my two kids to sit quietly in the car seats when they saw two fitted in the back of our car.

According to them, they have problems getting their child to sit in a car seat. Worse, some never think of using car seats at all!

Oh my God! I thought parents are supposed to put child safety as priority when they are on the road.

It’s better safe than sorry. As for me, since the birth of our first child, J, car seat is something that my wife and I seem to agree upon without much argument (not that we always argue).

Here are some parenting tips to add to your Sunday reading:

10 Essential Packing Rules when you’re Traveling with the Kids – Excellent tips if you are traveling with young children. Michael and Hannah are the experts as they are always on the move with two kids.

Twenty skills to teach children self control – Every parent should have this. It’s an overview of what you should teach your child.

How Well Do You Communicate With Your Kids? – As I always say, you can multitask your business but not people, especially your kids.

What a week!

I have just recovered from vomiting and diarrhea. I got it since Monday. Trust me, you don’t want to go through this (forgive me if it sounds gross but that’s what happened):

First day: Vomited several times 8-10 times.
Second day: Diarrhea, 7-8 times. Mainly watery stools. Completely knocked out. Took a 3-hour nap.
Third day: Diarrhea, 3-4 times. Vomited once.
Forth day: Diarrhea once.
Fifth day: Hooray, solid stools. Started to crave for foods.

Sounds bad huh? There’s more.

Have you seen Nurin Jazlin?

I don’t usually post negative news here (rape, murder, assault... you know what I mean). I think we have had enough everywhere else. I just want to send out positive vibes here.

But I CAN’T give this a skip. As a parent, I know how heart wrenching it is to have lost your beloved child. By posting a story about Nurin, I hope I could help in the search of this 8-year old Malaysian girl.  

Nurin, a Year Two pupil at SK Desa Setapak, failed to return home after going to the night market in Section 1, Wangsa Maju, at 8.30pm on Aug 20.

There has been no inkling of where eight-year-old Nurin is despite a massive nationwide search.

If you have seen this girl, call +6 (03) - 2031 9999 (Malaysian Police).

Let’s pray for the safe return of Nurin.

---

Follow on update:

September 21:  Bad news. The police have confirmed that the body found in a sports bag is Nurin. But the parents denied that it's their daughter yesterday. However, with overwhelming scientific proof produced, the parents have to accept the sad news. According to this blog, the body will be claimed this morning and funeral (burial) would probably be held after Friday prayers today.

Our deepest condolences to Nurin's family. RIP, Nurin Jazlin.

"No man is an island."

Does teaching children social skills really matter? You bet.

Helping your child develop social skills at an early age is something parents must do if you want your child to thrive later in life.

Why teach children social skills?

1) They become more people friendly and people oriented.
2) They learn to get along with people.
3) They learn how to share, not being self centered.
4) They learn to care for other's feelings.
5) They learn there are things beyond family members.
6) They become more confident.
7) They learn to cope with differences.

I saw a vast improvement in my preschool daughter last weekend. During our visit to my friend’s house, for the first time, J played with my friend's daughter without our company.

I would like to share some interesting (and useful) posts with you. You may want to add them to your reading list.

• Cool Chalkboards Your Kids Will Love – Here’s an excellent tip if you don’t want your kid mess things up during art time. While you’re there, check out other posts by Dr. MOZ, mainly on gadgets.

• Stop bleeding the Cuban way – Tried and tested natural way just by using sugar. Handy for family accidents.

• Build a Reading Family: How to Share Reading with Your Kids – I can’t emphasize more on the importance of cultivating reading habits in children. Some awesome tips on making reading fun with your children.