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The One Activity Your Children Can Do with Grandparents

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When my children paid a visit to their grandparents last weekend, we didn't do much as it was a short trip. The kids had only 2 days, 1 night to spend.

To best make use of the trip, I tried to get the kids to bond and hopefully form a closer relationship with my parents and siblings, whom they only meet once every few months.

Of course, playing with kids was one of the ways. But there’s one problem. It took a while for the kids to “warm-up” and accept my parents as playmates. Furthermore, my folks can't match the grandchildren’s enthusiasm.

Fortunately, I found a better idea: watching home made videos.

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Child Growth and Development: What My 20-month Old Can Do

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To add to my list of skills of a 19-month, here is an update on what my 20 months old son, K, can do:

  • Sweet sound of “Mommy” – Just last Friday, he managed to call “Mommy” and “Daddy” correctly. All this while, he used to call us “Mama” and “Papa.” Only one-syllable words he could master then.
  • “Read this book for me” – Before last night, K was not interested in sitting down quietly and “read” a book. Let alone flipping through page by page. For some reason (Maybe the interest spills over after he sees us reading together with his elder sister almost every night. He wants to be part of it), he asked me to “go through” a book with him last night. What he can do now is to recognize some pictures and say the words out. Such as “dog”, “car”, “shoes”, and so on.
  • Simple communication – K can tell us something without saying the words. He will use sign language to communicate what he wants and doesn’t want. Such as “Mommy gave me this bread.” – while he’s pointing at the bread.
  • Getting violent – If someone blocks his way or stops him from getting a toy he aims at getting, he’d hit or bite! Not sure where he learns from but definitely it’s not from me.

That’s it. A pretty short list, right? But it’s already quite a lot to achieve within a month…for a toddler.

The Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Home School

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Somehow this article caught my attention. Because it’s a question I need to find answer to…

“Shall I send my daughter to a public school or private school or home school?”

There’s a debate in great length going on at The Washington Post’s On Parenting column. Stacey Garfinkle posed the question to the floor.

It’s an interesting topic indeed. Some replies that I find worth mentioning are:

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Traveling with Kids: How I Survived an 8-Hour Road Trip

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I just came back from visiting my parents and in-laws over the weekend. My wife and two young kids were with me.

On a normal day, the trip takes us 4 hours. But due to heavy traffic, it took us 6 hours to reach and 8 hours for the round trip respectively.

One would admit that a 6-hour (or 8-hour) trip with kids is no easy task.

In hindsight, I was amazed at myself how I survived the LONG road trip with my two young kids tagging along.

This was not the first time we traveled that far. But this was the longest.

It dawned on me that maybe it’s useful to share with you what my wife and I did that helped us pull through the trip.

Please note that we are no experts in road trips. But with our own experiences traveling long distance with kids in a car, we learned some useful tips along the way.

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Have a Great Weekend with Kids – Fun of Hiking and Checklist for Beginners

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I always try new weekend activities with my children. I want them to have weekends that are different from the rest. One more reason is to let them expose to different kinds of activities and see what they prefer.

One of the weekend getaways that my whole family loves is hiking.

We are lucky to get to know about a local Hash Harriers club through a friend. And this club organizes hikes/runs once a month for young participants.

For the first-time hiking that I joined, I felt so good after the walk. It was my first since many years back. It’s good to get connected to Mother Nature again after all these years.

My elder daughter was delighted, especially when she got a chance to play in a stream. Even though she was hesitant at first, but now she can’t wait to jump into the water when she sees one.

Likewise, my younger son dared not to even come down and walk for the first trip. He held tight to me throughout the journey. Now, when I carry him, he asks me to let him down on the trek and go into the stream.

Compared to the first trip, my kids have “improved” a lot.

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