Parenting

If you know or read about him, Steve Jobs was not a guy with excellent PR. He said what he thought. He was so straight forward that some people call him rude and many couldn’t get along with him well.

Despite that, Steve was one of the entrepreneurs that revolutionized the world across five industries. He had touched the lives of billions of people. He had changed the way we live, work, and play.

Yet, with his poor human-relationship skills, how did the Apple co-founder convince his colleagues to create what he envisioned?

If you think he lured his workers with money, you are wrong.

If you think he tempted them with power and control, you are wrong too.

Anyway, here’s how he did it: [Read more…]

It’s too long. I can’t remember when was the first time J and K started to argue over what’s fair and what’s not. It’s as old as history.

I only know that lately their quarrels, sometimes even over tiny things, intensify to a level that I can’t stand anymore. They happen too often and over things that are getting smaller.

They try to uphold fairness in almost everything. If one party has not done something equally, the other party will start complaining. Oftentimes, this leads to unhappiness in all.

“It’s time for me to use the bathroom downstairs.”

“I do dishes more than you do. It’s your time.”

“This time you put away the toys. I did it the last time.”

“It’s your turn to wipe the table.” [Read more…]

I don’t do what most parents do. In fact, I do it the other way around. Sometimes, I don’t do it at all.

I am talking about giving rewards to children. Especially when it comes to motivating your child to achieve academic excellence.

(There are reasons why I don’t do it. To know more, read this past article:
http://www.parentwonder.com/how-not-to-motivate-your-child-during-exams/ )

I don’t motivate J and K with rewards to bribe for good results. I tell them to do the best they can. And to do it out their own motivation and willingness – at least not for some new, shiny toys.

This time is different. Even though I didn’t promise them rewards before the exams, we decided to reward them for their good results. [Read more…]

In the past few months, my parenting life was smooth and without any big challenge.

Life has its way. When you think you are having a good time, it wants to make it even more interesting.

Out of a routine conversation we had yesterday, I accidentally found out that J was lying to me. It’s about school exams. She contradicted herself and I picked it up like a policeman investigating a case.

Here’s the fact: As a parent, when you realize that you child tells a lie, it’s definitely heart-breaking. I am no exception. [Read more…]