Kamu Dengar? Agaknya dia dengar atau tidak...... Bagaimana Anda Boleh Bercakap Dengan Anak Agar Mereka Mendengar dan Memberi Kerjasama

"Ali, kemaskan bilik kamu, simpan semua mainan, lepas tu makan!" jerit ibu Ali dari dapur. Setengah jam kemudian, ibu keluar dari dapur dan dapati Ali masih tercegat di depan TV. "Dah kemas bilik tak?" jeritnya lagi. Di saat ini, Ali mengheret kakinya menuju bilik, ini menyebabkan ibu bertambah marah lalu mula berleter "Kamu ni kan......blah.....blah....blah...." Ibu berleter hampir lima belas minit.

Situasi seperti di atas ini menunjukkan keadaan yang biasanya terjadi dalam kebanyakkan keluarga, di mana ibubapa tidak mampu berkomunikasi secara berkesan dengan anak-anak. Komunikasi yang tidak berkesan mendatangkan pelbagai kesan negatif seperti perasaan-perasaan negatif, mewujudkan sifat saling tidak menghormati dan juga mengakibatkan kekecohan yang sebenarnya boleh dielakkan. Terdapat beberapa cara bagaimana anda boleh berkomunikasi dengan anak-anak untuk mendapat perhatian mereka agar mendengar serta memberi respon yang sepatutnya. Berikut adalah beberapa langkah yang boleh anda gunakan.


1. Kontak mata

Pastikan anda mendapat perhatian anak dengan melihat tepat ke dalam matanya. Jika perlu, anda boleh berlutut, pastikan mata anda sama paras dengan mata anak sebelum anda memulakan perbualan mahupun memberi arahan.

2. Ringkas

Gunakan ayat yang singkat dan ringkas. Terus kepada apa yang anda ingin anak lakukan. Gunakan satu ayat pada satu waktu. Terlalu banyak bercakap akan menyebabkan anak hilang perhatian. Apabila anak kelihatan tidak berminat, ini bermakna dia sudah tidak memberi perhatian, tidak mendengar dan tidak memahami apa yang anda katakan. Anak anda hanya memekakkan telinga. Contoh yang baik: "Ali, tolong simpan mainan." Jangan sesekali mengatakan "Ali, simpan semua mainan, mainan kamu ni semua menyerakkan rumah. Kamu suka tengok rumah macam ni?" Ayat kedua ini haruslah dielakkan sama sekali, kerana anak-anak memang gemar meletakkan mainan di mana-mana sahaja bagi memudahkan mereka bermain, maka jangan diajukan soalan sebegitu, kerana ia mengundang jawapan yang anda sendiri tidak mahu dengar!

3. Ulang permintaan anda

Cara terbaik untuk memastikan anak memahami permintaan anda adalah dengan memintanya mengulang permintaan yang telah anda nyatakan kepadanya. Contoh: "Apa yang kamu perlu buat Ali?" Dengan cara ini, anda lebih pasti bahawa anak anda tahu apa yang perlu dilakukan.

4. Gunakan pendekatan perlakuan - kesan

Kita tahu setiap perlakuan pastinya mendatangkan suatu kesan. Maka gunakan konsep ini sebaiknya. Minta anak anda lakukan apa yang anda ingin dia lakukan sebelum dia peroleh apa yang dia inginkan. Anda buat, anda dapat. Contohnya, anda boleh katakan "Simpan mainan kamu kemudian kamu boleh tengok cerita kartun kegemaran kamu." Pendekatan ini secara tidak langsung memaklumkan kepada anak bahawa anda mementingkan pematuhan, bahawa anak perlu patuh pada permintaan atau arahan sebelum mendapat apa yang diingininya. Walaubagaimanapun, hati-hati dalam menggunakkan pendekatan ini, elakkan ayat yang bermula dengan "Jika....." kerana ia umpama memberi pilihan untuk buat atau tidak.

5. Bercakaplah dengan hormat. 

Apabila anda mengemukakan permintaan, mulakan dengan "Tolong....." dan jangan lupa untuk mengatakan "terima kasih...." setelah anak menyiapkan apa yang anda minta mereka lakukan. Kesantunan adalah suatu ciri-ciri yang mula terbentuk sejak awal lagi dan sekiranya anda ingin memupuk nilai ini dalam diri anak anda, anda perlu memulakannya terlebih dahulu. Anda perlulah menjadi apa yang anda ingin anak anda jadi. Kanak-kanak belajar dengan paling berkesan melalui konsep model, maka jadilah model yang terbaik untuk anda.

6. Bercakaplah mengikut peringkat perkembangan anak

Ini memerlukan anda mempunyai sedikit pemahaman tentang peringkat perkembangan anak anda. Walaubagaimanapun, satu panduan mudah yang boleh anda ikuti ialah, lebih kecil anak anda, lebih ringkas ayat yang harus anda gunakan.

7. Elakkan mengugut

Elak sebarang ugutan apabila bercakap dengan anak. Contoh: "Jika kamu tak kemas, ibu buang semua mainan kamu ni." Ugutan selalunya boleh memakan diri. Mengapa? Kerana anak-anak akan melihat sama ada anda benar-benar  melakukan apa yang telah dikatakan. Jadi, apabila anda meluahkan ayat seperti di atas ini, adakah anda benar benar bersedia untuk membuang kesemua mainan anak dan membeli pula yang baru bila anak perlu bermain? Apabila anak lihat anda tidak pun melakukan apa yang telah anda katakan, anak akan kurang mempercayai anda. Anda akan sukar untuk dapatkan kerjasama daripada anak di masa depan kerana mereka sudah tidak mempercayai anda.

8. Beri makluman yang awal

Tip ini sangat berguna terutamanya apabila anda perlu meninggalkan taman permainan, taman, kolam renang atau mana-mana tempat di mana anak sedang seronok bermain atau beraktiviti. Berikan notis yang awal bahawa anda akan meninggalkan tempat tersebut tidak lama lagi. Contoh: "Ali, kita akan pulang dalam masa sepuluh minit lagi." Ini memberi peluang kepada anak bersedia untuk berhenti melakukan aktiviti tersebut dan tidak perlu berhenti secara mengejut yang selalunya mengakibatkan anak marah.

Jika anda amalkan tip-tip di atas dan menjadikan satu amalan di rumah, ianya akan membuat anak-anak mahu mendengar dan memberi kerjasama. Dengan apa jua cara dan kaedah, apa yang penting adalah anda mengamalnya secara berterusan di dalam semua situasi sehingga amalan ini menjadi sebahagian tabiat, dan dengan semulajadi anda akan bercakap dengan anak-anak menggunakan kaedah yang mampu membuat anak-anak mendengar dan memberi kerjasama. Ini seterusnya akan membentuk anak-anak menjadi individu yang berdisiplin. Selamat berkomunikasi dengan anak-anak anda!

Are you Listening? You Wonder......How to talk to get your child to cooperate.

"Ali, clean your room, put your toys away then come eat!" yells Ali's mom while she's in the kitchen. Half an hour later, mom comes out from the kitchen and finds Ali in front of the TV. "Have you clean your room?" she yells again. At this juncture, Ali drags his feet to his room, making his mom further angry, and then she starts nagging "You......blah.....blah....blah....." for almost fifteen minutes.

This depicts a situation in so many households where parents are not able to communicate effectively with their children. A bad communication at home leads to many unwanted feelings, breeds disrespect and causes unnecessary commotion. There are ways how you can communicate with your children to get them to listen and respond accordingly. Here are several important points you may want to consider:


1. Eye contact

Always get your child's attention by looking at him in his eyes. Kneel down if you need, bring your eye to his eye level before you begin talking.

2. Keep it simple

Use direct sentence that is short, simple. Go straight to what you want your child to do. Use one sentence at a time. Too much babbling only drifts their attention away. When you see your child giving you a disinterested look, he is no longer listening or understanding you. He's given you a deaf ear. Example : "Ali, please put your toys away." Do not say "Ali, put your toys away, they make the whole house messy. Just look at that, is that how you like your house to be?" This second sentence is a BIG no no. A child will definitely love to conveniently have their toys laying around just anywhere, so you do not want to get that as an answer from them!

3. Repeat your request

The best way to know your child has understood your request is to make him repeat your request. Example : "What do you need to do Ali?" This way, you know for sure that he listened and knows what he needs to do.

4. Use the behaviour - consequence approach

Get your child to do what he needs to before he gets what he wants. You do this, you get this. "Put your toys away and then you can watch your favorite cartoon." This informs the child that you expect obedience, that the child needs to obey before he gets what he wishes for. Be cautious however, not to begin your sentence with "If...." when you use this approach. "If....." implies a choice, as if you are telling your child that he has a choice to do or not to do.

5. Speak with respect

When making requests, always start with "Please....." and don't forget to say "Thank you....." when your child completes what you have asked him to do. Social manners begin at a very young age and if you want to instill this is your child, you will need to start practicing them yourself. You need to be what you want your child to be. Children learn the most through modeling, so you better show them good manners.

6. Speak according to your child's developmental stage

This requires some understanding of your chid's developmental stage. However, an easy rule to follow is the younger they are, the simpler you speak.

7. Avoid threats

Avoid using threats when speaking with your child. Example "If you don't clean up, I will throw all your toys." Threats can always backfire, why? Because children actually see if you keep to your words. So when you say something like the above sentence, are you REALLY prepared to throw their toys and then buy new ones when they need? When your child sees that you didn't really do want you threatened to do, they will trust you less. And you will find it difficult to get them to cooperate in the future because they simply know you will not do what you say, so at the end of the day, they get it their way!

8. Inform in advance

This tip is especially helpful when you need to leave the park, the playground, the swimming pool or any place where your child is having fun or engage in something. Give them an advance notice that you are about to leave. Example: "Ali, we're leaving in ten minutes." This gives the child a time to prepare himself to part with what he is doing and he does not need to stop abruptly.



If you follow the above tips and make it a practice in your household, you will notice that your children will listen and cooperate. With any method or rule, it is important that you follow through and maintain it in every situation so that it becomes habitual, therefore you will naturally speak in ways that your child will listen and respond accordingly, which in turn shapes your child into a disciplined individual. All the best in communicating with your angels!

KEEPING THE PRESSURE AWAY AND STAYING EMOTIONALLY POSITIVE IN YOUR PARENTING JOURNEY

Being a parent is no simple job. The endless demands parents are faced with, in fulfilling the needs of our children can be very draining physically and mentally, the last thing any parent need is to emotionally suffer in their parenting journey; a journey we are all suppose to enjoy and embrace.

In the parenting talks I conduct, I always remind parents about the effects of PARENTAL PEER PRESSURE. You must be wondering what is this parental peer pressure. We used to hear children and teenagers having difficulty with peer pressure, but what has this peer pressure got to do with parents?

"Adam scored 5As", "Yeay! My darling daughter just completed her 6th stage in  her reading programme and she's only 4 years old", "Ani's latest gadget (a caption for a picture)". Isn't these familiar? Parents are constantly bombarded with such statement from relatives and friends. These days, it gets worse, because you no longer wait for the family reunion or reunion with friends to experience this dreadful comparisons between their children and your children, thanks to technology, you get updates every second, even those you wish you didn't see or read!

So just how do you ensure that you stay strong and positive about your own children despite the constant updates? The most important thing to remember is that every child is unique. Every child has his own strengths and weaknesses. It is our knowledge of our children's strengths and weaknesses that will guide us through  those times when you sometimes go "wow" at others' children and start wondering whether your children are fine or otherwise.  Whenever you read or observe something that effects you, makes you feel down, quickly recall the wonderful things your children have mastered and achieve. Each of our children has their own unique abilities and interests, if only we take time to see and appreciate their uniqueness, we surely can spare ourselves from feeling disturbed by the achievement of others. We need to learn to embrace and celebrate each child's uniqueness and abilities.

There is this concept of multiple intelligence which I will write about soon to help parents understand that not every child is strong academically. Some may strengths in the creative field. Some may have strengths in the technical field and so many more. Our ability to accept this fact will also help us in feeling good about our children. What ever strengths our children have, they can succeed when we ourselves have successfully acknowledge those strengths and give them a chance to grow and bloom with those strengths. I pray and hope that all parents out there stay focused on your children's strengths. So go out and embrace your children's uniqueness!

Low Cost School Holiday Activities

School is out and it's time for some serious fun for the kids. Have you got plans for your kids? School holidays do not need to involve activities that will burn a hole in your pocket. School holiday is a good time to train children with some life skills. It is also a good time to rekindle love among family members, as during schooling season, the children are usually bombarded with homework and the endless tuition and after school activities, not forgetting the busy parents as well. So, this is a great time to catch up and have fun together while instilling love and positive values in our children.

There are plenty of activities that you can plan ahead for you and your children which will not cost you so much. Here are some of the things I like to share with all parents out there. Some of these things are what I usually do and some are things I plan to do this holidays.

Movie night

How wonderful will it be to snuggle up on a cosy sofa with some home made snack watching a movie everyone in the family loves?  I've got a list of movies suitable for everyone in the family that we will be watching this holidays.

Movie party with friends

Let the kids have some fun with friends. Allow you children to invite around 2 or 3 closest friends  to watch a movie together in your house. Provide some healthy snacks for them.

Outdoor activities

The outdoor provides plenty of opportunity to have fun. Cycling, taking stroll in the park, picnic are among several things you can do. I personally love taking my children to parks for them to learn and explore more about nature. My kids love picking up leaves, an opportunity for me to teach them about size and shape, I also teach them the why some leaves are green while others are yellow/brown. My daughter is especially crazy of collecting biji saga these days, so we will go to the park and spend quite some time picking up the bright red seeds which she takes home to decorate or use it during play time as one of the items to cook. They also love chasing after birds and feeding them.

Fun at the beach which does not cost much if you pack food and drinks from home

Water play 

This is something every child loves. It is a wonderful activity they love so much, gives you some time to relax with your spouse and most importantly cost saving and easy. Those DIY  plastic pools can be purchased at almost all supermarkets and it will cost you less than RM50 depending on the size. I have this pool at home, we just blow it up, fill it with water and let the kids play. Me and hubby will sit back and relax, enjoy the time chatting, drinking our favorite beverage or juice.

The fun time with water play at home

Art and Craft

There are plenty craft projects available online. Get some ideas there. You can also provide water colour, pencil colour, crayons and plenty of paper and allow children to just create their own art. In my family, art is an activity we love doing together. My husband happens to be a trained artist, so painting and coloring is something my children look forward too. They are given lots of opportunity to explore with colours. We frame their work and display them on the wall of our dining area.

My children during one of their art sessions

The two dragons produced by my son, Daanish.

Another art session, using chalks and drawing on the floor at the porch.

Cooking 

Kids actually love it when mothers give them a chance to help out in the kitchen. By including them in the process of preparing meal, you instill the value of good nutrition, love by observing the effort you put in preparing wholesome meal for the family, names of vegetables and many more. It is more rewarding when they are invited to prepare their favorite meal or baking their favorite cookie. 

The chocolate milk shake my kids made with my supervision

My daughter, Maya Sari busy with her cookies

Camping

Camping is so much fun yet we hardly find families do this. We've had some non Malaysian friends who asked us why don't Malaysian parents take their children for camping. I guess it is something many of us are not exposed to hence we don't even think about it as something possible to do with our children. I was first inspired to go camping when I read an article by an overseas blogger which you can read here. Off course camping requires a bit of planning. I found this list really helpful. First of all, scout around to find a place that is safe for you and family. I live in Sg Petani, Kedah after moving from Kuala Lumpur about two and half years ago. There's a wonderful beach called Pantai Merdeka which has a beautiful resort but also camping spot. This place is especially popular among families who love fishing. We decided to give it a try as it was a safe area with many other families too. We already have a tent, so what we needed were just some other basic supplies. We camped for one night, I prepared goodie bags for my children with several simple stuff to give them some activities to do besides star gazing and playing at the beach. It was truly an unforgettable experience which we definitely want to do again!

At the camping site

Simple breakfast prepared at the camping site

There you have several ideas for the coming holidays. I hope you and your family will have a joyful holiday. 

KEEP THE GADGETS AWAY, GIVE YOUR CHILD THE MUCH DESERVED LIFE

Hello there.....I've been wanting to write this post for days already. I've been putting it off with the Eid celebration, entertaining the kids after our family from Kuala Lumpur left for home (after a week plus staying with us to celebrate Eid). What a wonderful and blessed Eid celebration it has been :) Today, this very moment, at 7.50 am with the cool weather (it was pouring rain at 6am) and the hubby's out sending our son to school and the lil princess still asleep, I am writing this post.

I've always believe that too much dependency on gadgets are bad for children. My son learnt to switch on the computer when he was only one and half years old. He would switch it on for us to play nursery rhymes and then moving on to watching Disney Pixar's CARS (his all time favorite). By the time he was four, he knows Youtube and where to get all the nursery rhymes and games. At this point I thought, I'd never buy a play station for him or any gadgets that will get him hooked on for hours just playing games. I was so worried that gadgets would provide him with so much fun that learning becomes boring. I am especially worried because our education system is already so boring.  However, living in the era where everyone (well, at least almost everyone) has access to internet, latest handphone with multi functions and tablets, I know I cannot keep it away completely from my children.  I also fear that if I do not expose them to these things, they'd be left behind. So the solution to it, is to allow with limits. My son was allowed to use the internet for 30 minutes everyday after school once all his home work is completed. It was much easier to manage my son.  My problems started when my husband bought an iPad. He then allowed the children to play games and watched videos on it. What magic it does, the iPad can really be a substitute for a baby sitter, the kids can sit on the couch for hours just playing games and watch videos after videos. During one of our adventure trip to the Lenggong Valley, a guy we met said "It's money worth spent, when you can get something like this as a baby sitter". I am guilty too. Especially at times when I am occupied and didn't have much time to organize stuff for the kids, I'd just pass the iPad to them, so much so that they've got accustomed to it, that my three year old daughter screams and cries whenever we don't allow her to use the iPad.

I know this has to stop, been thinking about it, delaying from one week to another. Thanks to Maxis which came up with an excellent Raya advertisement in which an urban boy went back to the kampung with his family to celebrate Raya. He's so used to gadgets that the first few days was a torture for him as he could not access the internet (actually his younger cousin in the kampung hid the wifi modem), he finally started playing with his younger cousin and they had so much fun without any gadget. Seeing this,  I said "I am going to take up this challenge." So come Raya, we took the iPad away. My kids played and interacted a lot with their cousins. When they're not playing, I'd see all four of them busy drawing, coloring, and more drawing and coloring. What a wonderful situation. And the best part is, I didn't have to put up with screams and cries and fights over the iPad anymore!

When you come to think of it, there are so many activities that children can do or we can get our kids involve in besides playing games or watching videos on tablets or handphones.  All you need is a little bit of planning and some organizing. Life gets much better and easier when you plan. Don't be worried with the word plan and organize, stuff to do with children are simple. After all, children need time for free play as well. Hence activities which you need to plan and organize will not take so much of your time.

Here are some stuff you can do with your children to fill in time. There are also stuff you can do to teach life skills. At the same time, some of this activities are important in promoting optimal development in your children.

Indoor Activities

 Drawing, coloring and painting are a good way of cultivating creativity. It allows children to express their ideas and communicate to us how they see things. If you allow children to paint and color freely, you too will learn to appreciate uniqueness and individuality. What's more important is that it allows children to be creative. Creativity is a skill much needed in life. Besides developing creativity, art and craft helps in enhancing  hand eye coordination and strengthens hand and finger muscles. Strong hand muscles are important to help children in writing once they start schooling.


Building blocks such a Lego is another activity that strengthens your children's fine motor skills plus it does wonderful things to their brains. It requires children to think how to construct objects. It is also an activity that allows children to develop problem solving skills. Whenever stuck in certain stages, they will have to find ways to reconstruct. Once done, it provides them with a sense of achievement, a crucial element in developing confidence and self-esteem.


Which child doesn't love cooking and baking? Children are actually amazed with the food you create in your kitchen. My son and daughter are always up to asking me if they can help with this and that when I prepare meals. I have a stool for each of them at the kitchen island so that can help anytime they want. Sometimes, I would even ask them if they'd like to bake something. Just like two days ago, I asked them if they would like to bake  a rainbow cake. My daughter was adamant at first because she wanted to paint, so I let her do some painting. Once done, she was all eager to bake the rainbow cake. It was 5.30pm and I said "Let's go and bake." So she helped me with filling up cups with flour, sugar and then mixing the batter and finally mixing color to have the rainbow effect. By 6.30pm we had fresh rainbow cake from the oven. Both the kids were smiling ear to ear to see the rainbow cake and could not wait to eat! Again a sense of achievement. Plus they grow to be more loving because they know what it takes for their mother to prepare fresh food for the family. It also teaches them the importance of eating healthily.

Outdoor Activities

There are plenty of things you can do outdoor. Children love cycling. When I am occupied, I lock the gates and allow them to cycle within the house compound. Once I am done with work, I'd accompany them cycle to the playground where they get to meet their friends and play. This evening play sessions are very important in a child's growing years. For a child to grow healthily and to strengthen their motor development, they need an hour of outdoor play daily. They should be allowed to run around the field, climb the climbing tower at the playground, hang and swing on the monkey bar. Besides physical development, such time that they are given to play with friends also enhances their social skills. They learn to communicate, they learn to share, they learn to wait for their turn and they learn to give and take.

Water play is another fun activity that any child will love. Get a mobile swimming pool which you can fix and then keep once they're done playing. Fill it up with toys or even plastic bottles and just let children have a blast! If space is an issue, you can always allow them to have fun in the bathroom with some supervision. For several years after my kids no longer needed their baby bath tub, I still kept the tub for them to play once in a while. They would just fill up water and toys and have fun.

There are plenty of stuff you can do with your children to keep them happy and to help them grow healthily. The gadgets are just an easy way of handling children but it has devastating effects on their growth. Let's stop depending on the gadgets and give our children the growing experience they deserve.

Cultivating the Spirit of Ramadhan in Our Young Ones

Salam all....it has been a while since I last updated this blog. With Ramadhan approaching, I am sure we are all making preparations physically and spiritually to welcome and embrace the holy month, Ramadhan, the month every Muslim eagerly waits for. 

I have something I'd like to share with my fellow Muslim parents out there to help one another in cultivating the spirit of Ramadhan in our little angels. I came across this awesome Ramadhan Journal published by Yayasan Pendidikan Khalifah while browsing through my Facebook account. It caught my attention, did not think much and ordered three copies of the journal which is being sold at RM10 each. 

The journal divides the holy month of Ramadhan into three phases with ten days in each phase and goals to be achieved in each phase. It is also packed with information related to the details of fasting, events that took place during the month of Ramadhan, stories about our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW and many more. Not only packed with information but it contains many interesting activities to strengthen knowledge on Islam. 

I definitely recommend this to all parents. It is a good resource to help us in teaching our young ones about fasting. The journal provides a  well structured guide for parents to train their kids on fasting, performing solat and imparting knowledge about Islam. Parents can use this journal to discuss about daily activities and goals the night before to mentally, spiritually prepare their kids for fasting and performing good deeds. It is a good resource to help children internalize the spirit of Ramadhan and enjoy this holy month, just like my 8 year old son who is so eager waiting for Ramadhan as he had his first experience of fasting the whole month last year and understanding the reasons behind it plus the good feeling he felt when off course our iman is in checked.  

You may call  03 - 4256 6810 or 013 - 284 9555 to purchase your copy.