Blogging Parent » Books

Quick Links - Reading and Others - 20 September 2007

Isaak Kwok — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:01:54 +0000

- Reading to kids labour of love
Yes! I’ve got to agree with Andrew Dabbo, a children’s book author and TV presenter from Australia. He says that reading to your children is about sharing love. And that’s why we have the ‘10,000 Fathers Reading’ movement in Singapore. As for me, I try as often as I can to read to Matthew. Not sure if I’m sharing my love, but I know I enjoy spending time reading to him. Not sure if he shares the same sentiments.

-
Crocs, kids and escalators a bad combination?
Hmmmm … seems like Crocs are not too safe for children to use on escalators. Crocs are generally quite comfortable to wear and easy on the feet even if you do quite a bit of walking. But I guess because of their soft-soled characteristics, it’s much easier for the shoes to be caught in escalators. However, it should be noted that most of the cases of Crocs shoes being caught in escalators have occurred with young children. And it might be because the children are not standing in the centre of the escalator steps. But it might be a good idea to not let young children wear Crocs until they are much older. For Matthew, I actually prefer him to wear covered shoes so that his little toes will be protected wherever he walks.

Start Reading To Your Newborn

Isaak Kwok — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:22:53 +0000

It’s never too young to start reading to your children, even if they are still in the mummies’ tummies.

An Australian children’s author, Mem Fox, believes that it is essential to give children a head start by reading to them from an early age, even if they are in the womb.

Besides the educational aspect, there is also the bonding aspect of reading. Research has shown that newborns can easily recognize the daddy’s voice if the daddy has been reading / talking to the baby prior to the birth.

As for Matthew, we have been reading to him since he was born and as a result, he has a tremendous love for books. His current phase is for Thomas the Tank Engine books and toys. Though he can’t read the words yet, he can tell us his version of the stories from the pictures he sees.

(via news.com.au)

Technorati Tags: reading, thomas the tank engine

Books and Reading

Isaak Kwok — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:37:11 +0000

Quite interesting that over the past week that two parent bloggers were commenting about reading and books, Jesse of DadBloggers and Sherry at Inside Motherhood.

Personally, my wife and I are quite keen readers and I think the reading ‘dust’ has rubbed off on Matthew as well. He’ll want either of us to read to him his favorite books (which currently is the Thomas the Tank Engine series) or he’ll just flip the books himself and talks about the different pictures in the books.

Currently, in Singapore, the National Library Board has this “10,000 Fathers Reading” movement going that hopes to promote reading by fathers to their children. And I was fortunate to be invited to be one of the four ambassadors for the launch last month on Father’s Day (17 June 2007).

Technorati Tags: kids, librarians, parenting, reading

Reading with Matthew

Isaak Kwok — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:34:25 +0000

One of the joys of being a father is that I get to read to Matthew. He definitely likes reading … maybe it’s a by-product of having both parents as librarians. He can at times sit on his own and just flip through the many books we have bought for him. Even though he might not understand the words, he can definitely understand the pictures and he’ll either sing when there’s a picture of someone singing or jump when he sees the cow jumping over the moon.

Anyway, I try to find time to read to him before he goes to bed. And he’s likes me to be interactive when telling the stories. I’m not sure if he enjoys it, but I definitely am delighted whenever he climbs onto my lap and passes me the book he wants me to read to him.

His current favorite book is titled My Dad by Charles Fuge.

Technorati Tags: books, parenting, reading

Isaak’s Quick Links - 12 December 2006

Isaak Kwok — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 06:18:17 +0000

- Learning to read
Well, Matthew likes to read and that’s good news to me. Guess having books lying around the house helps in encouraging him to be used to books. He looks really cute when he just sits there flipping through his board books and then looks up at you with a big satisfied smile like he has read a really good book.

- How to Deal with a Friend Who’s Overprotective of Her Children? Talk Amongst Yourselves
I think we are a little under-protective of Matthew. But we do have a relative that’s a little too over-protective of her kids. Guess everyone has their own way of dealing with their children.

- The 7 kids’ health myths every mom should ignore
Haven’t heard of any of these myths. But good to keep in mind that these are not true.
(via Parent Hacks)

- 5 gifts that would make your kids rich
When Matthew is old enough, I’ll buy him a copy of “Alexander, Who Used To Be Rich Last Sunday” by Judith Viorst (check NLB Catalogue’s for availability here or here to buy a copy from Amazon.com) as well as the board game, Payday (click here to buy a copy from Amazon.com) .
(via Get Rich Slowly)

- Wanting Babies Like Themselves, Some Parents Choose Genetic Defects
Hmmm … ethical and moral issues!!!
(via DadTalk)

- Epidurals ‘hamper breastfeeding’
Well, Wendy had 3 doses of epidural during her labour and thankfully there were no effects as mentioned in the article. She managed to breastfeed during the first week and was breastfeeding Matthew till he was about 7 months because by then, he was more interested in drinking powdered milk.

Technorati Tags: baby, child development, children’s books, family, matthew, parenting, reading

Stay-At-Home Dad

Isaak Kwok — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 06:14:35 +0000

Saw this post on Inside Fatherhood about Stay-At-Home Dads (SAHDs). In the post, he provides links to 5 articles he has previously written that would help dads make the decision if they should become a SAHD. But his best advice given is “Just Do It”.

However, I haven’t convinced Wendy if I should become a Stay-At-Home Dad, but, more importantly, myself. It’s a very big decision to make. There’ll be the financial consideration and that would be the biggest consideration for us. In addition, there’ll also be a matter of taking Matthew out of infant care and the lack of interaction with other kids though that can be reduced by joining a SAHD support group. To a smaller extent, there would be the question of ‘face’ since the father is supposed to be the breadwinner of the family in our Asian context. So, there is quite a bit to think about before we can make the big decision.

And I’ll be going to borrow some books, like the ones below, to read up on becoming a SAHD.

Full time father: how to succeed as a stay at home dad
Richard Hallows; editors: Richard Craze, Roni Jay
Great Ambrook: White Ladder, 2004
Call No.: English 305.33649 HAL
Click here for item availability on NLB’s catalogue or here if you want to buy a copy.

The stay-at-home dad handbook
Peter Baylies with Jessica Toonkel
Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, 2004
Call No.: English 306.8742 BAY-[FAM]
Click here for item availability on NLB’s catalogue or here if you want to buy a copy.

Stay-at-home dads: the essential guide to creating the new family
Libby Gill
New York: Plume, 2001
Call No.: English 649.1 GIL-[FAM]
Click here for item availability on NLB’s catalogue or here if you want to buy a copy.

Technorati Tags: books, parenting, sahd, stay-at-home dad