Parenting Tales
- “I don’t want you!” my daughter yelled, her little fingers pushing me away mightily. It was bedtime, and I had disrupted her routine by lying down on the mattress beside her instead of her mum. This feisty toddler was not in the least bit amused. As a mature adult, I was bemused instead of hurt - but this thought came to me. Some married men might not want to become fathers because they knew that they would also play second fiddle (and rightfully so!) to their wives. I was too exhausted to think philosophically about this. I checked out the latest Reddit posts, grateful to indulge in revenge procrastination at the end of a looooooong Saturday.
- My son replies to me in English even though I speak to him in Mandarin. My daughter is even less inclined to speak Mandarin — and it isn’t just because she’s younger. The affinity with Chinese seems to be missing. Which makes her sudden declarations of 我大便了! (I have pooed) all the more 难能可贵 (precious).
- “I wonder which is bigger, enormous or gigantic,” I mused aloud, determined to revise key words from the Enid Blyton I had read aloud with my son. Without hesitation, my son answered, “gigantic.” Before I could probe further, he explained how the Giganotosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs that had ever existed. He said so matter-of-factly, his quiet confidence impressing me. Instantly, I went to confirm with ChatGPT — and it seemed that he was right. About gigantic being bigger than enormous, that is. I grinned from ear to ear, enveloped by a warm dose of endorphins. If he kept up such inferential skills, he might just grow up to be my retirement plan!
- “Do you want to do your homework?” I asked my 3-year-old daughter with an encouraging smile, hoping that she would catch the bait. I had to carve time out to do her term project with her — an unwelcome task normally reserved for weekends. However, she had received an attractive packet of markers from her friend, so I thought I should strike while the iron was hot.