hihi, i guess as much as there are certain aspirations/ expectations we have for our kids, they are very much going to turn out the people they “are”. things like values and belief system, we can lead and guide starting at a young age but i always believe they are their own being, and that’s the incredible thing about God who gave us free will – the freedom to choose for ourselves :)

and i think that’s the most difficult thing about being a parent – to learn to “let go” of our children when they are of age, after bringing them up, enjoying them for many many years… that day will certainly come eventually. but in the meantime, i just want to enjoy j for who she is :)

Looks like this warrants another post on what we hope to pass on/instill vs what we hold back on and accept!

absolutely! as for the “there are bigger things in life” comment by your hubby, i have to say that Those are the big/impt things that matter to the parents and children taking the exams at this point in time. Hence the uproar. Let’s see what he says when Layla takes her PSLE??? ;p

I think every parent would prefer to get through pesky matters like kid exams without getting their panties in a bunch; we all have something else we’d rather be doing! Anyway I refuse to gripe or give in to fear — as far as possible, we will stick with the learning methods that we believe in, and there’s always the option of homeschooling or leaving if we dare. Not easy choices, but choices all the same.

Re. the uproar, perhaps parents need to band together and do more to demand change. It’s great that they get a voice in the media year after year, but it amounts to nothing if the papers remain the same or get even more challenging for no good reason.

i hope that i will be able to equip my boy with life skills to handle the heart breaks, self-doubts n challenges he will face in his life.

[...] 17, 2009 in Alex | Tags: life skills Evelyn asked her reader to share their aspirations/expectations for their [...]