The secrets of language acquisition in infants and toddlers

25. April 2013 by Ling · Write a comment · Categories: All Posts, Baby Blues, Books, Reflections

This is probably the final segment on my gleamings from the book ‘Nurture Shock’ by PO Bronson & Ashley Merryman.

A disclaimer here first – I’m no linguist and definitely not anywhere close to being regarded as a language expert. Where the English language is concerned, Yang speaks and writes better than I do. I had to sit for a English proficiency test in order to gain entry to a local university. You get the idea :)

The authors of the book has a chapter devoted to exploring why some children pick up language skills sooner as compared to others. In other words, why do some children speak sooner, better and more confidently than others? According to findings, baby DVDs did little to encourage infants to grow in the area of speech. So, save your moola on buying into all that hype. It was observed that infants learn faster from watching real humans speak than being parked in front of the black box watching educational videos. They learn best by watching how your mouth and facial muscles move as you speak. Monkey see, monkey do. That’s the current wisdom. :)

Hannah has taught Pluto how to surf board.

Hannah has taught Pluto how to surf board. We did not teach her how to do this though.=)

Another interesting observation was that children progress faster when other persons around them respond to topics that interest them. For example, if a child point her finger excitedly at a dead flower on the ground and her grandmother picks it up and talks about it in a similar tone of excitement, the child will often quickly absorb new vocabulary associated with the moment. I’ve seen a mother who put her daughter down when her kid alerted her to a little bird that flew over them. The mother dismissed her daughter’s interest and observational skill and muttered something like her daughter was only interested in birds. Perhaps the mother was not in the right mood. But it was an opportunity lost.

I noticed that Hannah learn better when I let her rope me into her daily chatter about her nursery school, toys, games, etc. I simply ‘played’ along with her enthusiasm in various subjects. I’d casually slip in new words or proper grammar in my communication with her and leave it up to her to pick them up. And she would almost always subconsciously or consciously copycat me to express herself in the topic too. And it has been amazing how the young brain could so effortlessly remember those new words which were uttered only once sometimes.

Since the beginning of nursery school this year, Hannah has developed a positive attitude towards learning the Chinese language. I don’t know what is her Chinese teacher’s secret formula but I do know that Hannah is fond of this particular teacher. She often mentions her in our conversations. My guess is that this Chinese teacher practises “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” (quote by John C Maxwell). Children are also sensitive and sensible towards the level of care shown by people around them. In the area of language, I believe that head knowledge and the heart must work hand-in-hand to bring out the best in a child’s development. And a head start in language acquisition should help a child communicate her needs and feelings better and reduce unnecessary frustration that growing up brings.

 

Yummy Toddler Foods: Rubber-band Noodles :P

23. March 2013 by Ling · Write a comment · Categories: All Posts, At Home, Baby Recipes, Recipes

When it comes to noodles, there are just too many types that I don’t think I’ll ever get round to trying all of them in my lifetime. My dad used to ta-bao (do take-away) ee-fu noodles or yee mee for me for dinner. I’d affectionately call it rubber-band noodles. Because it’s brown and its texture is like rubber-bands; chewy and somewhat spongy. Of course, it doesn’t taste like rubber!

Tuck in :D

Tuck in :D

Ee-fu noodles also have some variation as well. I managed to find only one type at NTUC recently and so settled for it. Its cross-section was squarish. The other common type has an oblong cross-section. Tried a new recipe using this type of noodles for lunch and it was a hit with Hannah. :)

Ingredients (serves 2-3 persons)

  • Ee-fu noodles (Yee mee) – 1 to 2 cakes (depending on size)
  • Chicken broth – 300 ml (for braising)
  • Sweet peas – 6, sliced breadth-wise
  • Carrot – 1 small, peeled and cut into strips
  • Baby corn – 3 fresh, sliced diagonally
  • Shiitake mushrooms – 3 fresh, sliced
  • Prawns – 8, shelled, deveined
  • Sauce: 1tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 dark soy sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cornflour, dash of pepper, few drops of sesame oil, 200 ml chicken broth

Method

  1. Soak noodles in hot water in a medium pot. Use a pair of chopsticks to loosen and drain at once. Discard the hot water and add 300 ml chicken broth into the same pot and heat up to boiling.
  2. Add noodles into the pot of boiling broth and lower the heat to simmer gently until broth is reduced. (If the noodles look plumped up and there is still some sauce left, it is okay) Dish up and divide amongst bowls.
  3. Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.
  4. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a heated wok and stir-fry sweet peas, carrot strips and baby corn for about 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to stir fry until they soften.
  5. Stir the sauce mixture well and add it to the veggies. Bring to boil. When the sauce begins to thicken, add prawns to cook briefly (avoid over-cooking the prawns).
  6. Turn off the heat and dish the sauce mixture onto the noodles in each bowl.
  7. Serve hot.

The original recipe calls for only yellow chives, bean sprouts and straw mushrooms as the veggie components. I really liked this combination but yellow chives are not commonly available and so I improvised.

Re-entering the Kitchen: Rice topped with Red and White Sauce

11. March 2013 by Ling · 2 comments · Categories: All Posts, At Home, Recipes

It has been a long time since I tried any new recipes at home. I bought a simple Chinese cuisine cookbook some time back and finally inspiration led me to try out one of the dishes over the last weekend.

 Heart-shaped design for Hannah's bowl :)Heart-shaped design for Hannah’s bowl :)

The recipe requires the rice to be fried simply and so I fried overnight rice with egg and corn. For the red sauce, I replaced chicken strips with white fish as I wanted to clear the frozen threadfin sitting in the freezer. The red sauce contained skinned tomato pieces, sliced onion, ketchup, sugar, salt, pepper, cornflour and water. For the white sauce, it contained prawns, sweet peas, evaporated milk, water, corn flour, sugar and salt.

Ran out of white sauce for Yang's bowl...so the fried rice was exposed in the middle :P

Ran out of white sauce for Yang’s bowl…so the fried rice was exposed in the middle :P

The novel part of the recipe was to use folded aluminium foil to create patterns with the two sauces on the rice. I attempted a heart shape for Hannah’s bowl. Glad to learn and experience something new :) Taste-wise was okay. I plan to use curry leaves to infuse into the white sauce in my next attempt to create more kick in the flavour.

A strip of aluminium foil folded twice for creating patterns with the red and white sauces.

A strip of aluminium foil folded twice for creating patterns with the red and white sauces.

Verdict: A fun and satisfying one-dish meal. :)

Hannah – The Little Helper :)

06. March 2013 by Ling · 4 comments · Categories: All Posts, At Home, Baby Blues, Baby Videos

Today marks the 3rd time Hannah volunteered to scrub the bathtub she used for showering. I actually had to curb her enthusiasm by reducing the frequency she does the scrubbing! Otherwise she would want to scrub it every night! Not sure where she got the inspiration but the 3.75 year-old started asking for a sponge to clean our windows. I thought it would be quite a messy job and so suggested the bathtub instead as the soapy water would go straight down the drainage pipe and she could shower herself clean immediately after that.

Here’s a video capture for keepsake :)

Random thoughts during 2nd trimester

24. February 2013 by Ling · 2 comments · Categories: All Posts, At Home, Baby Blues

Bad dreams

I’ve been having bad dreams lately. They were not just those upsetting kind of dreams but lucid ones. My mind was fully awake during the dreaming and I had control over my own character in the dreams. I could also decide whether to stop dreaming and wake up or continue along with the dream. In one dream, I screamed at a peeping Tom outside my parents’ house and that woke Yang up. In another, more than 50% of my students failed their O level exam.

My immediate response to such unusual phenomenon was to recall whether I had ingested anything new lately that might upset my well being. As much as I have suspected, my fish oil supplement was likely the culprit. According to available information on the Internet, fish oil and certain medication could have unpleasant side effects, including lucid dreaming. I stopped taking my fish oil capsule for a day and thankfully the bad dreams didn’t come back. Today, I took my supplement earlier in the day in hope that the effects would be diluted by the time I turned in.

Nutrition

I confess that I have been less careful over what I popped into my mouth for this pregnancy. I used to abstain from coffee (like totally) and tea (90% of the time). For no. 2, I took occasional sips of coffee from Yang’s cup on weekends and drink decaffeinated coffee (which is not 100% caffeine-free) once or twice weekly. I also take about 2 cups of tea weekly. Ya, I’ve not been a good girl. But coffee is my comfort drink and I’ve been stressed at work…

Raising a boy

I’m so used to raising a girl and now I’m apprehensive over the task of raising a boy. How ah? Act tough? Play rough? What if he prefers to play with dolls and soft toys? *faint*

2nd child syndrome

I think I would be less anxious and paranoid over every minute detail for our 2nd child. But would I care less and expect less for no. 2? Would my capacity for love diminish after no. 1? Would no. 2 be an ill-disciplined, under-achiever? Scary thought. I read some very encouraging sharing from other mothers who have 2 or more children – that while we might seem less bothered with our second child and so on, our experience with no. 1 would make us better-equipped mothers and the older kid plays a unique role of helping to bring up the younger sibling(s). The dynamics of a family changes with each new addition to the fold. And more often than not, raising children gets easier over time.

The value of children

After having our first child, I truly believe that no other experiences in life come close to parenting. My growth as a person would not be as rich without the parenting experience. I’m not good at explaining this but you know what I mean if you were a parent. The untold sacrifices, humbling experiences, evaluation of life perspectives, the ‘flesh of my flesh’ meaning tugs at one’s heartstrings, the affections of a child, the togetherness of a family…At the end of the day, we are richly blessed through our children.

Hannah singing <好宝宝>

24. February 2013 by Ling · 2 comments · Categories: All Posts, At Home, Baby Blues, Baby Videos

Since the start of nursery this year, Hannah has shown a greater willingness and interest in conversing and singing in Chinese. I’m ashamed to say mommy and daddy didn’t really do anything much to encourage her in that direction except for the occasional role modelling. I suspect her main motivation comes from her Chinese teacher at the nursery school. Her ye ye (paternal grandpa) and nai nai (paternal grandma) have also been a positive influence as well.

The rate that she’s picking up Chinese is also faster now. The video clip below shows her singing yet another new Chinese song taught in school.

Lyrics of the song for those who can read Chinese:

我是一个好宝宝, 天天上学校
看见老师有礼貌, 同学也要好
会做工作 会画图
唱歌游戏做体操
好宝宝 好宝宝
我要做一个好宝宝

Amniocentesis and 20-week Ultrasound Scan

08. February 2013 by Ling · 5 comments · Categories: All Posts, At Home, Baby Blues

The blood test for my second pregnancy showed that the baby I was carrying was high risk for chromosomal abnormalities. Just like my first pregnancy, I was given the option of going for amniocentesis to check whether the baby had abnormal chromosome number. We went ahead with the procedure, wanting to be sure what we were expecting.

Three weeks of waiting for the results was trying. The same old worries, the same old pessimism. We prayed. Still, my faith was weak. This was one of the reasons that kept me from wanting no. 2 for some time. After what it seemed to be an indefinite standstill, the news came. A boy with 46 chromosomes. Thank God.

Chromosomal Scan Report_blog

No. 2′s Karyotype (Chromosomes)

I went for the usual 20-week ultrasound scan the following day. I thought all was well until the scan showed that the baby had single umbilical artery (SUA). A normal umbilical cord has 2 arteries and 1 vein. Mine has 1 artery and 1 vein. Implication? The baby may suffer congenital defects and low birth weight. This condition is 0.2 – 1% occurrence amongst pregnant women. Doc said that the baby’s heart and kidneys appeared normal at that stage but he would like to do another thorough scan at 32 weeks. I felt really somber. Told Yang to delay his application to his old boys’ association to secure a place for the boy at his alma mater in case our no. 2 needs to attend special school.

I know I should be thankful in all circumstances. And that I should not be in such a state of disquiet. But let me take time to sort out my feelings and life perspectives with God and hopefully be content for the rest of the pregnancy.

Sewing – A Lost Skill?

17. January 2013 by Ling · 7 comments · Categories: All Posts, At Home

I remember we used to have very basic sewing lessons in my secondary school education. Those lessons belonged to the girly subject called Home Economics. The other major component in the subject was cooking. I aced at sewing but fared poorly at cooking.

I attribute my sewing success to my mom.

My mother is a seamstress. It was common for young women of her generation to attend sewing classes and hence acquire some sewing skills to make or alter their own clothes. As history would have it, my mom met my dad and they got married. One day, a Malay neighbour asked my mom whether she could help sew a baju kurung (traditional Malay costume) for her and she agreed. The neighbour liked the baju kurung so much as it was well tailored. It was a small community and word got around. Soon enough, my mom started a small business in sewing baju kurung for the Malay folks. From her humble beginning, the business grew and thrived so well that my mom had to hire other homemakers with good sewing skills to manage her large orders.

Now, here’s where I came into the picture.

My mom began to rope in the family to help run the business. She trained me to stitch edges of cloths with a sewing machine called a serger. This is the fastest and easiest method to prevent cut edges of fabric from unravelling. But mind you, that serger was of the industrial kind and ran at high speeds. I learned how to feed each piece cloth into the serger where there was a sharp cutter to trim away the rough edges quickly and at the same time some needles would run through the edges to create a finished seam. I was nine years old then.

A cloth that has been seamed by a serger

During peak seasons, e.g. months leading up to Hari Raya Puasa, I also helped out in sewing up entire baju kurungs by using the standard sewing machine and hand-stitching for buttons and hems. I didn’t always enjoy the process as a kid but parents kept reminding us that it was all about survival and improving our standard of living. By the way too, my two younger brothers also picked up some sewing skills in their growing up years. My dad’s role was mainly to buy back lunches and dinners and also to do special deliveries when my mom couldn’t meet her deadlines for some of her customers.

After about 20 years into the business, the Malay community in Singapore has relied less on tailors for their traditional costumes as it has become easier and cheaper to buy off the rack. It was about time for my mom to slow down for retirement as well. She still takes in some customers to keep herself occupied – which I think is a good thing as this will keep her brain active in her senior years.

The Home Economics curriculum in secondary schools has seen modifications throughout the years. One significant change is the great reduction or total removal of sewing lessons while cookery lessons survived. This is a pity because sewing is such a useful skill to acquire. I notice that garment alteration services are quite costly nowadays. A simple shortening of the hem for a pair of pants can cost $6-10. Sigh, we do go for such services occasionally because of the lack of a sewing machine at home. Certain fabric such as denim should be machine sewn as it is a tough material. If it is a soft fabric, then I could get the alteration done by hand-stitching. I wish I could inherit my mom’s sewing machines but they are too bulky for storage purposes. Hmm, perhaps it’s time to shop around for small, portable one? :)

Small Honey Mandarin Oranges

15. December 2012 by Ling · Write a comment · Categories: All Posts, At Home
Easily peeled citrus!

Easily peeled citrus!

My parents are fond of giving us these small honey mandarin oranges whenever they are in season. Also known as satsuma orange or Citrus unshiu, they are mostly sweet and seedless.

Tiny, cute wedges for toddlers to snack on

Tiny, cute wedges for toddlers to snack on

It took me a while to accept this fruit because they are from you-know-where. On second thoughts, the exterior looks imperfect and without the tinge of artificial bright orange I usually see in China naval oranges. So I took a gamble and peeled one fruit. It looked decent enough to be eaten and so we started eating it. It wasn’t super sweet but sufficient for Hannah to say it was ‘yums’. Okay, I shall close one eye on this one.

H was interrupted by mommy's request to pose and smile :)

H was interrupted by mommy’s request to pose and smile :)

The Theory of Two

07. December 2012 by Ling · 7 comments · Categories: All Posts, Baby Blues, Reflections

For a long time, Yang and I were content with having just one child. My decision was largely influenced by Yang’s perception of my ability to manage another kid. Other minor reasons include my age (higher risk of conceiving a baby with Down Syndrome) and stretching our finances.

But time has a way of changing minds.

As Hannah grew up, we noticed that she gravitate towards other kids to play whenever she had the opportunity. Companionship. She likes to play with her cousin ‘Natasha jie jie‘ and talks about it even after the event was over. We started having second thoughts since then. Another compelling reason for me to seriously consider having no. 2 is to allow Hannah to be able to share the burden of caring for two aged parents in the future. A few verses from the Old Testament of the Bible came to mind as I write this post:

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  -Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)

According to one commentary, this section emphasizes on the “obvious benefits of companions. The intimacy and sharing of life brings relief for the problem of isolation and loneliness. A companion can offer assistance, comfort, and defense.” Of course, this can also apply to life partners such as husband and wife. Okay, I’m going to pretend that I did not see that ‘cord of three strands’. :) Three kids! No kidding?!

Now that God has granted a no. 2, we are hoping that the baby would be a girl. Well, I know it is terrible planning on our part. We chose Hannah’s primary school based on the assumption that we were not going to have any more children. Her targeted primary school is an all girls’ school. And we have bought a new property within 1 km of that school. So, if no. 2 is a boy, he might have to be enrolled into a less than ideal primary school near our new home. Not fair right? Sigh. He could enroll into daddy’s reputable primary school but that would mean traveling long distances every school day for SIX YEARS! Argh. “Lord, please let the baby be a girl.” Hee hee :)

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