(Hands by Arian: Use them in the absence of verbal language)

As a child, I spoke Chinese at home - Hakka with my grandpa, Cantonese with my grandma, Mandarin with my mom (who made it compulsory for us to speak the language at home) and a combination of Cantonese, Mandarin and English with my dad, who was a school teacher and who was proficient in all the three main languages. Later, Jawi was added because he was trained to teach it!

So, what's the fuss? Read on HERE!

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Everyone is obsessed about getting the best education nowadays for their children. Parents start excessively inputting all sorts of data into their young, stimulating their brains from the womb and performing amazing flashcard stunts as early as one year old! When kids start schooling, getting good grades means everything. To achieve that, the children are over scheduled with homework (which is endless), tuition (that includes motivational workshops to get them to study harder) and tests (to help them practise for the important exams).

One wonders: is that what growing up is all about?

Image source

Read on HERE

If you have been interacting with us via email and attending our talks and activities, you will appreciate that TRANSFORMATION and innovation are key themes. We strongly feel that we need to prepare our children for the future. Somehow, deep down, we know that the education system we have today does not clearly prepare children for the future. At best, prepare them for their future "jobs".

This video, encapsulates much of our thoughts, ideas and guiding light in a lot of our activities.

Click HERE to view the video and share with us your thoughts and feedback.

Ever wondered why there are so many dysfunctional families today? Just take a look at some of these examples:

Sandy has been under tremendous stress since she had children. Her husband did not allow her to work but did not give her sufficient money to spend on the family. He does not like it whenever she goes back to her mother's house with the children. There are frequent fights between them and it is taking a toll on the children. What she needs is to be financially independent and to do what she thinks is right for herself and her children. What he needs to do is to respect his wife and to trust her to do what is best for the children. If only they can come to a compromise, the children would not have to suffer.

Read more stories here.

Can you relate?

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Helping you understand swine flu better - Dr. Joe Bresee, with CDC's Influenza Division, describes the symptoms of swine flu and warning signs to look for that indicate the need for urgent medical attention.

We found this very interesting video advertisement produced by thinkfamily.sg in Singapore 

It's captures the essence of partnership.

Click here to view

I meet parents with school-going kids all the time but this particular one is a very sad case I encountered from talking with a parent and her child recently:

8-year-old girl of mixed parentage attending a national school - "I hate school. I hate my teacher because she hits me and makes me do things I don't wanna!"

(picture source www.dailymail.co.uk)

This bright little girl who speaks perfect American English (a phenomena arising from the advent of paid tv!) sticks out like a sore thumb in a school that does not tolerate racial or religious differences. She is made to feel tainted and impure and extreme measures are employed to make her comply with language and religious practices in the school. She, along with the rest of the children, are being indoctrinated by the teachers that the other races are impure and hence they should not be accepted or befriended. She breaks down crying every time she relates such incidences that happen at her school to her mother.

Read in HERE

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