• I will give her 3-5 pcs if she wants and she couldn't ask for more. First time, she would cry and try to get more ..That's normal! I don't mind to see that behgaviours. She could cry as long as she wants, but she could not gt any more!
• No candies before haveing a meal! Normally I would give only after meal. or 1-2 hours before having a meal.

Even I can't stop her to eat candies or softdrinks, I can prolong her little teeth' lives by brushing them!!

     
     
Photo taken when she just woke up! Her face was not yet fully awaken!

For me, the answer to above question is "Not me!"

When I was young, my mum had to work hard whole day long. We are big family. My mum had to take care 7 kids (I am the youngest one). When she made food for us, we had no choice to refuse. And all the food she cooked would be based on requirements of nutrients too. She never learnt in school, but she knew it from reading news/books. If we didn't eat her food, that meant we had to stay hungry! Therefore, we must eat what she cooked for us. She told me the reason why she had to made so only when I was adult. She said if she had to make food based on kids' preferences, that might mean that she had to make 7 dishes for 7 kids! That would lost more time and money for each meal. She'd better do other works than making many dishes. Thanks to my mum, cause that made me easy to adapt my tongue to any kind of food :) I love my mum!

I hardly make cooking in Thailand, I prefer to eat my mum's cooking when I am in Thailand. However, I am here in Swiss. If I don't make cooking, who will make cooking for me. Forget about dinning out everyday! Dine out sometimes is Ok, but we can't afford to go out everyday!

As I am full time mother, I have more time than my mum and other mums who have to work. So I've learnt to make some easy food for my daughter. Learn from where? It is easy because I have internet, I can search and find some easy food for free. Also, I can ask from my mother or other Thai relatives what they make cooking for their kids.

I am not really the type of mother who will let kid eats whatever she wants. I love to imitate my mum's style because I want to be the one who makes decision what my kid should eat in her early ages. I have set many rules for my kid to follow; such as no chocolate/sweets before meals because that will make her eat less. She can eat chocolate and sweet only after eating and only if she eats the food well. Why I need to set this rule? If she eats those sweet things first, she will not eat or eat less normal food. Also, if she eats food well before eating chocolate, then she can't eat much chocolate either cause her stomach's full :)

I am very easy with eating. So I want my daughter can eat any kinds of food ; meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits & vegetables. I don't let my kid eat only what she likes . I think making that way will make her feel familiar with only specific types, so she will be hard /refuse to eat other kinds of food later. If she has tasted many kinds of food, she will know that there are many choices on this earth. She can select to eat any that she likes to when she gets bigger.

I've tried to make food for my kid based on requirements of nutrients ( Protein, Carbohydrates, Calcium, Fruit and Vegetables).

• A source of protein to keep children alert  ----> My main focus for this groups is on any kind of meats.
  
• Complex carbohydrates for slow-release energy ---->My main focus for this group is on rice, noodle, spaghetti etc.
  
• Calcium for growth, healthy bones and teeth -----> My main focus for this group is milk, yoghurt etc.
  
• Fruit and vegetables for vitamins and minerals ----> Yeah, they are in  any fruits and vegetables.
  

because she might not be able to eat all requirements of nutrients per meal. But I will do make sure if she eats anything less, I will give other type to offset in the next meal. For example, if she didn't eat much meat (protein) in the afternoon, I will make other type of meat for her in dinner and make sure that she would eat enough. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. but that's fine, I'll try again the next day.

When she was younger than 2 years old, she ate whatever I gave. When she was hungry, she would eat whatever it was. She was so easy about food. She could eat anything without problem. I guess her tongue didn't work well at that time.

Now there are altogether 5 meals a day;

-Breakfast : milk, cereals/biscuits and then orange juice.
-Lunch : big meal of the day, and then milk.
------> Taking a Nap about 1.30-2.00 hours<-------
-Fruit Break : seasonal fresh fruits
-Dinner : big meal of the day, and yoghurt.
-Milk Break : milk and little biscuits and then going to bed.

If she eat less in any meal, she will drink milk more. That seems fine for me. :) If she eat less and  she drinks milk less, that could show sign that she is not well.

Up till now, I still think that my cooking is not yet good. If my kid can eat my food, I think it is good sign. :) Hahaha I don't dare enough to cook for other adults, except my husband though!

Time's changed and technology is much more developed than ever! When I was young, just a simple video-game was amazing!! If I could play few minutes on that game, I felt like world was so nice to make this kind of game. If I show that video-game to kid nowadays, maybe they think why it is so outdate!

Yes, you can compare how the old style looks with the new model. You can see how they are different? No wonder if the kid now will refuse to play on the old style.

I loved playing game when I was young. Now I still like to do so, but I do it occasionally. Playing games make me relaxed and having fun. I guess that's the main reason why people play games.

Therefore, I would like to talk about technology for kid today. Main focus will be about PC Game.

The first time I touched PC was when I finished High school but kids now begin to use computer at very young age. I must admit that technology has involved and played important role in my life now. I can say that I can't live without internet. I don't overstating, I feel that way really. If there is internet problem, I would feel like there is something missing in my normal routine.

The idea of PC game for my kid I actually have got from Thai mother who has a son at age about 5 years old. She told me that her son likes to play game on PC and I saw that the boy looked happy to stay in front of PC. Therefore, I would like to see how my kid would react to PC games too. The difference is just my daughter is 2 years and 9 months old now. So I must select which game is matched to her age.

As my kid didn't know how to use mouth, she knew nothing about PC. She ever touch keyboards of PC and liked to play on keyboards when she was very little. She ever saw her parents stay playing /working on PC, but she never knew what this PC was for. Maybe she thought PC was just TV at that time. I took some time to teach her what to do with mouth, how to play.

The game that I selected to her was for kid at age of 18 months to 3 years old. The game named as " Lapin Malin" is nice and well design with colourful cartoons, and there are lot of short musics. Good point is kid no need to "CLICK"! Yeah, my kid can't "CLICK" correctly and she doesn't understand when to click and what she does just ignore "CLICK". How can she play then?  She can play by just moving mouth and point the mouth on the game that she wants for few seconds then new game will be started automatically. This game was well designed and made kid play easier really! I think the game developer has (maybe) made research and develop game time to time to match with kids' behaviours.

The first time I showed her the game it was like she watched TV. She just enjoyed to watch and listen to music. She hardly move the mouth, I had to encourage her several times if she made moving mouth this way, what would happen..... When she saw the difference, she began to move more and more. She tried to understand how it worked and how to play. Now she can play alone and she needs my help only sometimes.

Do you know the differences between kid and adult when plays game? I don't know for other kids, but this is what I noticed from my kid at this age.

-She will be concentrated on the play only 5-10 minutes, after she knows how it works and how it done. She will begin to make fun, such as what will happen if she move mouth very fast, and what will happen if she makes wrong. She doesn't care about to WIN or to LOSS, she just wants to have fun!. That's so different from me. When I play game what I want is to WIN, I want to go next step, I want to make it completed as fast as possible.

-I can stay playing 1-2 hours if I want to compete the game, but my kid can stay playing on PC only about 20-30 minutes maximum. Then she gets bored, she will go playing something else. That is good, cause I don't like to see my kid stay on PC all the time. At this age, there are a lot of thing to learn. She can learn by other way, not just playing games on PC

Some people might say it is good to play on PC, some might say it is not good. I think everything has both negative and positive points.In my opinion, PC game is for kids to alert to something new and they can have a good fun time.

However, if kids stay on PC to play games too long, there might make problem to their eyes. They might loss opportunity to learn other things too.

I allow my kid to play game only one time per day. And she can play only after she finishes her dinner. If she doesn't eat well, that means no PC game. That is kind of incentive point for her to eat good so that she can play game later.

I ever wondered since I first came to live here when my husband said time changed today and he told me to correct time on the clock. What was he talking about ?? I lived on earth (Thailand) so long, I never changed the time. Why I needed to correct time here?? European people had nothing to do, so they played with the clock!!!!

Curiosity made me want to know why and when time will be changed. So I would like to explain to people who don't really know why we need to change clock twice a year. Of course, all information I would list down is based on search engines.

"The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called "Summer Time" in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Daylight Saving Time gives us the opportunity to enjoy sunny summer evenings by moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring".

"If you live near the equator, day and night are nearly the same length (12 hours). But elsewhere on Earth, there is much more daylight in the summer than in the winter. The closer you live to the North or South Pole, the longer the period of daylight in the summer. Thus, Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) is usually not helpful in the tropics, and countries near the equator generally do not change their clocks". Thailand is near the equator, that's why Thailand has never changed clock.

So when to change time?? Firstly, let talk about each European Time Zone. Even you are in Europe, your time might not be same mine.

There are three different time zones across the EU ;

Western Europe Time (Standard Time = GMT) : United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal

Central Europe Time (Standard Time = GMT+1) : Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Non-EU : Norway, Switzerland (This is where I live now).

Eastern Europe Time (Standard Time = GMT + 2) : Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania and Non-EU: Belarus, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine

Here is Summer Time Rule:

Start : Last Sunday in March - End : Last Sunday in October

****Thailand time will be 5 hours faster than Switzerland time****

Here is Winter Time Rule

Start : Last Sunday in October - End : Last Sunday in March

****Thailand time will be 6 hours faster than Switzerland time****

There are are much more details (historical stories) before they have got the above fixed formulas, you can check out from these sites; Europe Summer Time and Day Light Saving.

I love Summer time in Europe most, it is real beautiful and the weather is not too hot. People begin to decorate their homes with flowers. Everywhere is colourful with flowers. No need to wear sweater, gloves, hat! 

Also, my kid can play outside longer and she can get natural vitamin D too. Playground is full of kids and family, time to have fun for all the kids.The most beautiful moments are when I see the family and kids playing together. They share their laughs & having fun& having a good time together. Those  are so lovely scenes. We are happy to be one family among them. 

Bye Bye Winter & Welcome Summer time*

*Source of beautiful Photo : http://flickr.com/photos/borkodinus/2163224219/

I know New Year wishes are given to you quite (too)early.

Due to some families / friends gotta go holidays around Mid-End of Dec'07and some might not be available for any reasons. Therefore, we would like to give you our blessings now. :) Some relatives /friends might not often check on MSN Blog, we will send by email like we've done ever year ;) LOL.

Happy New Year and Have a Great Time with Your Family and Friends there.

"Is it time?

Potty training success hinges on physical and emotional readiness, not a specific age. Many kids show interest in potty training by age 2, but others may not be ready until age 2 1/2 or even older. And there's no rush. If you start potty training too early, it may only take longer.

So is your child ready? Ask yourself these questions:

• Does your child seem interested in the potty chair or toilet, or in wearing underwear?
• Can your child understand and follow basic directions?
• Can your child ask simple questions?
• Does your child stay dry for periods of two hours or longer during the day? Does he or she wake from naps dry?
• Does your child have fairly predictable bowel movements?
• Does your child tell you when he or she needs to potty or poop?
• Is your child uncomfortable in wet or dirty diapers?
• Can your child pull down his or her pants and pull them up again?

If you answered mostly yes, your child may be ready for potty training. If you answered mostly no, you may want to wait awhile — especially if your child is about to face a major change, such as a move or the arrival of a new sibling. A toddler who opposes potty training today may be open to the idea in a few months".

Another interesting/ similar topic is here Toilet Training Your Child.

My Kid is about 2 year and 4 months old now. My answers to above question were mostly yes, so I made a try one month ago.Guess what?? First few days, she began good with potty surprisingly. She made pee on potty when she woke up. I must say that I didn't make any force on her really.

However, she began to have problem the following days. She refused to make pee on potty or toilet. She would  pee only if she couldn't resist anymore!!
To make you more clear on this.. Please imagine when you really want to go toilet but you can't at that time. You must wait and keep till you can find toilet.  My kid made similar to that, but she just refused to pee. When I noticed that the situation went in negative way, so potty / toilet toys were hidden from her eyes and I began to wear her diaper again.

The problem was not solved because she still didn't want to pee on diaper!!!! Every time she wanted to pee, she would make noisy voice and little cry for a while and her face's shown how painful it was!.You know?  I feel more hurt if I see my kid gets hurt and I can not help much. You will know how I feel when you are really taking role of Mum... She made like that for almost 2 days till I felt and got scared that this sign was not good and it might make more problem later.

Time to see doctor . The doctor checked her body and told me to give her a break and better stop to make potty training for a while. The reaction that my kid gave to me, it meant she's resisted to use potty/ toilet. It's not good if she still refused to pee on long run cause it might make her sick. And if she got sick that would be big problem. As she 's just a kid, she couldn't explain well where she hurt, how she hurt... Doctor also suggested me giving her some (more) time and make her other training later.

The doctor said it was not easy to know why some kids are easy to have potty training, some kids aren't. However, she said that the first kid's always harder than 2nd kid. Reason is 2nd kid like to imitate his/her sister/brother. This doctor has 3 kids. She shared me her experiences that her first boy could use potty when he was 3 yrs old, the 2nd one was success at age of 2 yrs old, and her last one was at age of 1.5 yrs old.

It took me for a week to make my kid feels Ok to pee normally on diaper.
Some might laugh about this, even I myself still laughed when I thought about this. I think I will try a new training when she is about 3 yrs old.

Some book stated that kid grows up very fast in the period of first 5 years. I really agree with this theory cause I have noticed this from my own kid. Within few years, I can see how her behaviours & her developments have changed and improved.

Now she is 2 yrs and 3 months old. She can speak short sentences such as "where is papa?, where is her toy? I'm thirsty, alot of flowers there, green car, blue bus" etc. She knows what she wants and she knows how to let other knows what she wants also. She will try to do her own ways to get it done. For example, she wanted to take one doll out of the box. Unfortunately it was stucked inside the box, she couldn't make it done by her own. After making many noises and noone still noticed what problem she had. She ran over to see me in kitchen and took my hand and pushed me into her direction. When I was there and asked what she wanted, she pointed her hand on the box and said "Baby Baby Box Box!" Then I could understand what she wanted and gave her the doll. She smiled and she was happy and said "Thanks maman!). All conversation was mainly made in Swiss French, I just translated in English :)

She learns more fast and can memorize vocabularies better than me.. Yes, I said she is better than me!! Really I meant that. As I ever said that my Swiss French is not so good cause of my fault ( laziness! :P ). My kid has more chance to stay with grandparents, so she learns from listening and talking with them. And her grandma likes to teach her new words, plays with her, teach her new songs. That's the way to improve her conversations. Sometimes, I got stucked cause I couldn't recall what this object was called in Swiss French.I know what it is, I just need to take little time to think about it.;) But guess what? My kid told me the name of that object before I could recall it by myself !!!!! She is not genious, she is just a little kid! 

As I said, kid learns faster and memorize better . Kids learn by repeating the words they hear.. They keep on repeating what they hear so that they can remember. The only problem is that kid still doesn't know there are many type of words. Some words are in good meaning and some words aren't. We as adults do know which words we can speak to other people and which words we can't speak out, but kids don't know yet! Kid will know later of course, though this will take some time to learn......

That's why some experts say that kid is like a white fabric. What colors you paint on the fabric will also show how the kid is taught and show the environment of the kid . If it is nice /colorful and happy tone, it could mean that kid is taught and growing well in good environment. If it is dirty and dark tone, it could mean that the kid is in sad situation cause of people around her.

****..... Now I begin to wonder what colors & how many colors are on my White Fabric right now .....****