Before I came to the United States, the concept of letting a child choose was a very alien one.
I know that makes us sound like a bunch of tyrants but those were once some of your parenting concepts in, like, times of yore. Sadly, they are still our present-day philosophies. Children are meant to be [...]
So the Beeb reported today that the UK Family Planning Associate is pushing a sex ed booklet - to six-year-olds.
It’s called “Let’s Grow with Nisha and Joe”. Its topics, according to the article, include parts of the body and how to be safe.
I can just see my husband’s reaction when I forward him this link.
“What?! Are they [...]
He was a big man, wearing a big Hawaiian-themed floral shirt with parrots or macaws or something on it, I can’t remember, and he wore a smile so genuine it was hard not to smile back.
In his left hand was a folded piece of orange paper triangle, which looked to be quite used or worn [...]
Like many of you, I keep in touch with my family and friends using Facebook. Malaysia is a fairly “with it” country when it comes to technology (it is the only space the government has promised never to censor as part of its commitment to foreign investors and so far, it’s keeping its word) and [...]
The first thing I remember about being a child, before I would always be remembered as being the older child, was that I was loved greatly by my paternal grandparents (my maternal grandparents died shortly after I was born).
“Your Ma Ma used to carry you everywhere. Around the block for a walk when she wouldn’t [...]
A lot of Americans tend to think that there’s only one kind of Chinese food, probably the same way most Malaysians think there’s only one kind of American food (which is burgers and fries from McDonald’s at one end of the price spectrum and at the other, Chilli’s).
You may be surprised to know that most authentic [...]
My parents are children of immigrants from China to the then-Malaya, a turn-of-the-century magical destination of opportunity.
First-generation Malaysians, they are also the precious bearers of tales featuring howling, heartbroken mothers forgotten in forsaken lands, their sons and husbands braving treacherous, month-long sea journeys for gold-paved streets and people so rich they throw away their crockery [...]
So how about that teen pregnancy pact huh?
Can I just say Holy Effin’ Crap. What happened to a few drops of blood in a bowl or a traveling pair of pants?!
My husband and I totally expect to come up against some weird American “culture things” raising our girls here but a pregnancy pact is definitely waaaay over our heads. [...]
Back in Malaysia, my parents live in a small town called Batu Gajah (literally “stone elephant”) not unlike Duvall in size and population. They are retired schoolteachers. My dad golfs and my mom line-dances and sometimes, they drive around in our erstwhile blue Toyota station wagon.
Kindly note of the words “erstwhile”, meaning it’s now more [...]