Fatherhood - Reflections III

Continuing from where I last left off.

The wifey recently wrote on her blog:

...the kids also reminded me that I am angry too often when wei attempted to draw dad and mum. The former happy face and the latter angry face. "Why?" I asked... "is it cos mummy is always angry.." they gave their most honest reply. Yes. Kids don't lie.

Can you recall your earliest memory in your life? How old were you at the time?

For me, I was probably around 3 or 4 years old. I remember myself fooling around in my parents' first house. I remember our old wooden tv set, alot of the furniture we used to have, and even some of the toys. I even remember watching maybe my earliest movie on the tv screen, all huddled in my father's lap. It was The Towering Inferno. Damn hell scared the living crap out of me.

What I'm getting at here, is that kids this age are beginning to build impressions. Hence as parents, it is important to constantly remind ourselves to behave properly, in the same manner that we want them to grow up behaving. Using negative words will not only indicate that it is okay to use them on others, or build perceptions of negativity on a person based on those words said by another person, but also may have a detrimental effect on their self-esteem and confidence. Behaving in various manners, will give them an impression of what a person is like, and what type of energy is to be expected from the corresponding behaviour. Hence the wifey and I keep encouraging each other to keep trying to better ourselves in our behaviours in front or the kids.

It is also very important to me to be as significant in their lives as possible. Knowing that I remembered various things from the age of around 4, I know that alot of feelings of surprise, apprehension, fear, happiness, sadness etc, actually lingers from the earliest events that evoked such emotions in them. So I have to try and use the events that we create as they grow, to generate as much of a positive vibe as possible. Hopefully they will turn out to be filled with perseverance, determination, optimism, and open-mindedness. This way, they will have had a happy childhood to get them on their way in the journey of life.

The kids are getting smarter as well. It is so obvious, that it feels me with glee to hear them ask so much questions. I try to answer everything as rationally as I can, in order to help them understand complex things from an early age. I don't even know if they understand a bulk of my explanations, but it feels me with satisfaction that I can give them an answer and they are still asking me for answers. It is likely that one day they will turn to other people, so while I have their fullest attention, I will do my utmost, to the best of my knowledge.

Bless us all.