Hand washing for children

There are very interesting media released by the Singapore government to educate our teeny weeny children on hygiene and proper hand washing.

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Simple, straight-forward yet adorable.

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I especially liked this short video from TTSH:
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As a parent, I really liked the materials that's available. Trust it'll be useful to every household too.
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S'poreans: Educated,

but with poor upbringing - 新加坡人有教育没教养?.
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For once, I cannot but completely agree with Anna's comments in her blog titled Anna's Closet.
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My agreement with her entry is also due to a recent encounter I personally had with a wasted young chap, clad in his SAF uniform, blatantly shouting vulgarities at the top of his voice on the road in the middle of Orchard Boulevard. A young national service man mind you, a person who might become a potential leader of our society behaving like a barbarian - I've lost any respect for today's youngsters honestly.
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Singaporeans are educated, but they have poor upbringing which is somehow true. I believe this is highly due to our social evolution; both parents are buried at work while their kids are left with the maids or daycare centres. Some lucky kids goes home to face their concerned grandparents; who cannot take the younger generations at hand due to generation gap or out of love for them.
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In the blog entry posted by ex-local deejay Anna Lim, Anna admitted that the entry has the potential to offend many, but said that there was a pressing need to discuss the issue.
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She told the newspaper Lianhe Zaobao that: "Singaporeans reserve seats with tissue paper packets and they leave trash behind after gatherings. On the MRT, they do not give up their seats to the needy, neither do they allow alighting passengers to get off before squeezing their way into the carriage." - This, I completely agree as I patron foodcourts and take the highly efficient MRT too.
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In her post, she pointed out that such behaviour was also evident in young children. Students compete both academically and in the sporting arena, "every one of them more fiercely competitive than the other", she said. "It certainly makes us afraid and it saddens their teachers," she added. Anna also mentioned how two coaches were engaged in a fierce verbal tussle when one side lost in a badminton match.Commenting on the case, she tressed the importance of a good upbringing - It is perfectly acceptable to lose a game, but not one's values, she said. There's so much truth is her comments as I've also personally witnessed how youngsters these days behave and they are very much an empty walking shell without that "values" substance.
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Although Anna's entry might appear to be the harshest critic against Singaporeans by referring to words like 'not having a good upbringing', her entry and thoughts does ring an alarm to every personality isn't it? After all, what's the point of being a MBA, PhD holder and a high flyer but without good upbringing?
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GSS and

June children school holiday events are lined all over Singapore shopping malls. One can find many flyers stuffed in the mail box promoting this and that....all over the city and neighbourhood hub.

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Here's a few shows for the little wee-ones:
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Thomas & Friends Musical Meet-and-Greet
Date: 30 May - 7 Jun 09 (no shows on Mondays)
Time: Weekdays (Tues - Thurs) 1pm & 7pm , Weekends (Fri - Sun) 1pm, 4pm & 7pm
Venue: Marina Square Central Atrium, level 2
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Ben 10 "Live" Show/ Meet-and-Greet
Date: 5 - 21 Jun 09 (no shows on Tuesdays)
Time: Weekdays (Mon - Fri) 2pm & 7pm, Weekends (Sat & Sun) 2pm, 5pm & 7pm
Venue: United Square
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Transformers Meet & Greet
Date: 29 May - 14 Jun 09
Time: Fri 29 May to Sun 14 June (Except Monday) 1pm, 4pm & 7pm, (Except Fri 29 May & Sun 7 Jun – 4pm & 7pm only)
Venue: Takashimaya Square
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Barbie Pink World Meet & Greet
Date: 12 - 14 Jun 09
Time: 2.30pm & 5.30pm
Venue: Exclusively at Takashimaya
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My knee joint

kind of ached during the year end last year. It's the 'sour' feeling at the joint areas; it's the articular cartilage to be exact.

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At first, I attributed it to the cooler weather we experienced during the year end but a colleague's advice does make me realize that if aches are left untreated, it'll result in more dire consequences.
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She's an active person. My colleague joined kick-boxing classes; those with the vigorous movements involved. She found herself trying to cope with knee joint aches not long after attending the classes and at the advice of another mutual friend, she began to supplement joint tablets to help in her joint aches.
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In fact, we saw both famous golfer Tiger Woods and two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady underwent knee surgery due to significant knee pain.

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After a serious thought over what could have caused by 'aching' knees, it's likely due to prolonged carrying my over 15Kg dear son every morning to the car for sure. To add to my burden, I'm carrying his school bag and my own haversack.
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The knee is the largest joint in the body and is very complex. Research shows that carrying even a little extra weight triples our chances of developing arthritis. Every pound we carry puts an average of five pounds of added stress on our knees when we move, so being just 10 pounds overweight is like having 50 extra pounds of pressure on our joints. Research also has shown, however, that for a woman of average height, losing as little as 11 pounds may cut the risk of osteo-arthritis of the knee by up to 50%.

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Motion is lotion for our knees. Strengthening the front and back muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings, respectively) of the thighs can help prevent knee trouble—especially in women, who are five to seven times more likely to suffer a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which is among the most serious knee problems. One way to reduce risk of such an injury is to practice jumping and landing on a slightly bent knee. Walking is good to help keep our weight down, but it won’t build the thigh muscle that we need to stabilize our knees. The advice is aim to strength-train our legs two to three times a week to build and keep from losing muscle mass.
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Always warm up before we exercise, and choose our workouts wisely. Know our limits. Give ourselves time to get in shape, and don’t try to do too much too soon. Follow the 10% rule: Never increase the duration or intensity of our exercise or activity by more than 10% in a week. Train for at least two months before beginning stressful activities such as skiing or running in a race. Strength, flexibility, aerobic, and core exercises will help prevent knee and other injuries.
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At the end of trying everything, don't wait too long to consult a Doctor if the ache still persists - with new technologies like MRI scans and arthroscopy, knee problems may be diagnosed and treated quicker, easier, and better.
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Our weekend

passes so swiftly like it always does.

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We met our dear neighbour Aunty Pauline, Uncle Joshua and Baby Jeremiah on Saturday morning and headed for breakfast at Holland-V YA KUN. After breakfast, we dropped by Cold Storage, brought some groceries and went home since it was raining in the mid-morning.

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For the rest of Saturday, we spent it watching Kungfu Panda and relaxingly lazing at home.

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Sunday morning gets a little more exciting for dear son. Along with Uncle Philip, we brought him to a bird shop located at Telok Blangah area where he spent more than an hour running after birds around the vicinity. Daddy and Uncle Phil were both busy bird watching and hoping to choose a nice bird for themselves.

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Mummy is on the sideline waiting for her boys to finish with the 'bird business' while trying to flip through her Singapore Woman's Weekly magazine in the middle of the humid morning weather. Dear son thoroughly enjoyed his morning running 'exercise' with the birds and to our amusement, a little girl nearby joined him in his fun!

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We packed food and ate lunch at Uncle Phil's place due to the unbearable heat building up by lunch time. After hanging around for a while, we left for home to catch the afternoon beauty nap. Not until dinner-time, we reunited with Uncle Phil and Uncle How's family at Teochew Cuisine Restaurant located in Bukit Batok. The restaurant's fish porride is yummy!

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After dinner, we retreated to Uncle Phil's place again ended the night watching TV programme while sipping coffee, chatting the weekend's affair amongst us.
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Such a weekend is rare!

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