Missing!!!!!!

Had a acare today. Went out for dinner at the coffeeshop nearby. Xavier and Keane were looking at the game machines while we sat down to decide what we want to order. In less then 5 minutes, we saw Xavier by himself and Keane was no where in sight.

I almost freaked out. We went around the area to look for him. After a couple of rounds, we decided to expand the perimeter. I started to panic. What if something untoward happened to my son? What if someone grabbed him and made off? What if he ran onto the road and got knocked down by a car? My tears started to surface and my heart started pounding.

I held on to Xavier's hand and started to run. Luckily an old man saw my frantic movements and asked me if I was looking for a little boy. I said YES! He pointed towards our block and said he went towards that direction. I started yelling for Keane. One second later I saw him with a lady about 20 metres away. I ran toward my son and felt nothing but relief when he saw me and cried Mummy.

Surprisingly he was very calm and didn't display any signs of stress. After explaining the consequences to him, Keane began to show some signs of regret. The scariest was that he actually crossed the road in the carpark. Thank God nothing happened to him.

It was our oversight. We took things for granted. We should have sat them down before letting them play with the game machine. At least they will know where to look for us. We shouldn't have sat behind the pillar without keeping them in sight. I guess Keane wandered off because he couldn't see us.

This is a warning to us. And boy did we learn. Thank God it was a small warning. I cannot imagine what could have happened. It's too scary.

Lesson: Never ever take things for granted.

Violence in School!!!

We received a call from Keane's teacher yesterday. Apparently he was behaving slightly violently or rough towards his classmates. He wrapped his arm around one of the kids' neck. He grabbed and fell himself on another. Given Keane's built and weight, it would have hurt....like hell.

So Ms Chong called up, "not to complain", but to find out what kind of television programs Keane watches at home. Tom and Jerry was identified as the culprit. Mindless chasing, hitting of each other and miraculous recoveries which make violence look as comfortable as a feather pillow.

I admit our negligence. When Xavier was younger, we restricted his viewing to Playhouse Disney, The Wiggles and Tiny Planet. He only upgraded to Cartoon Network late last year. Unfortunately that meant a free and early upgrade for Keane and Ryan. Which is bad news. Children mimic actions very easily. And it is dangerous when they do not have a value system to judge these actions before executing them.

To learn from my mistake, I strongly recommend control over television programs and even computer or Internet games. Keep them wholesome until the child demonstrates his value system and of course, make sure that value system holds the correct values!

So we asked Xavier to cooperate by watching only Playhouse Disney when Keane and Ryan are at home or awake. He has agreed. Thankfully he is mature and also has the big brother nature in him. I think it's also due to his education from school and wholesome programs.

Nowadays the television programs are varied and we can see more adult themes incorporated into children's programs. What used to be wholesome and innocent, Ala Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, has now mutated into mindless and violent shows. Look at what happened to Mickey Mouse clubber Britney Spears and you know what I mean, though the violence may not apply in her case? I wouldn't know as I'm not a fan.

I hope it's not too late to reverse the damage done to Keane and Ryan. Ryan is also showing an unusual tendency towards inflicting pain on others. He walks around with weapons like a toy baseball bat or the cane and swings the weapons at anything and almost anyone. And he laughs after he hits a target! Is that normal? I seriously don't think so......

He also favours pinching although he only pinches people he is familiar with, meaning not me! He pinches his dad and the helper. I like to think that he doesn't pinch me cos he adores me. Why? Because I'm a sucker for his cries and never fails to release him from his playpen prison whenever I'm home. I do that because I don't want him to feel deprived of freedom and abuse it when he gets freedom in childcare next year. Keane used to be "locked up" in the playpen before he went to childcare. Once he started attending childcare, he behaved like he never saw the light of day before. He would run out of his class and even attempted to run out of the school compounds! Breaking Out of Alcatraz in the making. Now you know why I prefer to let Ryan enjoy his freedom whenever he gets the chance.

Hey, I'm getting the hang of blogging again.....**evil smile and snigger**....hope the feeling lasts!!!! Later....