Archive | September 2011

because I am a mother

 

I was constantly in a bad mood for like a couple of days already. Why? Because my kids are making me crazy. They are so difficult  to wake up in the morning and when they do they sit at the breakfast table staring at nothing even though you are ruining your vocal chords with all the screaming to hurry them up. When they get done eating they will fight as to who gets to shower first and when they are at the shower they spend so much of their time playing with the bubbles and suds the soap is making oblivious of the precious thing called TIME.

Everyday, when they leave for school, I will sit down and enjoy the first thirty minutes of my day alone and listen to its silence. When my thirty minutes or less is finished, I know I am ready to face the day and go on with my daily routine doing chores and stuff. Everyday seems to be a ground hog day.

I am trying my best to be the worry free and stress free stay-at-home mom. As much as possible, I avoid getting pissed and irritable with all the mess, the fighting, the tantrums and stuff because I don’t want to be a monster mom. I keep in mind that I will never fail to reward them with little things for their achievements and good behavior so they will be motivated. I will be firm on decisions but at times they end up hating me for the rest of the day…a day?..okay..an hour!(though they didn’t mean it seriously). When you tell them things that is correct and proper in contrast to what they want,they argue. When I show them they are making me upset and starts to really get mad, they will only stare and snickered. But, because I am a mother, I will breathe, close my eyes, count to ten and go own with the day.

When they get back from school, no matter how frustrated I am at them earlier in the morning, I would still run to meet them with open arms and big smile. I feel great the moment I see them running towards me with their back packs and lunch bags and when I feel their arms around my neck hugging me tight, I am relieved that they are home safe. I get excited hearing their stories on how their day went at school and as I feel them snuggle close to me with their sleepy eyes at night, it would always make me smile. I am their mother. I am their “person”.

This morning as they were on their way out for school, My son ran back and kissed me goodbye. The I heard him whisper, “see you later Ma!”. Watching his back as he walk away,  I told myself, no matter how they get me pissed, they are just kids and it’s their job to annoy their mother in any possible chance they can get and I will still end up rolling my eyes over their act of simply being kids. When I see them leaving my sight to go to school, I can’t help but wish that they don’t have to, because I want them where I can always come to them when they get hurt or help then understand lessons that they have difficulty understanding. Why? Because I do not want this period of time that will always look up to me for everything to end. Deep inside, I am scared that the more they become independent, the less they need me. I always thought that a romantic heartbreak is the most devastating heartache in the world but then I became a mother and I started to think otherwise, I don’t think the same the way I did before because now, I considered a child’s pain is the most devastating heartache a mother can ever have.

The Doll and the White Rose (a repost)

 

I saw a friend of mine posted this story on her wall the moment I opened my browser. Intrigued of the post, I started reading it. Nearing the end, I started to cry.

The Doll and the White Rose

Remember, sometimes things happen for a reason. The Lord may send you to do his work and you will never know it.

I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys. And wondered if the grandkids would even play with them.

I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called her his aunt by name and said "Are you sure I don’t have enough money?" She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don’t have enough money for it." The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle.

The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, "it is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it." I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said "No, Santa can’t go where my sister is…I have to give the doll to my Mama to take to her". I asked him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, "She’s gone to be with Jesus". My Daddy says that Mama is going to have to go with her." My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, "I told my Daddy to tell Mama not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store". Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he’d had taken at the front of the store. He said "I want my Mama to take this with her so she don’t ever forget me. I love my Mama so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me. But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister."

I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time?" He grew excited and said "Yes, I just know it has to be enough. So I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll.

He softly said, "Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money." Then the boy said "I had just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll so Mama can take it with her to give to my sister. And he heard my prayer. I wanted to ask him for enough to buy Mama a white rose, but I didn’t ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Mama. She loves white roses so very, very much".

In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story.Collage of young boy, white rose and doll (30137 bytes)

Two days later I read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and I just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young woman was. And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store. I left there in tears, my life changed forever.

The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces.

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly." – anonymous

Written by V. A. Bailey

*Fictional collage created/copyrighted by B. Malheiro using floral tube, photo of relative’s doll and image from Broderbund cd for personal use. Image not in public domain.

Watching your kids grow

Reblogged from It's Not All Mary Poppins:

Sentimentality. A little sentiment can be a sweet addition to your life: the ability to conjure up the whole lovely vacation when you look at a single pretty pebble picked up from a hiking trail; a fond remembrance, a wave of affection, a wisp of nostalgia. Nothing wrong with any of that, in fact, an enrichment to a contented life.

Read more… 661 more words

Sentimentality. A little sentiment can be a sweet addition to your life: the ability to conjure up the whole lovely vacation when you look at a single pretty pebble picked up from a hiking trail; a fond remembrance, a wave of affection, a wisp of nostalgia. Nothing wrong with any of that, in fact, an enrichment to a contented life. If you can't find your dressing table because of the trinkets, if your kitchen is buried under kid art, if your dining room a mere tunnel through stacks of treasured mementos... You have a problem. It's about balance and perspective. It's September, and with it the wave of back-to-school posts. Among them, the "my baby just went to school for the first time" posts. And among them, among the sweet posts filled with anticipation, excitement, and a little wistfulness, were the FULL-ON PANIC posts. "My baybeeeee! My baby is leeeeeeaving me! My baby is -- heaven forbid! -- GROWING UP." Goodness, ladies. Get a grip. Wistfulness is understandable. It's a rite of passage, a demarcation of the end of one thing and the beginning of the next. So you pack their lunch with special care, you dress them carefully, and maybe even take a few pictures. Wistfulness and possibly some fear. You watch them pass through the doors of the school (or the school bus), and hope that the institution that is swallowing them is kind, that their time there is happy. Not everyone has a happy time there. So yes, wistfulness and some level of anxiety and protectiveness, certainly. But full-on panic? Reams of words deploring the child's absence, wondering how mum is going to cope, and mostly, always, consistently, ruing, decrying, resisting, mourning the fact that their baby is growing up. Um. Growing up. Well, yes. Isn't that the point? The idea of having a baby my whole life long fills me with horror (and also immense respect for parents of handicapped children, for whom that may be their practical life reality.) Do you really want to be the parent of a baby for the rest of your life? School is an obvious example right now, but you see this all the time, mothers (have yet to see a dad write one of these posts) writing about all sorts of stages in their children's lives, and every time the reaction is fear, resistance, regret, and denial that their baby could be growing up, changing. (And ultimately leaving them? Is that the root fear?) Wistfulness is fine. A little sentimental nostalgia, recalling that moment you held their sticky body for the first time... knowing that is gone, never to return. Who wouldn't sigh a little sigh for that? There is nothing as soft as a baby's skin, nothing as delightful as the bubbling river of baby giggles. The fat little thighs! The dimples instead of knuckles on pudgy fists! Awwwww... So sure, a little gentle wistfulness for the speed of life. But why choose to get stuck there? So, savour the wistfulness... and also, here's a thought... how about excitement? Anticipation? Optimism? Sure, with each stage there are things you leave behind. (Not always a bad thing, say I, as not-so-wistful memories of a screaming colicky baby and months of bleary-eyed exhaustion swim through my head.) But along with the things you leave behind, there are things you're gaining. Always. With every stage come new things to treasure and savour. The Panic Moms seem oblivious to that. All the phases and stages, all the passages... they're just bad. Bad, points of regret and sorrow and grieving. And really, if that's how you see it, if your child's growth is one long chain of points of mourning for the things lost... why on earth did you have a child? Thing about kids, see, is that they GROW. They grow up, they learn to do stuff, they move on. It never stops. One thing after another. One accomplishment after another. One new discovery, another broadening of their capabilities, an enrichment of their worlds. It never stops. Another, and another, and another thing... to marvel in. To take pride in. To CELEBRATE! You mourning mummies? I suggest a paradigm shift. You, and possibly your children, will be much happier for it.

when boredom strikes

 

It ‘s 17 months since I have been “off duty”. It seems like it was yesterday when I said goodbye to my coworkers overseas. Where did time fly? What did I become within these months? Let’s see….

My contract ended. I left the Middle East with a heavy heart hoping that the relationship I left behind will find it’s way to where I will be. I came home and reconnected with my family. I went back to  the hands-on motherhood duties that I put a pause some three years back. I wasted no time doing what needs to be done. I continued legal process that I also set aside for some time already. I was granted an annulment and I was able to change back to my maiden name. I surpassed the adjustment period I had when I reconnected with my children. Being a full time mother, I was able to witnessed my children’s school performances and be with them on stage as they get to be recognized on their achievements. I attended  school meetings for the first time. I worked with my kid’s school assignments and projects. I started a small business and had fun doing it. I bonded with old friends from school. Got engaged to the person that I had a wonderful relationship with back at the Middle East. Celebrated Halloween with my children and attended my college reunion doing Medical Mission elsewhere. I started writing a blog. I got festive with last year’s Christmas and New Year Holidays. I travelled a little bit. I went busy with my wedding preparations. Got married for the second time and feeling good that this time it will last.( I do solemnly pray!) We went on a honeymoon. Changed my name again on my passport and then the literal word for WAITING has officially started.

Waiting on things that supposed to be easy but then everything is beyond my control,that all I can do is wait and hope that it won’t take too long. Before I knew it, I became bored and irritable with the fact that at this point, my time table depended on one thing called VISA from the hands of people whose expertise is procrastination.  So I made myself occupied with stuff that would divert my attention away from WAITING.

I never thought I will ever write like this though I always find myself reading a lot. I never thought I could actually create and enjoy a blog such as this. I admit I see it as having fun. If this blog of mine keeps me occupied, I found out from a good friend whose time table is also on the period of WAITING that boredom has developed her natural green thumb that collecting and taking care of ornamental plants can a be a pretty passion that keep her busy aside from being a full time mom to her 10-month old daughter.

One will discover something unexpected at the period of waiting. Maybe because most of the waiting state and bored moments are in silence that one can hear the most quiet sound. Maybe because, at our waiting moment we  realized that our mind can wonder freely. Maybe because when were bored we come to appreciate life’s tiniest details. I know I did.

How long will I keep on waiting?  I don’t know….. soon , I hope.

Gift Ideas for Christmas–#2

 

Just as I have promised on my previous post Gift Ideas for Christmas, I will be posting new ones I found according to my choice..

Luckily, I was able to pass on to my kids the hobby of reading. They have eventually become my competitors whenever we visit a bookstore. Being fond of reading and books is actually one of the things that my kids and I never get to argue(except for their textbooks at school when doing assignments). For me, shopping for books is a pleasure. So here goes:

For Grade School Youngsters:

 

The Road to Oz ;  Value Tales Treasury: Stories for Growing Good People ; Hannah Montana Backstage Pass and Disney Princess Enchanted Fashion, Enchanted Book and Play set

Category:  Novelty and Story Book
Ages:  6 – 8 years old
Price Range: Php 250- 500

 

Pinkalicious ; The Last Airbender-Air Strike ; GRIMM’s Fairy Tales ; The man in the Moon , The Guardians of Childhood

Category: Story Books / Fairy Tales and Folktales
Ages: 4-8 years old
Price Range: Php 250 – 600

 

 

  Table Manners for Kids

Category : Values
Ages : 4-8 years old
Price Range : Php500-600

 

 

The Children’s Book Of Manners

Category: Values
Ages: 4-8 years old
Price Range: Php 150-200

 

 

366 Wonders  of the World ;  AIDS & HIV–The Facts for Kids ;  Children’s World Atlas

Collin’s First Dictionary; How I Learned Geography; Immunization- Saving Lives

Category : General Information / Reference
Ages: 8-12
Price Range : Php 400- 800

 

There! I am actually excited for this kind of gifts. Books will never be out of style and will be a good collection to keep not to mention the learning our children will gain from all the reading they can do while enjoying these books.

Till next time! Happy Reading!!!

 

Source: The National Bookstore
**Pictures from the web

The Sparks Fly

 

Writing this post, I am wishing that Taylor Swift will be able to read this. For her to know that little girls can really give up other wishes they have in exchange to personally see her perform. what made me say this? Well……

Couple of months ago, I posted Swifted and Taylor’s Wardrobe Malfunction. I know that on these posts  I have written how my six-year old daughter Water love her and idolize her. It’s because of Taylor Swift that Water fell in love with songs. It’s because of Taylor Swift that she made me sign her up for piano lessons. She asked for Taylor Swift CDs instead of the usual Barbie stuff  when I asked her what she wanted me to bring for her when I was out of town. The reason why she wishes she had blond curly hair instead of the black hair we Filipinos have. The reason why she want me to get her cowboy boots because she would love to wear them and plans to wear it all the time(not too applicable for a little Pinay girl , you know!). Taylor Swift’s music videos on YouTube is the reason why she gets online on my laptop and also her reason of the endless whining and crying when she’s told to quit watching if her online-time limit is up. I myself, would admit that I have come to love Taylor Swift too.

Starting to hear Christmas carols in the air, Water realized that its less than 100 days before Christmas day. This morning, she begged me to let her get online. Thinking that exams were over and she has today and the whole weekend free from school work(except for piano lessons of course on weekend), I gave in and said YES. Excited, she rushed to type her perfectly memorize website and the next thing I know I am hearing Taylor Swift’s familiar song coming from my laptop speakers.

This  is the music video from YouTube that made her decide what she wants for Christmas.

Speak Now Tour Concert compilation

 

Sparks Fly video was playing when I hear her say:

“ Ma, I want to watch Taylor Swift LIVE on a concert”.

I glanced at her from the book I was reading and smiled, saying:

“ me too Water, who doesn’t?”

“Like this kind of concert” she said referring to that particular video.

“ Yeah” I acknowledged briefly.

“Ma, if I continue to have good grades will I be able to get a nice gift on Christmas?” she asked me again , her eyes never leaving the laptop screen.

“Of course!” I replied and added “ Everybody will get something on Christmas, some will get stuff they want and some will get the simple wish they heartily prayed for like good health and a decent  job maybe for the jobless”.

“Ok” she said while nodding, “I want to be able to watch Taylor Swift Live as a Christmas present,Ma”. I almost choked but I remained quiet and continued reading even though  I am already destructed and can’t understand what I am reading.

“In a concert like this! see?… look at that!, look at her!” she continued, “It’s okay if I am not going to receive any other gift ever!”

“What if you can’t?” I asked.

She just shrugged , looked at me and back to the videos.

SWIFTED. My made up term to describe my daughter’s admiration for a very successful and talented artist named Taylor Swift.

Totally impossible request to grant for this year and maybe next or more.Probably never…Never??.. as in never?!???.. I hope not. I wish to see her on a concert too. The tour she did in Manila last Feb.19,2011 was totally a wrong time for us. Budget wise and time wise.

Is there a full coverage DVD of her concert tours? I hope I can find one!

As a mother, sparks fly when you see your child smile. If YouTube videos of Taylor Swift makes water smile and glow, how much more will it make her happy on a LIVE concert. I know I will surely get swifted too. As I was watching the video, everyone seems head over heals swifted over Taylor Swift. Who’s not?? Right??!

My Binondo BOY

 

I got interested with ABS-CBN’s new TV series My Binondo Girl , first because Kim Chiu is on the lead act. I always have a heart for this particular “bisaya” actress. The comedy-family drama-romance format of the show is really entertaining. Big stars like Ai-ai Delas Alas , Cherry Pie Picache and the multi-awarded icon Gina Pareño are among the casts together with Kim Chiu’s three good looking leading men namely Jolo Revilla, Matteo Guidicelli and Xian Lim. So, who would not be entertained when you will be looking at these three guys’ pretty faces of the showbiz industry today. I guess that’s what it pays to be skinny like Kim Chiu huh? Lucky girl!

Kim Chiu with leading men Jolo Revilla , Xian Lim and Matteo Guidicelli

Now who do you think will be our Binondo Girl’s Binondo Boy?

I don’t mind whoever will be the best man for the lucky girl. Personally I would choose Onyx(Jolo Revilla), his childhood-best friend for life character is just lovely and cute.

The show has been on for a couple of weeks now and who would have thought I will find my first ever chinese looking crush. No other than, President Chen Sy himself , Richard Yap. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filipino-Chinese  44-year old  commercial model from Cebu who speaks fluent Cebuano . One would have probably say he looks familiar as he has appeared  on the recent Chowking commercial as the chef, has now joined the Kapamilya Stars and plays the role of President Chen Sy on the show My Binondo Girl. Chen Sy is the father of Jade Dimaguiba(Kim Chiu), daughter of Zeny Dimaguiba(Ai-Ai) who happens to be Chen’ Sy’s first love when Zeny was still working in China years ago. Jade is Chen Sy’s unwanted daughter because according to Chinese culture having a daughter as first born is considered a bad luck. A steaming love triangle between Zeny, Chen and Jean Sy, the wife of Chen played by Cherry Pie who is also Zeny’s former best friend has added to the show’s ultimate“kilig” factor.

My Binondo Girl airs weekdays 8:30PM on ABS-CBN’s Prime Time Bida after 100 Days to Heaven.

 

Related links for full show info:

* http://www.abs-cbn.com/Weekdays/article/10155/binondo/My-Binondo-Girl.aspx 

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Binondo_Girl

* http://mybinondogirl.com/

The Versatile Blogger Award goes to……

 

I was surprised to be awarded The Versatile Blogger Award by a my new reader that I come across with here at WordPress. To Morgan :wink: ,Thank You so much and it is such an honor. For a young adult as you are , you certainly have the right focus and motivation in life. To all my readers , you may check out Morgan’s blogs(http://evilnymphstuff.wordpress.com/) and you will find anything that spells ART. Not did just I find it amazing but it totally comes from a creative mind. Morgan or as I have mentioned in a comment post that I would rather call you Nymph and refuse to add evil before it ‘coz I know you’re not, THANK YOU!

What’s the mechanics for this award? Well here it goes.

Rule #1:

Acknowledge the person who happens to share you the award by linking back to them in your next post.

Rule #2:

Share this award to 15 recently discovered blogs or even 15 of your favorite followers and or 15 of your favorite bloggers and don’t forget to let them know that you included them in your blog post.

Rule #3:

List 7 things about yourself.

Once again I would like to thank Morgan for this award, and let me proceed. The following links are my favorite bloggers.

1. http://kaloka.livejournal.com/  – Elna , I always tell you I love your posts and I am an avid fan.

2. http://dragoneystory.wordpress.com/ – Andy , I can’t thank you enough for being such a good and supportive blogger. You never fail to take a minute or two of your time to read my posts and share your thoughts. I know I got a friend in you and I know we do share the same thought when it comes to parenting. Wishing you all the best!!

3. http://abettermedaybyday.com/ – Gigi , I know you have lot’s of followers. I am just among the thousands. For a recently stay-at-home mother like me, your blogs give me almost all the help I need and the ideas to educate my kids.

and here are the rest of the blogs I always follow.

4. http://snowyys123.wordpress.com/

5.http://catsyellowdays.wordpress.com/

6.http://riverunderwater.wordpress.com/

7. http://pimpdaddylovemuffin.com/

8. http://talkingquestions.wordpress.com/

9. http://princesspal11.wordpress.com/

10. http://www.parenting-blog.net/

11. http://caloybsecondwind.blogspot.com/

12. http://soldoutforever.wordpress.com/

13. http://danceinwhitedress.wordpress.com/

14. http://orangeanteater.wordpress.com/

15. http://getawayzzz.wordpress.com/

Check out the blog sites above and have fun reading!

7 things about me….. well, the following are the ones I am only comfortable sharing with :wink:

1. I believe love is sweeter the second time around and I also believe that everyone deserves a second chance.

2. I am good in remembering people’s  birthdays

3. I am always in a constant weight loss plan, hoping and wishing I would get back the body built I had before …. actually, about 10 years ago.

4. I love chocolates , I will never get tired of eating them making my plan on #3 very difficult to achieve.

5. I still dream of becoming a doctor. I am a medical technologist but the dreamer in me still hopes I will become one someday . ha! ha!

6. I am praying for a reconciliation with someone in the family.

7. I am happy and contented of what I  am and of what  I have become, I forgive the people who hurt me and in fact I am thanking them, because if not for them being stupid , I wouldn’t have been happier as I am now.

Done!

To my favorite bloggers that I just awarded  The Versatile Blogger Award to… Congratulations and Thank You.

 

Lessons in Life (a repost)

SOME RULES TO REMEMBER IN LIFE:
1. Money cannot buy happiness but its more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.
2. Forgive your enemy but remember the bastard’s name.
3. Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they’re in trouble again.
4. Many people are alive only because its illegal to shoot them.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.
Re-Post if you agree.

i just copied this from the facebook status of my friend Kenneth Berondo Paña.

CLASS ROOM FIGHTS – something not to be ignored by teachers and parents

 

Once again , the daily news cast always give me the ideas what to write about.

The report says that an 11 year-old Grade V student of Baguio Central School was killed after being straggled and pushed by two male classmates following a heated argument over some careless teasing and prank joke gone bad two days ago. The teacher was not around during the incident as she has to attend to another class . No substitute teachers available to cover the victim’s and suspects’ class where the teacher happens to be absent. School guards and other concerned teachers rushed the student to the hospital as soon as their attention was being alerted by other classmates witnessing the incident. Sadly, the hospital team wasn’t able to revive him. According  to the doctor,  the victim suffered bruises on the head, concussions and hemorrhage as a result from the fall but couldn’t be the reason for the death as the victims body showed that heavy impact on manual strangulation was the main cause of death.

As a parent, this report is scary, alarming and needs attention.

Few days back, I paid a visit to my son Wine’s class adviser setting aside my dislike feeling on having to talk to teachers. What gave me the idea to march my way there? Well, I have been noticing that Wine has repeatedly told me he wishes to transfer to any school as long as he will never see  certain classmates, and  mentioning 3-4 names. After the celebration of their Foundation Day, Wine told me there won’t be any school the next day. Doubting the announcement, I tried to contact his cousins and some of my friend parents to verify. Finding out, Classes will resume on a regular schedule the following day. Furious that he lied to me , I sat down and started a careful interrogation. I can’t extract the truth but I can detect fear. So I asked for reinforcement from my mother who happens to have enough experience on interrogation of school incidents, my Mama is a school teacher by the way.  Expert as she is, Mama succeeded and told me that Wine is scared of a particular classmate. Hearing a familiar name, I checked the notes I saved on my iTouch . Few weeks after the school year started I made notes on the dates he told me he had a fight at school and recorded also names that is involved. The incident that made me do this personal recording is when Wine tried to ignore a black eye from being punched by a  much smaller classmate compared to Wine’s body built who happens to own the name he mentioned that he is scared of. That night , I reviewed the personal recording I have and discovered that this classmate named “A”*(not real name) has appeared more than three times on my record together with three other names B*, C* , D*.

Against my will I decided to see the teacher. I went to the office and they have  given me and Wine’s class adviser their conference room to accommodate our conversation. I told her that my presence that day doesn’t mean that I am filing a complain. I made it clear that I am there to bring something to her attention. I refreshed her memory that I once mentioned the black-eye incident during the first month of the school year, She assured me then that anecdotal records were being made properly. So I started to tell her my concerns. I showed her my personal recording and told her about Wine’s sudden dislike about going to school. I admit that Wine is sometimes a pain when it comes to school work but I can also assure that he is such a school lover because nothing can keep him away from going to school(except of course when he is sick because even if he is,he still wants to attend class). So, for him to start making up reasons and lying to me just to avoid attending class is something serious. I mentioned the four names on my notes A*,B*,C*,D* to the teacher and asked what seems to be my son’s problem. Quickly she told me that there is nothing wrong with Wine aside from the obvious problem(not writing on notes when asked) and confess that those four names actually belong to the same kid. A*B*C* as his first ,second and surname respectively and D* being the nickname that he is usually being called in class. SURPRISE and relieved that somehow my son was not fighting almost the entire male classmates as I have been thinking after all. Intrigued, I listened to the teacher’s explanation and apologies on the matter. I told her that I understand and I am not going to interfere with any of the Guidance Department’s protocol on their students. Continuing with our conversation, she told me that she has already talked to the mother of the said student and matters has been brought to her attention as well. She said too , that this kid is the problem student of the class and Wine is not the first student who thinks about not wanting to go to school anymore because of A*B*C*D*. Ending our conference, I expressed my hopes that they will be able to figure out and conduct an action before anything serious will happen, hoping that they will not wait for more parents to come to them for the same purpose I did.

Our children is spending most of their time at school. In a place where we will never know what’s happening not unless we will have the chance to talk to our kids on how their day went, which I have been always trying to do. But, what about the working parents? Exhausted and stressed from work, we can’t deny the fact that sometimes we fail to check on our children’s day to day events. Sometimes, to see good grades will always make us think that our children is doing good and the situation is fine. Academic lessons may not the only factor for the kids to have difficulty. Let us not forget that peer pressure is powerful. Bullying is common and seldom acknowledged and failed to be recognized  by the people whose purpose is to supervise like the teachers for example in a school setting. As a parent , this is totally frustrating.

How are we going to avoid this? or at least prevent this from happening?. In modern world like we are in now the media and social influence in a form of television shows, sci-fi movies, super hero cartoons and violent video games contributes a lot. The hectic schedules of parents earning a living will somehow create a gap for us to get into our children’s routine. What are we going to do on matters beyond our control?

The incident in Baguio Central School may serve as an eye opener to parents , for us to increase the level of awareness ten times more to protect our children the best we can do. For the parents having problem child, once recognized, do not hesitate to ask for help. Work hand in hand with the school authorities, after all we trusted them with our children’s possession for at least ten hours a day, 20-22 days a month and ten months of every year. For the teachers and school authorities, may the simple fights and arguments of school children, be it significant, common or senseless would not be taken for grated for we will never know when and what it takes for it to be violent and fatal. May you extend your patience, understanding and compassion as well and willingness to assist help in correcting a problem child and be instruments in changing young individuals to become a better person. To the government, I hope you will revise this “Child-Friendly” law,make exemptions and limitations perhaps? Or a case-to-case basis management. For the teachers to be afraid in getting sued for a simple act of discipline implemented in  a classroom, for me is the factor that builds up the student’s confidence to do wrong and act violent. I see it as tolerating young ones bad behavior. I’m praying for actions and improvement.

Happy Reading!

(pictures from the web)

Related Articles:

* http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/09/16/11/grade-5-student-strangles-classmate-death

* http://www.tempo.com.ph/2011/12-year-old-student-mauled-to-death-by-male-classmates/

*http://www.usnewslasvegas.com/provincial/two-minor-suspects-in-death-of-10-year-old-baguio-pupil-now-under-dswd-custody-police/

* http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/60085/grade-school-boy-killed-by-classmate

On Bullying and School Violence:

* http://buildtobe.com/2011/09/20/rethink-violence-part-one/ 

* http://suddensparkles.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/three-friends-and-a-ghost-part-one/ 

* http://generationtextonline.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/the-new-bullying-law-and-how-it-affects-our-jobs-as-educators/ 

* http://mainstreetmusingsblog.com/2011/09/19/school-rule-no-kids-left-behind/ 

* http://chocolatemilkbaby.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/tired-of-that-particular-fight/