Home
>
Parenting
>
A Little Love, Please?

A Little Love, Please?

Article based on a friend's experience

I just wanted to share an experience I just had with my daughters, Yee Ting and Yee Sin.

Yee Ting is three years old this month while Yee Sin is only one-month old. Yee Ting has always been a rather good girl, apart from the occasional tantrum outbursts sprinkling our usual day. She would tell me when she wanted to eat, wear the clothes I tell her to wear, watch her TV and then play with her toys, without much hassle.

As a stay-at-home mom, I really appreciated her obedience because it made it possible for me to perform my household chores while she went along with her usual day. She has not attended preschool yet, although we're thinking about it. Maybe next year, we'll send her to a good one. I am very picky about the kind of schools she goes to. Maybe that's why I have been delaying the decision.

Yee Sin was born only a month ago and is generally a very happy baby but she's quite fussy. She tends to be very fussy about wanting me to feed her, even when my mother comes over to help once in a while. My mother has problems feeding, changing and helping her sleep. In the end, my mother comes over to perform the house chores while I find the time to play and cuddle with Yee Sin.

Ever since Yee Sin was born, Yee Ting has been on the edge. She has behaved very badly at times, screaming and shouting. She even kicked at me one time, which made me very mad with her. I lost my temper and shouted at her. I even hit her a few times. I know I shouldn't but I couldn't control myself because I felt all stressed out with the piles of dishes waiting for me and I needed to feed and bathe Yee Sin before I attended to those things. Yee Ting was very sorry after that and she sat in one corner, ignoring me and my husband (when he came back). She read her books in that corner, took her milk and then went to sleep cuddling her dolly in that corner.

I felt terrible about hitting her and vow never to do it again.

Then I took both my daughters to buy some groceries one morning in a nearby shopping mall. Let me get this straight, going to the shopping mall together happens to be one of those special activities for me and Yee Ting before Yee Sin was born. We would go there and run around like wild horses. She would play hide and seek in the clothes department, hiding behind the clothes for sale and I would pretend to look for her. Because we go there during office hours, there are usually not many people there and staff ignores us. So, we usually have a ball there.

This time, I was carrying Yee Sin in my arms while I insisted that Yee Ting walk alongside me. The stuff I bought was sitting in the stroller destined for the kids. When Yee Ting hid behind the clothes, I barked at her and told her to come right out. "Come out! Mommy has got no time to play with you!" I shouted. Solemnly, Yee Ting trotted along with me.

Everything has changed. The world has changed. Mommy has changed. And it's all because Yee Sin came along.

When we came home, Yee Ting behaved very naughtily. She pulled the tablecloth from the table and ruined the vase and flower arrangements. She kicked around when she couldn't find her color pencils. And when I was carrying Yee Sin, she would climb all over me and Yee Sin, hoping to get in between.

Thank goodness, my mother came. Amazingly, Yee Sin took to my mother that day. And I had the time to look at Yee Ting in the eye and reprimand her for her wrongdoing. I told her to come to my room as I had some things to tell her. I went to the room before her. I waited for her while she ran around the living room looking for her things. She brought her books, her dolly and her play-doh. When she entered the room, she cautiously tiptoed.

Then it struck me, this little young lady has finally found mommy all alone, with nothing to do. She has finally caught mommy in a moment whereby she would be free from everything. It is possible that mommy is now the way she was before. But she has to be careful. This time is precious so, in order not to spoil anything, she would tiptoe around.

I felt very guilty. I felt terrible. I was being a terrible mom to Yee Ting. For all those times I scolded her for being naughty, she was trying to get me to pay attention to her. She was trying to tell me something emotional like, "Mommy's always with Yee Sin. I am jealous!", "I want my mommy back", "I feel hurt", "I feel left out" and "Mommy! Pay attention to me. I need you too!". But she doesn't have the vocabulary for it yet.

I sat with her in the room for half an hour, playing, reading, laughing, joking, smiling, cuddling and I told her I love her about a million times. After all the playing, I said to her, "Ting, mommy's sorry. I have no time for you, and I am extremely sorry for that. I love you. I love you tremendously and don't doubt that. It's difficult for mommy right now but nothing changed. I still love you. I need you to be a big girl, ok? I need you to be strong. I promise to make time for you everyday. I promise"

And this promise?..I kept. Yee Ting has never been better.

And as the title goes?a little love changed a little girl from a little monster to a little angel. A little love goes a long way.

Marsha Maung is a work at home freelance graphic designer and writer. She resides in Selangor, Malaysia with her husband, Peter and 2 boys, Joshua and Jared. She is the author of "Raising Little Magicians" and other work at home books. For more information, please visit http://www.marshamaung.com

affordable house cleaning Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

A Little Love, Please?

Parenting