I got the following funnies from a friend some year ago. You might have probably read it before. Read it again and have another good laugh – these funnies are aptly titled: Why We Love Kids

HONESTY

My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he’d dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, “We better throw this one out too then, ’cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago”.

OPINIONS

On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother.  The note read, “The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.”

KETCHUP

A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup to come out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. “It’s the minister, Mommy,” the child said to her mother. Then she added, “Mommy can’t come to the phone to talk to you right now. She’s hitting the bottle.”

MORE NUDITY

A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women’s locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, “What’s the matter haven’t you ever seen a little boy before?”

HELP FROM THE POLICE

While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was

interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, “Are you a cop?” “Yes,” I answered and continued writing the report.

“My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?” “Yes, that’s right,” I told her.

“Well, then,” she said as she extended her foot toward me, “would you please tie my shoe?”

DRESS-UP

A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, “Daddy, you shouldn’t wear that suit.”

“And why not, darling?”

“You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.”

BIBLE

A little boy opened the big family bible He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. “Mama, look what I found,” the boy called out.” What have you got there, dear?” With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered, “I think it’s Adam’s underwear!”

When the war broke out in Iraq in first quarter of 2003, the pre-school my then 5-year old daughter attended revamped their whole year curriculum. Apart from the mandatory learning as set out by the Ministry of Education, the teachers put together a most meaningful project espousing peace.

Through newspaper cuttings of the children displaced and orphaned by war, songs of peace, activities and games involving co-operation and a beautiful public art exhibition themed Peace and Harmony, my daughter and her friends learnt some powerful lessons that would last a lifetime.

If more schools and teachers work together to promote such peaceful ways, there will be fewer conflicts around us.

But how can we, as parents, help support such great work? Perhaps the keyword lies in “inner peace”. I have found that inner peace can be achieved and taught to our children by teaching them to love themselves.

When we are kind to ourselves, we tend to be able to acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses better. This will lead to a certain contentment and happiness from within. Theoretically, there will be little envy or even jealousy and perhaps intense rivalry and the power to control over others may not have the chance to manifest.

For many of us, self love can be pretty challenging, what more trying to teach (through example) it to our children. Take heart, it isn’t that difficult. Just think, if we can love our children so unconditionally, that very same feeling can also be extended to ourselves.

Let me share with you a tragic story that convinced me of the importance of raising children who love themselves.

In 2002, a friend related to me how his 23-year old brother-in-law took his own life by inhaling exhaust fumes in his car. This young man was then living with his parents in a very affluent neighbourhood. No one knew why he chose to end his life but the family was certain it wasn’t about money (debts). They wondered if it could be unrequited love. I felt sad for the old couple who lost their only son but sadder that he didn’t love himself enough to brave through the storm.

To me, children who grow up with a healthy self esteem (which also means they love themselves and have a certain level of contentment and inner peace) will weather out whatever that comes their way – regardless of their IQ score.

Most women featured in the mass media are always portrayed as successful in their careers and their role as a good mother and wife. These stories make a lasting impression on a lot of people and I am of no exception.

When I first became a mother a decade ago, I strove hard to become a “supermum”. I was convinced that if the women I read about could do it, particularly the many mothers who were also CEOs and entrepreneurs, I could too.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when a friend introduced me to a book on motherhood that debunks the myth of superwoman. In their book, Motherhood- Making It Work For You, Jo Lamble and Sue Morris firmly believe that if we allow the myth of superwoman to continue, then we as women and mothers are only setting ourselves up for failure.

Both authors maintain that it is clear from their discussion with women that the archetype of a “superwoman” doesn’t exist.

“Motherhood comes with a price and the price may be less sleep, less freedom, increased frustration on a daily basis, less time with your partner, friends and chosen career.

“Thinking you should be able to have everything and do everything is a recipe for guilt and disappointment,” say the two Australian clinical psychologists.

Looking back, I remember, for the first five years of motherhood, I had struggled, went off-track, scrambled back up and often at a loss as to where the supermum route was leading me. Often times I felt like a lone lost mountain climber not quite able to reach the summit.

It’s true, like Lamble and Morris say, I had tried too hard to have everything – a thriving career and being able to raise well-mannered, happy and healthy children. Before I became a mother, I was earning a five-figure monthly income from a sales career. But after reading many books on early childhood education and parenting, I was convinced that my children deserved the best six years of their early childhood.

For most part of my motherhood I had often said to my spouse, family and friends that my children were my first priority. And yet, I couldn’t help feeling helpless and sorry of the fact that my career was slowly falling into the doldrums.

Although I had the flexibility of managing a sales job and keeping a household as well as raising two children almost single-handedly (my husband was then working 12 hours daily), I still found it tough. To keep up with a sales career also meant at least an eight-hour daily work. To care and nurture young children was a 24/7 job. Now, how did those “superwomen” get their energy and their extra hours?

I was often overwhelmed by the fact that I could never earn the lucrative income so long as I was reluctant to put my young children into a full-time nursery care. I still believe that the first and the best teacher my children will ever have is their mother. Yet I had often wondered if the price I was paying was too high.

When I delved deeper into my predicaments I realised that it wasn’t the mega bucks that I was trading off. I had to come to terms with the deep-seated conditioning from society and my own mother that a homemaker (stay-at-home mother) had no monetary value.

Lamble and Morris say the belief that motherhood is undervalued stems from the fact that in our society no other job exists that is so labour-intensive for so little recognition. “While many individuals do not themselves undervalue motherhood, the reality is that in the Western world, acknowledgement for doing a job is primarily reflected by financial reward.

“…Therefore, mothers face an uphill battle. Not only are they judged less favourably purely because of their gender, but also they do a job, a great one at that, for no identifiable financial reward.”

They add the promotion of “superwoman” by the media is also evidence of how motherhood as an occupation in its own right is undervalued.

After reading the book twice, I learnt to prioritize and to accept when I had too much on my place and let go of the unimportant stuff so that the joy of motherhood might be more accessible. And, the more important thing was standing firm by my choice to be the primary carer of my children.

My proudest moment in being a mother had been the time when my then three-year old daughter proudly announced to everyone that she would be a Mother when she grew up. I couldn’t ask for a better honour.

Lamble and Morris’ book is truly a tribute to all women who are mothers. I strongly encourage you to read it.

As Vanessa, a mother of three (twins included) sums it up: “A book that encourages women to feel good about a lifestyle change when you become a mum and that it is alright for your life to fit around your children or family rather than bowing to the pressure that your children and family have to fit around your life. A book that encourages women to network with other mums as a way of support and shows women how to enjoy being a mum and to appreciate those beautiful moments.”

Happy Mother’s Day!