Someone remarked to me not too long ago, that since I’ve written a book on homeschooling, and that I’ve been doing it for so long, I would have no problems with my children. I gave the person one hard look, and said, “You must be kidding! Being with your kids for close to 24 hours a day, everyday, without encountering any problems is UNREAL!”
"kick" (by Samanta Soon)
The reality is, we are faced with problems like everybody else. The difference is, we are able to deal with them immediately, and not let them be swept under the carpet until they burst uncontrollably! We are able to notice subtle changes in emotions, and have open channels of communication with our children. So, whatever the issue that may surface, can be expressed and discussed together, as a family.
Just yesterday, our younger daughter, for some reason or other, was in a bad mood – she was complaining about her sister being overly strict with her things (she had borrowed her sister’s ipod and did not put it back where she had taken it, and she’s complaining?!) and her complaining expanded to her computer (sister has a better computer….). That was the last straw as her daddy had bought it for her just recently. Since she was not being appreciative of what she had, her daddy took them back from her. That caused her even greater distress and buckets of tears, but after she had calmed down, she apologized and realized her folly. That’s when we remind her about appreciating her family and her things, and to take good care of both otherwise she would end up losing everything one day.
We cannot take our family members for granted. We’ve got to keep on showing our love and appreciation everyday so that we remember how lucky we are, because of them. Having pre-teens who have not fully developed in the area of maturity can be a challenge, but with patience and love, we can slowly help them to grow into happy and positive individuals. It is easier to give in to their whims and fancy, but in the end, it is our resolve and resilience that would emerge winners in bringing up our children correctly.
Stay the course and your children shall stay with you!
Learning Beyond Schooling 
Truly, appreciations for each family member are not to be taken for granted. I always find myself reminding my kids how fortunate they are as I grew up not having all those privileges: hand-phones, IPODs, MACS, Converse shoes etc. On the other hand, I too try to reassure them how thankful I am for having them. They help around the house, doing the laundry, washing up after meals, wiping the floor and most of all, making me a cup of tea when I am under the weather. My son has incredible talent for recycling toys and remaking them into something else. Takes great videos and a computer OZ, helping me with my blog bugs. My daughter takes after me, making sure everything runs well with her nurturing and caring attribute. They are precious diamonds from god!
of course she’d complain about the computer. Even I would esp when we’re comparing an apple to (heavens forbid) a Win-doze powered PC! ;-P anyway, as consolation to Sam…an AMD2-powered machine is the closest a win-doze user can get to a Leopard or Tiger-powered MacBook! and AMD2 cpus are THE cpus for gaming & 3-D animations!