What Love Means to Children!

WHAT LOVE MEANS TO AGE 4 TO 8 YEAR OLD CHILDREN.

My friend, Elena Ho-Tan, sent me the following article. Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it. Touching words from the mouth of kids. What does Love mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.' Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss' Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.' Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,' Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.' Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody, You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.' Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image) Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.' Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry' .

Today's kids are so precocious! Children know and feel more than their parents realise. This is why I get affected too when I read of divorces and broken homes. The children are always the ones who suffer the most. This is why I hope couples will reconcile for the sake of their children, the innocent ones.

Some ladies and men, with their unique characteristics, are better off, being singles. They should not cause their spouses and children undue pain and sufferings by taking the matrimonial plunge. Life is short. No one is perfect. Know thyself and get the best of out life of happiness for yourself. Children are so pure. They begin life with a blank page of white. Let their pages of life be not written with ugliness of fights, strife and bitterness.

If couples decide to have children, they owe it to their offsprings to create a home of love, happiness and harmony.

Gan Chau

Headhunted!

Recently I had a pleasant surprise when someone emailed me to invite me to join his company as a teacher of English Language and Creative Writing in Vietnam! The Director had been following my blog and found my articles interesting and thought provoking! It gives me a warm feeling that at more than half a century years old, I can still be headhunted!

It is also a coincidence, because of late, my Company Director, Mr. Chris Koh, has been going in and out of Vietnam to set up branch offices for Dennis Wee Group. My best friend, Loh Soh Wah, had just gone to Vietnam with her husband, Yew Tien, and had come back with roaring reports of the new economy of Vietnam, and she also encouraged me to teach there as there is a great need for English Language teachers.

I always prefer to be sytematic and complete what I have started. I am a few months to getting my Distinguished Toastmasters' Award and I am also committed to helping out till end of this year at the Speech Craft at Changi Prison organised by DTM Michael J Rodrigues. I must also arrange with Shanaz for someone to help look after her pet, Chelsea, when I am away from Singapore. In brief, to put my house in order before I take on a new project.

I also know that if I were to tell my siblings that I am going to Vietnam to live and work, they will surely oppose the idea, for to them Singapore is the best and safest place for their youngest sister to live in!

Mm.....still the idea of being headhunted in this century is pleasant and thought provoking. Am I glad I was not born in the earlier century where being headhunted implied that one had to run for his life!! :-)


Gan Chau

An Expat's View

Moses, an expatriate friend from England, who had been working for the past 2 years was once invited to my home for dinner. I also had a few colleagues with me. During the course of the conversation, Moses, asked a little about the history of Malaysia and Singapore.


"Choo, I note that there is something quite interesting about the three main races here. I don't want to appear like I am generalising, but I notice that the Chinese have a penchant for gambling; the Indians for drinking and the Malays for drug-taking."


I do not have the statistics, but Moses does not seem too far fetched in his view points. He also noted that the Chinese tend to be more self-centred and self-seeking whereas the other two races are more helpful in rendering spontaneous help.

What an interesting observation from the eyes of a Caucasian! Now I am getting more worried about the forthcoming casino in our little island. I remember Tan Sri Jeyaratnam from Ipoh had brought my friend Jennifer Soen and me to Genting Highlands to thank us for our help rendered to his Spastics Association. It was my first time in a casino. Tan Sri gave us some coins to play in the jackpot machines, but I declined. "Nobody comes to Genting without some form of gambling" the magnanimous gentleman asserted." "Sir, my mom was a gambler. Gambling destroyed her health, and we children grew up, hating card games and any form of gambling". Interestingly, I observed that most of the crowd in Genting were Chinese!

I remember when I was in Melbourne, my relatives took me to visit the Crown Casino. Again, I noticed that the majority of the gamblers were Chinese! My dear fellowmen. Let us steer a little away from the game of chance. Gamble a little if you must, maybe once a year during the Chinese New Year, but do not make it a habit. Buy a little Toto or a Big Sweep ticket if you must, but do not spend a chunk of your salary on them. For if you are really lucky, even one ticket will win you a prize! Like the Indian national who won the first prize with a 50 cents ticket!

I guess unltimately it is balance and priority. All of us cannot be saints. We can drink and gamble a little. Too much of anything is not good. Too much alcohol destroys the liver. Too much gambling will destroy a person's health and break his family. Take drugs only for medical purposes and not for getting high.

Let us never be too busy or nonchalant to help someone in distress. If we see an accident, let us take time to help the victims. If we constantly hear a child crying in the neighbourhood, let us take time to investigate a little. It could be child abuse.

As I have said, we are not saints. But we can all play a part to help make Singapore an even better place to live in.