….Talk is cheap….take it with a pinch of salt!

Most people would think this is a bad idea from the onset. I certainly did. But my masseuse told me it was good to show children the nice things in life so that they will have a taste of the good life and then will be forced to work for it, or at least they will learn to work for something they really want.
The analogy sure works for me because I certainly love the good life and know I have to work for it. Likewise for Tee, because she is so spoilt, she now knows that if she wants to continue getting the nice things in life, she too has to work for it.
Good strategy, I’ll say. It’s one way of making the little ones do what you want
Tee has become a fish spa addict. She has asked to return there every weekend. Of course, this isn’t feasible. I wonder why she likes it so much!! It totally freaks me out. This was at the Kenko Fish Spa at Pavillion where adults pay RM38 for half an hour of fish bites and children under 4 go free. Look at the fishes, they are as big if not bigger than Tee’s little feet!!! And she still DARES sit and watch!
Oh, can you also see my husband’s very hairy legs? He is secretly Punjabi.
I would say that this exercise also freaks me out hygienically because really, how good are Malaysians when it comes to hygiene? Do staff really check if customers have open wounds or skin diseases before being allowed to enter? How well does everyone really wash their feet before dipping? Know what I mean??? Yuck.

See how much my little one devours in her little pampering session?
This is how it works with us. For every page of her homework that she does earns her 10 minutes of TV. If she wants an hour of TV, she has to do 10 pages (which she does in less than 15 minutes anyway). Lucky for her, she likes doing her work. Apart from that, we make her do household chores and help around with whatever we need help with to earn her her points for the nice things in life that SHE wants.
Once upon a time, I designed buildings and interiors of corporate offices and on the rare occasion, homes. Now, I clean poop and am student of a patience management course. From the drawing board as a London Architect to the realities of Motherhood, I have certainly learned many lessons in humility. And then others.....
To succeed in the corporate world, first succeed with your kid as the happy boss. Seriously.
This blog is about me, Mamapumpkin. A crazy, demented Mom who cares full time, alone, without any help, for an even crazier preschooler AND a baby with a boob addiction problem. *sniff* Someone, please get me a chair.......
I write anything that comes out of my head, mostly without thinking first, which almost always gets me into trouble (according to my husband, also known as the love of my life.......on a good day).
My pet monkeys drive me towards challenge after challenge, 24/7.
Gotta love it.
Contact me : Mamapumpkin at gmail dot com
Pauline Funmom
May 13th, 2009 at 2:09 am
WELL DONE, Mummy!
NomadicMom (61 comments.)
May 14th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Initially, I also thought that I would go to the fish spa every week,…cause the feet does feel smoother after the “treatment”. But after the first time…I started to read more. Think more..and the thought of fish eating diseased skin/flesh etc and then come and makan my feet….did kinda scare me. So I decided I wasn’t gonna go anymore..