Parenting on Purpose

To say that our younger son E is a natural acrobat is an understatement. The almost 4-year-old has been "hanging on" to his Daddy from as far back as I remember.  There have been numerous instances when I was sitting innocuously on the bed; either reading a book or doing my work on the computer. Then, without any warning, I would feel a weight on my shoulders as two little hands, followed by two little feet, made their way up my back. There might be some pressure on the top of my head, after my face and glasses had been clawed at by a pair of tiny fingers. I would hear a little chuckle followed by a hearty laugh, as the little one completes his act by standing on my shoulder, with only my hair for support. And using my shoulders as a human trampoline, he usually attempts to bounce around and perform his acrobatic feats of courage and bravado. By then, Daddy wiggles in a mock attempt to shake off his unwanted shoulder weight. This culminates in an exhilarating and climatic ...

Our 2/1/2-year old son E has always been an active child. When he was an infant, E would crawl around and get into all sorts of mischief, until one day when he discovered that he could climb on  his poor Daddy, in an inspired moment of pretend play - Daddy was his mountain and he was Sir Edmund Hilary - the first person to scale Mt Everest! It was therefore with great excitement that we we heard that Parenting on Purpose had been invited by My Gym Singapore  to participate in a series of four classes. We agreed at once; knowing that our little boy would thoroughly enjoy gym class - this was also a chance for our exuberant toddler to work off his energy and hopefully fall fast asleep after getting home. Our little son having a swing of a time at gym class.  My Gym  has an interesting educational philosophy that emphasises building self esteem in children. This is an excerpt from the company's website: The philosophy that guides My Gym’s programming and bre...