That's Why We're Different?

Its true that they say we learn something new everyday even without having to go to school. Everyday at the daycare (for those who do not know, I have been working part time at two daycare in UBC since February) I learn something new, things that I thought I knew, or I thought I have been ever exposed to and yet miss the small, little detail.


So here goes what I learnt today.


At the daycare I worked at, there is this boy who speaks in an "annoucement" voice. Dalam erti kata lainnya, bingit suara dia. If he speaks from the other end, one from the other opposite end can clearly listen to what he says. During snack time today, when my boss and I were busy serving the other kids, he started to speak up again saying that his friend was saying something that from his point of view, rude. My boss was probably bothered by his loud voice, went over to him and ask him to stop talking at just finish his snack. He tried to defend himself but she asked him not to and commanded him to just continue eating.

I found that normal. As adult, that's what we do. We take control, we in charge. I myself admit that I have little patience with young children. Not that I can't stand them, I love them, but there are points when I feel the need to raise my voice and just take control so that they do not go beyond control.


However, to my suprise, the other older regular staff came in and started to "tegur" my boss about her way of handling the situation. She said that by doing so, this boy might loose his "self confidence".


That amazed me.


In Malaysia at least, I have met with SO many kids who lack self confidence. Never occcured in my mind that this could be the reason. When you keep saying no or raise your voice to the kids, they would feel that they keep doing the wrong things and hence affect their self confidence. Consequently, they grew up thinking that way. People here learn to listen to what the kids have to say, respect their opinions, and if they are wrong, correct them in such an intelligent manner. That's actually common sense though, even some of us as adults cannot handle rejections very well, let alone being continuously told we are wrong. But often in Malaysia, we forget this when dealing with kids.


I thought I'd share this with you guys, who knows, it might come in handy one day in the future.



xx,
Ina