My Life as a Beloved Son

I had quite a blessed and stable childhood. I was surrounded by my parents, grandparents, elder brother and elder sister. I was the youngest and hence, naturally, I was pretty much pampered by everyone in the family.

I knew that my parents love me. It's just that the way they love me might not be exactly the way that I wanted (when I was very young).

My grandparents really love me. My grandma would always leave the best food for me (even now too). My grandpa would always bring me out to play, especially at places like Chinatown.

To provide a better life for my family, my father actually worked overseas for many years. Every year, he would come back home about 6 times, each time staying a few days. As a result, I was not able to spend much time with him.

My mum has all along been a full-time housewife. She takes really good care of the house and she was the one who disciplined me whenever I misbehaved. I know that she love me because she really cares for me. There's a particular incident that I would never forget.

There was this time that we went McDonald's. I think I was about 6 years old or so. I accidentally spilled my coke. I was so upset and I cried. I was also afraid my mum would scold me for being clumsy. But she didn't. She comforted me and helped me clear up the mess and even got a new cup of coke for me. I was really surprised and I just knew that she love me.

Probably because we are more of the traditional Chinese family, my parents seldom spoke words of encouragement and praise to me when I was young. No matter how well I did for my exams, my parents would only say that it was expected of me.

As a result, as I grow up, I realised that I crave for people's approval often. Sometimes, when I don't watch it, even now, I sometimes also care too much for everybody's approval.

No, I'm not trying to complain about my parents. I truly believe that they love me in ways that they themselves experienced when they were young. I'm really thankful for them. It's just that they didn't know the importance of affirmation that teenagers and children need.

Now that I know. I really want to use words to affirm, encourage and praise others - especially my students.