Healthier Food Options

Oatmeal Pancakes
- Substitute half of the flour with rolled oats
- Substitute all the flour with rolled oats and banana

Shakshuka Toast
- Recipe on Tasty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjTrBJP6xvk

Baked French Toast
- Soak with milk, honey
- Use whole wheat bread

Frozen Breakfast Burrito
- With bacon, tomato, onions, peppers, and egg

How to raise your child cheaply and effectively for success in Singapore?

From my five years of teaching, I realised that it does not cost much money to ensure that your child succeeds in school. In fact, those students who top the class seldom have tuition. How to raise your child cheaply in Singapore and still ensure that he/she will be academically successful and will be a decent contributor in society?

From my experience, a child who pays attention in class, does homework without teachers chasing and never skips class would most probably be academically successful. If I have a word, it would be "ownership". Your child takes ownership of his/her own learning. How does this happen? Every parent wishes for that, but not every parent achieves it.

Before I move on, I would like to talk about the effects of ownership on the child's learning:

1. The child does homework without you or the teacher scolding or chasing
2. The child asks questions in school
3. The child does not make you pay for tuition lessons
4. The child will find ways to clarify his/her doubts without tuition lessons
5. The child will not only excel in academics, but will also excel in co-curricular activities

That sounds awesome. I have interviewed 5 top students per class and I found out that all the top students do not have over-bearing parents whose first priority is for their child to excel. No, these students all say that their parents do not require them to excel. 

Strange, isn't it? This means that if you continuously stress over the child's education, the child leaves his/her educational responsibility to you. It fuels a vicious cycle of tuition, nagging, anger and disappointment. 

Here are some quick tips

1. Choose a school suitable for your child

Ideally, the school/class enables your child to feel smart. Don't choose a school which will stress you out, because the teacher calls to say that your child is underperforming. If you had chosen wrongly, help your child build resilience. Remember, no adult wants to feel stupid on a daily basis, or work in an environment where they know they are the lousiest. Your child is the same. 

2. Choose what your priorities are, be consistent with it every day

These priorities must be values-driven, and each time you scold the child, repeat these values.

3. Build resilience, creativity and resourcefulness

Don't use money as the first resort to solve problems. Make your child think. Let them fail anytime anywhere, except in the values you emphasize. 

4. Show love, but never use love as a reward

Buy them food/toys, chitchat with them, bring them out, praise them, affirm them, be there with them, watch them play, hang out with them, eat with them, listen to them, humour them. This is important in upper primary and lower secondary. Get this right, and you will not have a difficult adolescent to deal with. It doesn't take a lot of money. You do not need to bring them overseas, buy expensive gadgets or sign them up for music lessons. Just love them, like how you dated your other half.

5. Choose a family environment that makes your child feel safe

Don't make the child feel stupid on a daily basis. Let them learn good values that you uphold. Let them know it's ok to fail and life is full of failures. Don't compare them. Don't give them unnecessary pressure to perform. Pace out their stress level. Suggest solutions to solve their mini problems e.g. friends bully me, I hate the teacher etc.

6. Be honest. Be very honest with them.

Don't say you have no money when you actually do. Tell them that you have the money but you don't see the need to spend it in the way they proposed. Tell them you are disappointed/angry/upset. Tell them that they are being a brat and this behavior just makes them difficult to love, and extrapolate the behavior in 10 years time, or re-enact the behavior that they are behaving for them to see/experience it. When you are busy, tell them you are. Don't overpromise. Don't underdeliver. Build trust. If you are in the wrong, just tell them that you didn't know better and you lacked information to make a good judgement. 

With these 6 tips, you should be able to produce an academically-competent child with ownership, because they will grow up realising the life is theirs, and if they don't do anything to get their act together, you are not going to be around to help. They will realise the life is theirs. If they know that, they will know what to do to excel. They will figure out a way. 

After Implanon Removal: 6 months on

Implanon, nexplanon, birth control implant

I started implanon in October 2015 when I was 25 and it expired in October 2018. Here were the symptoms which I experienced when I was on implanon:

1. Loss of libido (urgh)
2. Water Retention and Puffiness (which contributed further to 1)
3. Anxiety e.g. hyperventilating, breathing in a shallow manner, crying
4. Spotting for months without stopping
5. Tiredness and fatigue

In October 2018, after Implanon's removal, there were a few lifestyle change which I made

1. Switching to a flexitarian (less meat, more veggie) diet
2. Change of toothpaste
3. Lack of familial support (I lived alone ever since my hubby went to study in Sheffield)
4. Eating out more, and cooking less
5. Hormonal Imbalance 

As a result, my period was very irregular. In fact, this led to several unfortunate incidents. I thought I was pregnant. Worst of all, this led to me having chronic lip eczema (perioral dermatitis). The eczema was misdiagnosed as cold sores. I was given medication which didn't work. It was then misdiagnosed as chapped lips and hydrocortisone lip balm made it worse. It was mistreated with a series of antibiotics (3 months worth) which didn't help.

Finally, I visited a doctor who gave me oral steroids, and it instantly got better.

To sum up, here are the effects of implanon removal for me, six months on...

1. Dermatitis
2. Long period cycles (44-46 days)
3. Less stress and anxiety
4. Less tiredness and fatigue
5. Less water retention

Sweet Potato and Singapore

Sweet potato is featured in the history of Singapore, specifically the Japanese Occupation. However, recently, the "Sweet Potato" diet fad has cast a new light on the perception of sweet potato as a wartime food.

When I was younger, I came across an article titled "Grandma and the Sweet Potato Porridge" in my primary school textbook, in year 2000. It featured the grandma cooking the sweet potato porridge, and the grandchild asking about it. The Sweet Potato Porridge was a wartime recipe of Singapore.

Interestingly, I remembered that the textbook wrote that sweet potato porridge caused bloats and diarrhoea during the war.

Lately, the Okinawan diet has touted the sweet potato as a miracle food, leading to many centenarians in Okinawa. This challenged our perception of the sweet potato which represented hardship and suffering. In fact, it could mean that it was very nutritious, and therefore:

1. Wartime citizens incidentally found the miracle plant which sustained them
2. Wartime food historical representation might experience a shift, from "food during hardship" to "enterprising survivors"

Implanon: Contraceptive Implant in Singapore

I came to know of implanon in 2010.
It's not known that such a contraceptive method exists. Most still prefer less invasive methods of contraceptives using birth control pills, injection or even patch.

Contraceptive implant is very common in the West. However, doctors don't even advise on such methods unless one is in her mid thirties and wants to stop having children.

So what's implant, implanon or nex planon? Basically, the doctor inserts a tube of hormone (progestogen) into a layer of fat in the lady, right under the skin. The hormone slowly releases into the body and prevents pregnancy. It is far more reliable at preventing pregnancy than the condom. It's less tedious than the birth control pill, which has to be taken daily at the same time. It's less painful than injection, which has to be taken 4 times a year. It's far less invasive and has less side effects than intra-uterine devices, whether copper or hormone based.

If you're considering mid term contraceptive, and you're married (or settled on a singular partner), this can ease your worry of pregnancy and also improve your sexual relationship with your partner.

*implants do not prevent sexual transmitted diseases.

Costs of various contraceptive methods in Singapore (Oct 2015):
- Condom: $12 per month
- Birth Control Pills (Combined Oral Contraceptives)  $24 per month
- Implant $600 for 3 years: $17 dollars per month

Where did I get my Implanon
I got it at National university hospital  (NUH) Jurong Clinic for Women

How was the experience?
I called on my first day of period. They fixed my appointment on my 4th day of period (the norm).

Who was the doctor assigned to me?
Dr Chua. A female doctor who's in her fifties.

What did the doctor say?
You're very young. Do you want to try a more flexible contraceptive that's not so long term? No.
Your spouse doesn't want to use condoms? Yes.
You want to try birth control pills? (It's around the same price.)
What about injection? (Well its once every three months. Not injection!)
How did you hear about implanon? (Friend)

Are you aware that your period will be very irregular? Yes.

It's gonna have bruising. The implanon might move around. You might experience some bruising on first few days. Okay.

You sure? Yes.

Sign the consent form. We do it on your non master arm. (Ok. Left arm.)

What happened after signing the form?
I was told to lie down, stretch out my left arm and look away. "Don't move your arm." She cleaned my arm with disinfectant, injected anesthetic into my arm, and inserted implanon into my arm. The whole process took less than 3 min. The anesthetic jab was a bit painful, but the implanon wasn't.  Nurses were very caring and helped me off the bed.

Nurse wrapped my arm in crepe bandage to ensure the implanon doesn't move too much throughout the day. I look injured, but I feel fine.

How much does Implanon cost in Singapore? What's the price of Implanon in Singapore?
Consultation, implanon and anesthetic : $680

How did I feel on Day 1?
I ate at a hawker centre, took a bus home, texted my spouse, took a 3-hour nap, then slept for 9 hours at night.

There wasn't any pain, just slight acheing.

I didn't gain weight on Day 1. I lost 1kg overnight.

I perspired a lot on Day 2 morning. Hot flushes, I believe. I feel happy. My mood was really good. I seem to have decreased appetite. I had bread for breakfast, milk for lunch and Tom yam prawn soup and rice for dinner.

Did I do anything to the dressing?
Being first-aid trained, I knew I needed to shower without bandage. I did, but since the final dressing was water-proof, I removed the bandage, kept my dressing on and showered. Twice.

After my second shower on Day 2 afternoon,I removed the waterproof dressing,cleaned the sides of the wound with alcohol wipes (no I didn't touch the wound with that), applied antibacterial cream on the 2mm wound, stood in front of the fan to airdry my wound, then quickly replaced my dressing with a cotton gauze and a tergaderm  (waterproof airtight dressing). I wrapped my arm back in crepe bandage. I went to the toilet twice. Somehow Implanon promotes clearing of bowels for me.

I removed my bandage on Day 2 night, showered and slept.

Day 3:
I still have a bit of hot flushes in the morning and runny bowels (but not as bad as diarrhoea). I've had really sound perfect sleep on Day 1 and Day 2. Really happy through the day. Decreased appetite. Drank more water and avoided heavy lifting on left arm.  Avoided my cardio workouts too.

Was it worth it?
Yes.