It got me thinking deeply recently as more bad news is breaking out in every part of the world, financial news that is.
We live in a world so closely knitted together, in a balance so delicate, only the most Devine could create. But, what have become of our world today?
It all started with the subprime mortgage crisis in the US, being an ongoing financial crisis characterized by contracted liquidity in global credit markets and banking systems. The impact was further amplified by a downturn in the housing market in the US, risky practices in lending and borrowing, and excessive individual and corporate debt levels causing multiple adverse effects on the world economy.
Many are now living in fear, not knowing what to expect tomorrow. Why should this be the way to live? To me, there is a fundamental flaw in our moral education worldwide. We have become so blinded by material wealth that we are prepared to do anything to attain the material satisfaction. Nothing but greed has brought us down! I am very much disturbed to see many innocent souls suffer, directly or indirectly as a result of the wrong doing of others. It is a zero sum game, some have gained much at the expense of others!
The banks lent with full knowledge that many of the borrowers were not credit worthy. Borrowers were enticed to borrow more at the back of rising housing prices then. They were incentivitised to assume difficult mortgages in the belief that they would be able to quickly refinance it at more favourable terms or flip it for a quick profit. However, as soon as interest rates began to rise and housing prices started to drop moderately in 2006–2007 in many parts of the U.S., refinancing became more difficult and the vicious cycle began to take its place globally.....
We are just beginning to feel the pain as it gradually filters down to this part of the world. I just hope that we as parents could instil good moral values in our kids so that they would not make the same mistakes during their time to save them from all the man made disasterous turmoil! I personally believe that moral education should begin at home, and at a young age when the kids are still very much influenced by the parents rather than their peers or the media. To me, sending Nicole to Sunday School is one avenue for her to learn good moral values apart from including her in my daily prayer with me -to give thanks for all that she has; as well as reading some Chinese moral classics to her which she is able to relate to.
Showing posts with label Current Affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Current Affairs. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Are we good parents to our kids?
I was at the supermarket picking up some fish for the kids. As I was walking down the travellator, the supermarket attendant pushed up a fleet of trolleys only to be met by a small little boy, probably aged 5 or so. The trolleys almost hit him on his face as the attendant couldn't see him given his small frame. The next thing i heard were some unkind words from the father.
Father " Ooi, Nelson, open your eyes!!"
Father " you can not see meh? do you want to be knocked down?" (while throwing his grocery into the boot of his brand new 5series BMW)
Boy " no " (stood trembling as he spoke)
I wanted to give that father a piece of my mind but on second thought, I held back. Firstly, he shouldnt be lecturing the poor boy in such a harsh tone and in such badly spoken English. It was painful to my ears even. Secondly, it was due to no fault of the little boy. As it was, the boy already got a shock when the fleet of trolleys came dashing towards him.
Why can't we as parents be more sensitive towards our little ones? They need encouragement, love and care but certainly not unreasonable scoldings, though I must not rule out the possibility of work stress and many other forms of pressure which cause some of us to behave in that undesirable fashion. I hope the father would reflect upon his action and make it up to his son. Poor boy!
Father " Ooi, Nelson, open your eyes!!"
Father " you can not see meh? do you want to be knocked down?" (while throwing his grocery into the boot of his brand new 5series BMW)
Boy " no " (stood trembling as he spoke)
I wanted to give that father a piece of my mind but on second thought, I held back. Firstly, he shouldnt be lecturing the poor boy in such a harsh tone and in such badly spoken English. It was painful to my ears even. Secondly, it was due to no fault of the little boy. As it was, the boy already got a shock when the fleet of trolleys came dashing towards him.
Why can't we as parents be more sensitive towards our little ones? They need encouragement, love and care but certainly not unreasonable scoldings, though I must not rule out the possibility of work stress and many other forms of pressure which cause some of us to behave in that undesirable fashion. I hope the father would reflect upon his action and make it up to his son. Poor boy!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
2008 Olympics - "We have the best....." NOT!
The face of the perfect smiling angel was that of 9-year-old Lin Miaoke, but the voice was that of 7-year-old Yang Peiyi. Miaoke, almost made to perfection was presented to portray a perfect image of China. Miaoke took center-stage and "sang" an ode to the motherland while poor Peiyi was probably sobbing away in her own little bedroom.
What message was China sending to all? "We don't have the best but it is ok, we can make one! " " It is ok if you can't pass your exams, we can fix it if you have money? It is ok if you can't sing, we can fix it if you have a pretty face?...etc etc..." Is this what we want of our society?
I suppose it would have been more palatable if Peiyi's voice was acknowledged rather than being assumed freely by another girl with a prettier face. Then, both girls would have gotten their rightful applause from the audience instead of making one cry! Has the Chinese Authority ever considered the psychological well being of Peiyi? I guess not!
What message was China sending to all? "We don't have the best but it is ok, we can make one! " " It is ok if you can't pass your exams, we can fix it if you have money? It is ok if you can't sing, we can fix it if you have a pretty face?...etc etc..." Is this what we want of our society?
I suppose it would have been more palatable if Peiyi's voice was acknowledged rather than being assumed freely by another girl with a prettier face. Then, both girls would have gotten their rightful applause from the audience instead of making one cry! Has the Chinese Authority ever considered the psychological well being of Peiyi? I guess not!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Abortion rate goes hand in hand with fertility rate? (3)
On one hand we have the government working so hard to push up the fertility rate and on the other hand, we have 11,933 cases of abortion reported last year as published in the papers. Is something not quite right here? What is it? Why do we have so many unwanted pregnancies?
It was reported that KK Women's and Children's Hospital medical volunteers and social workers chief Hong Li Ming said the hospital provided counselling to these women and 35% were single women between the ages of 16 and 21.
Does this not trigger our mind that a big majority of the 35% abortions are probably due to unprotected sex at a young age? What causes this widespread phenomena? Lack of family warmth? Why? Both parents are too busy at work? Lack of good moral values? Why? Both parents are too busy at work? Who are responsible to ensure that their children are given appropriate moral education? Parents? Teachers?.....well, it is highly debatable.
In my opinion, there is a fundamental flaw in our society. The government urges women to give birth to babies but only to be cared for by a third party and hence the generous subsidies and what not. As a result, when these babies grow to become teenagers, many would not feel a sense of belonging to their families.
Since a tender age, they have been entrusted to infant care centres and now student care centres. Their parents are diligently working to provide for them, but only to find out that their kids have gotten into trouble, the damage of which would probably stay with them for life! Is it worth it? Is it not a vicious cycle? Shouldn't the contributions of stay at home moms be acknowledged rather than ignored? Are they not doing a bigger share in saving our next generation? Well, I suppose this is another topic for debate!
It was reported that KK Women's and Children's Hospital medical volunteers and social workers chief Hong Li Ming said the hospital provided counselling to these women and 35% were single women between the ages of 16 and 21.
Does this not trigger our mind that a big majority of the 35% abortions are probably due to unprotected sex at a young age? What causes this widespread phenomena? Lack of family warmth? Why? Both parents are too busy at work? Lack of good moral values? Why? Both parents are too busy at work? Who are responsible to ensure that their children are given appropriate moral education? Parents? Teachers?.....well, it is highly debatable.
In my opinion, there is a fundamental flaw in our society. The government urges women to give birth to babies but only to be cared for by a third party and hence the generous subsidies and what not. As a result, when these babies grow to become teenagers, many would not feel a sense of belonging to their families.
Since a tender age, they have been entrusted to infant care centres and now student care centres. Their parents are diligently working to provide for them, but only to find out that their kids have gotten into trouble, the damage of which would probably stay with them for life! Is it worth it? Is it not a vicious cycle? Shouldn't the contributions of stay at home moms be acknowledged rather than ignored? Are they not doing a bigger share in saving our next generation? Well, I suppose this is another topic for debate!
Why do we have babies? (2)
What does the government have in mind when they rolled out the new policies in targeting the low fertility rate? What are the underlying assumptions when making these policies?
1) if you are NOT a working mother, then you will be EXCLUDED from the benefits.
Probable assumptions :
1)You are probably lowly educated and not contributing much to the economy, and hence your income is insignificant to justify staying in the workforce after giving birth. You are better off looking after your own kids. Therefore, you don't need any child care subsidy and what not. Your kids are probably not going to make it very far anyway??
2)You are unlikely to be tertiary educated because it does not make economic sense to be a stay at home mom if you were. You should be working and leaving your kids to someone else to look after and therefore, you will be entitled to all the benefits, monetary or otherwise.
But, are these true and fair assumptions?
Then, why do we have babies to begin with? Just to help the government look good on their statistics? We carry the babies for 9 months, and then spend 4 months looking after them and off they go to infant care centres thereafter.
Does this not defeat the purpose of having babies? Are the policies doing justice to the non-working mothers? Aren't they better candidates to boost the statistics?
1) if you are NOT a working mother, then you will be EXCLUDED from the benefits.
Probable assumptions :
1)You are probably lowly educated and not contributing much to the economy, and hence your income is insignificant to justify staying in the workforce after giving birth. You are better off looking after your own kids. Therefore, you don't need any child care subsidy and what not. Your kids are probably not going to make it very far anyway??
2)You are unlikely to be tertiary educated because it does not make economic sense to be a stay at home mom if you were. You should be working and leaving your kids to someone else to look after and therefore, you will be entitled to all the benefits, monetary or otherwise.
But, are these true and fair assumptions?
Then, why do we have babies to begin with? Just to help the government look good on their statistics? We carry the babies for 9 months, and then spend 4 months looking after them and off they go to infant care centres thereafter.
Does this not defeat the purpose of having babies? Are the policies doing justice to the non-working mothers? Aren't they better candidates to boost the statistics?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Do we need incentives to have babies? (1)
So much persuasion is needed just to have a baby or two. Is it not something quite natural of mankind to procreate? Has there been a shift of priority over time? Do the 5Cs rank well above babies? Does the media have a part to play? etc etc ......
Well, while it is good of the government to put up more incentives to encourage couples to have more babies, I think we need to have the right mind set fundamentally. We don't have babies just because the government is dishing out incentives, monetary or otherwise. While the incentives would certainly help the less privileged couples, it would do little to motivate the professionals who are financially secured.
That said, I feel that there is a need to raise the standard of child-care centres. It is no secret that the pre-school teachers are not the most well-paid group. As a result, the early childhood profession does not attract many qualified individuals to pursue it as a career. Can you imagine putting your child at a centre which is purely a "baby-sitting" centre in disguise? I have personally been to a centre where the teachers were literally yelling at each other using "Singlish" and there was little discipline in place, if any at all. I was absolutely appalled!
There is not one centre which I am totally happy with but I am just living with it, simply because there is none. This is one reason for quitting my job. I don't want to see Nicole coming home speaking like an "Ah Beng".
One of my dreams would be to set up a childcare centre which is able to meet my own expectation of a quality childcare centre! Well, let's see how the government is going to help in bringing in more quality childcare centres to benefit our next generation. Perhaps, I would be one of the operators? Would you put your child with me? :) :)
Well, while it is good of the government to put up more incentives to encourage couples to have more babies, I think we need to have the right mind set fundamentally. We don't have babies just because the government is dishing out incentives, monetary or otherwise. While the incentives would certainly help the less privileged couples, it would do little to motivate the professionals who are financially secured.
That said, I feel that there is a need to raise the standard of child-care centres. It is no secret that the pre-school teachers are not the most well-paid group. As a result, the early childhood profession does not attract many qualified individuals to pursue it as a career. Can you imagine putting your child at a centre which is purely a "baby-sitting" centre in disguise? I have personally been to a centre where the teachers were literally yelling at each other using "Singlish" and there was little discipline in place, if any at all. I was absolutely appalled!
There is not one centre which I am totally happy with but I am just living with it, simply because there is none. This is one reason for quitting my job. I don't want to see Nicole coming home speaking like an "Ah Beng".
One of my dreams would be to set up a childcare centre which is able to meet my own expectation of a quality childcare centre! Well, let's see how the government is going to help in bringing in more quality childcare centres to benefit our next generation. Perhaps, I would be one of the operators? Would you put your child with me? :) :)
Monday, July 21, 2008
From Career Woman to Full Time Mom
The title of one of the articles in today's paper - From Career Woman to Full Time Mom
It just got me to reflect on my or rather our joint decision in becoming a full time mom. Frankly, I have no regrets in assuming this god-gifted role. It has been much more rewarding in many ways, putting aside the financial sacrifices which I was prepared to let go.
I am very thankful to be privileged to this uncompromising role which requires heaps of patience and perseverance, the lacking of either may be disastrous! Facing the kids 24 7 can be over- whelming if one is not prepared for it. That said, in my opinion, the joy which comes along is far greater than the stress they create!
Many career women out there are still clinging on to their jobs for fear of loss of financial freedom inspite of the fact that they dearly miss their kids at home. There is no right or wrong answer to it but a mere priority to be jointly decided upon though historically and biblically, women have had a more prominent domestic role. That said, it is undeniable that times may have changed thus requiring dual income in many families in order to sustain the high cost of living in many countries but I tend to believe that the professionals are able to manage comfortably even with a single income.
I am not suggesting that all women should quit their jobs and be stay-at-home moms but I am of the opinion that women, career women in particular should consider dedicating more time to their little ones during their pre-school years which would have a life-long impact on their well-being. As a chinese saying goes " your future is already determined by the age of 3".
Well, something to ponder over? Have a happy working day!
It just got me to reflect on my or rather our joint decision in becoming a full time mom. Frankly, I have no regrets in assuming this god-gifted role. It has been much more rewarding in many ways, putting aside the financial sacrifices which I was prepared to let go.
I am very thankful to be privileged to this uncompromising role which requires heaps of patience and perseverance, the lacking of either may be disastrous! Facing the kids 24 7 can be over- whelming if one is not prepared for it. That said, in my opinion, the joy which comes along is far greater than the stress they create!
Many career women out there are still clinging on to their jobs for fear of loss of financial freedom inspite of the fact that they dearly miss their kids at home. There is no right or wrong answer to it but a mere priority to be jointly decided upon though historically and biblically, women have had a more prominent domestic role. That said, it is undeniable that times may have changed thus requiring dual income in many families in order to sustain the high cost of living in many countries but I tend to believe that the professionals are able to manage comfortably even with a single income.
I am not suggesting that all women should quit their jobs and be stay-at-home moms but I am of the opinion that women, career women in particular should consider dedicating more time to their little ones during their pre-school years which would have a life-long impact on their well-being. As a chinese saying goes " your future is already determined by the age of 3".
Well, something to ponder over? Have a happy working day!
Monday, July 14, 2008
An "ugly" place?
If you have read some recent articles in the papers describing Singaporeans as an "ugly batch", (paying for one serving of drinks but topping up 4 full bottles, eating unpaid fruits at supermarket) you would note that such behaviours are rather commonly exhibited in our society unfortunately.
One way to stop this "disease" from spreading is to start educating our little ones from a young age. It is only through proper education and reinforcement that our society may hope to see more grace in the near future. This would create a more pleasant and cultured environment for our next generation. As parents, we have an important task to groom our little ones. Together we can make this a better place !
What is your view on this?
One way to stop this "disease" from spreading is to start educating our little ones from a young age. It is only through proper education and reinforcement that our society may hope to see more grace in the near future. This would create a more pleasant and cultured environment for our next generation. As parents, we have an important task to groom our little ones. Together we can make this a better place !
What is your view on this?
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