Thursday, November 30, 2017

Mirror Mirror on the Wall!

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, 
Who's the little girl dancing all the long?


I could still remember the first time I saw Emma dancing hip hop freestyle at a shop in front of the mirror. She followed the beats well and moved so naturally with the music. She was just 3 years and 1 month old. 

Fast forward to today, she no longer dances hip hop. Instead, she has been "practising ballet" for slightly more than a year. She swirled, leaped and posed like a little ballerina. To our delight, she could even do an almost perfect split.



Looking back, her interest in ballet started last year when she got her first tutu skirt - a baby blue one with rainbow colored poms poms. Whenever we passed by a ballet shop in the shopping mall, she never fails to watch with great admiration. 

Noticing her interest, I tried to teach her with my little dance background. I showed her some ballet videos a couple of times; demonstrated some amateur-ish ballet move and taught her how to stretch against the mirror. I think having a full length mirror in the living room encourages her to practise and observe herself. On side note, I read an interesting article about playing with mirror and its benefits. You should check it out too!


We hesitated on sending her to ballet class as we didn't want to commit to regular classes when I was pregnant and busy with a baby. But, I'm really keen to let her try it out next year. Hopefully, we will be more settled down and ready by then.


Recently, I've been thinking alot about our role as a parent to nurture and develop our little ones.


We all want our children to excel. It would be great if they can do well in all areas of life - academic, faith, sports, performing acts and more. But, honestly, they are likely going to perform better in certain areas and not too well in some

How do I identify the girls' strengths and potential?
How can I help them improve her weaknesses?
How can I help the them to develop their potential?
What if I fail to help them to achieve their full potential?
How far should I push their limits? 
What if I give up before them?
  

How should I manage my expectations while helping the girls achieve their full potential? 

I guess it's for me to figure out along the way. 

I don't know if Emma really has the potential to dance ballet, but I know that she needs the opportunity to experience it. Oh well, we never know how she would perform until she try. Through experiences and exposure, I hope she (we) can understand more about herself, pick up some valuable traits and develop over time. Hopefully, she will learn to be stronger, more preserving, resilient and confident to face other challenges in her life through learning ballet! 


Till then, I just had to pick up Emma's favorite past time and that's to look at the mirror daily - not for wrinkles or pimples. Instead, to reflect and work on my thoughts, views and actions as a mother!

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This blog is in collaboration with Friso.

Kids learn from experiences whether big or small, good or bad. That's why Friso provides the right nutrition for your child to be strong inside to take on challenges.

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