I'm a full-time mummy

I came across this article and just want to share with you guys... The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) organization's mission is to introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of their baby with a free gift of professional portraiture.

"The 'Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep' organisation create the treasured memories by sending photographers to meet emotional parents and their terminally ill babies in hospital. The service has boomed in popularity since launching in the USA ten years ago and boasts 1,650 volunteers in 40 countries across the globe."

Such a beautiful and noble mission, a beautiful way for bereaved parents to honor and cherish their precious little angels... 

Source:  https://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/

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We had our 1st charity donation as a family yesterday. Hubby told me to look online for orphanages or shelters that are in need of donation and I found 2 and we started packing up and arranging and labelling all the items for easier sorting. Preloved clothes from our kiddos, myself and hubby. Toys, books new and old, groceries items and some laptops as well.

Hubby and our almost 6 years old boy went through the toys in our storeroom, hubby made our boy choose out the toys he no longer plays with, those that he wanted to give away and pass on to other children who will enjoy the toys.

We went to 2 charities home/shelters.

Agathians Shelter (Address: No. 22. Jalan Kelah 8/6, Seksyen 8, Petaling Jaya, 46050, Selangor)

"Agathians Shelter is a legally registered welfare home under the name: Pertubuhan Kebajikan Agathians Malaysia (0061-04-7). We are a welfare home located at Petaling Jaya. We have 40 boys who are either orphans, abandoned or from broken family, the age ranges between 5 till 20 years old."

We first went to the boys' shelter and gave away hubby's preloved working clothes, ties, casual shirts, T-shirts, preloved laptops and bought some groceries as well. As you can see from the picture below, I snapped the pictures from our car as our both our girls fell asleep while we were on the way to the boys' home. Some of the boys came out to help carry the items that we donated to them and while waiting, I told our almost 6 years old boy why there is such a place for the boys.

Malaysians, I know some of you might think that shelters and homes in Petaling Jaya (where I'm staying) are all funded by churches and NGOs, but Agathians Shelter doesn't seem like it. I think they deserve more exposure and help in any way you can. I snapped another picture as we drove off slowly while letting our boy peeped from our car on how the boys living conditions is in the shelter. I can see the boys lining up to wash their hands, getting ready for tea break or something.

IQ70 + or Persatuan Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Terencat Akal Malaysia (Malaysian Association for The Welfare of Mentally Challenged Children)

"As an embracement of love and responsibility towards mentally challenged children, Malaysia Association for the Welfare of Mentally Challenged Children has established since 27 March 2012 (registered on 4 January 2011) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The association provides an all-day comprehensive humane assistance for children with mental disabilities and endeavors in building a safe and open living space to offer the children the superior conditions for healthy psychological growth.

The quote, “IQ70 +”, does not serve the purpose to tag mental disabilities. The “+” sign reflected our mission in leading the children to move forward by continue to seek more breakthroughs and hopes within the limited intelligence. It is a bridge built not only to break the gap between social responsibility and the public society, but to lead mentally challenged children to embrace and back to the society. IQ70 + can also be recognized as a home-liked shelter which is filled with laughter and loves for the Angels!"

We then continued our mission and went to the childrens' home and gave away our preloved clothes (kiddos and mine), toys, books (new and old) and again we bought some groceries as well. We had a bit of a difficulty trying to locate the place but that was partly because we overlooked the directions. By the time we reached there, our boy started feeling sleepy. But still, we got him to help carry the groceries from our car into the childrens' home. I stayed back and waited in the car with our girls while I told hubby to bring our boy in to have a look and to expose our boy into how other childrens' living conditions and situation is. The childrens' home is well kept and clean and smell of bleach, I can see up to 3 maids cleaning and taking care of the place.

Overall I feel happy to be able to give something to people who is less fortunate than us. I hope our children learn to be more appreciative, to share and be thankful with what they have.

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.

** Disclaimer: For those of you who do not have a positive perception on young children playing with Barbie dolls, you may skip this post of mine. I just had to write this out first as there are some of you who believes that playing with Barbie dolls will make children think that being thin, or big breasted or wearing makeup etc etc is the norm. FYI, when I had my Barbie doll, those thoughts never ever crossed my mind. Not even to this day. So with the same belief, I continued on this tradition with our girls and hope that they will have beautiful memories playing with these dolls just like me.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post on my Barbie doll makeover project where I bought 2 preloved Barbie dolls and did some makeover jobs on them before giving them to our 3 years old girl for her Christmas presents.

Anyway, I came across this article yesterday and as it is about Barbie, I just have to share this with you guys. It is about a Barbie doll that will be able to have 2-way conversations with your child. Oh wow...

"Toy maker Mattel is partnering with US start-up ToyTalk to develop Hello Barbie, which will have two-way conversations with children. The Barbie will use a speech-recognition platform developed by ToyTalk. A prototype of the doll was at the New York Toy Fair on 14 February, where a glut of smart toys were on display."

"The Hello Barbie will be able to play interactive games and tell stories and jokes. It will also listen to the child's conversation and adapt to it over time - so, for instance, if a child mentions that they like to dance, the doll may refer to this in a future chat. The doll requires a wi-fi connection and can provide an hour's worth of playtime when fully charged. A microphone, speaker and two tricolour LEDs will be embedded in the doll's necklace, while rechargeable batteries in its legs can be connected to an external wall-mounted charger."

Interesting... I know with this age and time, toy makers have to catch up with the modern technology and all, but what happened to pretend play?

I seriously feel that pretend play is more important than all this fancy smancy technology. A good toy is one that allows your child to imagine and think up situations and scenarios and cultured their creativity as they play along.

And after reading many articles on how bad intentioned people hacked into gadgets and devices (such as baby monitors) to stalk and scare children, I am concerned whether this new Barbie doll might be affected or targeted as well.

If you have some time to spare, do read up on the following articles:

• "Young children learn by imagining and doing. Your child is using an object to represent something else while giving it action and motion. But this pretend play is not as simple as it may seem. The process of pretending builds skills in many essential developmental areas. ~ The Importance of Pretend Play"

• "We often use the terms pretend play or make-believe play (the acting out of stories which involve multiple perspectives and the playful manipulation of ideas and emotions), that reflect a critical feature of the child’s cognitive and social development. Over the last seventy-five years a number of theorists and researchers have identified the values of such imaginative play as a vital component to the normal development of a child. ~ The Need for Pretend Play in Child Development"

• "Engaging in pretend play (also called symbolic play, imaginative play, dramatic play, or good old make-believe) means your toddler understands that she can choose one object (the block) to represent another (a camera just like Mommy’s). That’s a big concept, and a valuable one. Just think: Numbers and letters work the same way, with unique squiggles and shapes standing in for concepts of number and language. ~ Toddler Pretend Play: Tips for Boosting Your Child's Imagination"
  

What are your thoughts on this?

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.