Live Out Loud - Adventures of a mom

**Disclaimer:  if you are not comfortable with the topic, do not read on...you might find my directness a bit too frank for your liking...!!! A while ago I read there was such a thing as  Breastfeeding Awareness Day .  And that got me thinking about my own experience breastfeeding my 2 kids, now 4 and almost 6 respectively.  I tried to breastfeed them both, exclusively.  But I highlight the word "TRIED" because along the way I encountered bumps, potholes and downright valleys that no one ever told me about.  At points I felt as if I had been part of a major car accident! This blog entry isn't about the beauty of breastfeeding, or the great advantages of choosing to breastfeed.  We have all heard those...haven't we?  We have heard how it is healthy for the child, for the bond relationship between mother and child, the convenience, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong.  I STILL BELIEVE IN BREASTFEEDING...but a reality check. Here are some thi...

I've read my share on parenting books, but no book seems to teach or guide a new parent on how to teach their babies, toddlers and children how to do the 'small' things in life that arguably are musts in order to bring up kids that are healthy well beings in society.  As I learn to parent, I am learning to appreciate all these little things my little ones need to learn and I as a mother need to guide and teach.  What do I mean by it?  Here is a sample: - Nail clippers -- which ones are best?  How to best clip them when they are young?  At what point do you teach them to clip their own???  HOW? - Washrooms (READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!)-- I especially had questions as I potty trained my son.  Aside from the actual pee and poo (yes, sorry if you are offended but I am a mom of 2 young kids), what is the actual step by step process?  I mean, what is that hole in men's and boys' underwear for?  Do you raise the toilet seat first or pull off ...

Am I a "tiger mom"?  Did I 'inherit' the 'tiger-ness' from my Asian heritage? Did you know that the phrase is actually in dictionaries?  According to the Macmillan Dictionary: tiger mother  also US  tiger mom noun   [countable] a very strict mother who makes her children work particularly hard and restricts their free time so that they continually achieve the highest grades So..am I or am I not? I am afraid there is some 'tigerness' in me that quite honestly, I would like to get rid of. I had an inkling this was a predisposition I had.  After all, I grew up being told things such as: - "Even though you placed best in your class, that doesn't mean anything because you are not studying in the best school, in the best country in the world" - "Parties?  Those are a waste of time.  Focus on school" - "For Summer Vacations, you will be reading Robinson Crusoe" .... I got insight into this topic when...