Renzo gets an earful from Daddy Chan

Standing by our main door, staring down at a timid Renzo, I was still catching my breathe after giving Renzo an earful for not holding onto his promise... He was holding back tears of fear, I was holding back tears of disappointment...

The day before was day one of the long weekend, the Jubilee celebration of Singapore's 50th year of independence. He would usually clear his schoolwork after breakfast, but this day, he didn't. Mummy Chan and I didn't persist. Then came this morning, after breakfast, he didn't fulfill his promise to Mummy of finishing them and instead came to me to play with him. Obligingly, I did, but only after we sat down together and planned out his activities for the day.

Renzo's Racing Car Drawing

Whipping out a piece of paper and a pencil, we began to scribble down the things he wanted to do for the day. Then I decided to take it one step further, and told him to decide how long will he dedicate his time to each activity and then to order them chronologically:
- (2 hours) Build Honda NSX 2005 (a model racing car kit)
- (1 hour) Do homework
- (11 minutes) Practice piano
- (13 minutes) Draw..... 13 minutes?... really?
- (1 hour) Play with LEGO
- (1 hour) Play at the playground (he even had a contingency plan that if it rained and the slides were wet, he'll opt for the swimming pool instead)
Looking at this, we can all pretty much tell the proportional "love" he has for piano :P

Model Kit Shopping with Renzo

So with that, I accompanied him into his room and began snipping and gluing pieces of his model kit together with him. And after 2 solid hours, when it was time for him to do his homework, he sulked and refused to do his work. I picked up his books, closed them, and walked towards main door where his bag is usually found, telling him that I gave him the opportunity to do his homework, and if he didn't want it, then fine, I won't give him the chance to do it. And when he came running after me to get his books back, I started to tell him how upset and disappointed I was.

Unfortunately I had to go out to meet up with Mummy (who was outside throughout this whole ordeal), and I simply left the books on the table, hoping that after a little self-reflection, he would complete them himself without having us to beg him to.

As I was narrating the incident to Mummy in the car, I was doing self-reflection myself. And I came to realize how similar Renzo's behaviour, responses, likes and dislikes mirrors mine. From the rapid blinking and stammered speech when in fear, to the fascination with plastic model kits, to the preference of basketball over soccer.

Kids learn best from examples and their best learning tool about life are parents. And with Renzo, I believe at this point, his shortcomings are perseverance and focus, perhaps two of my greatest shortfalls too. I always tell people around me that the best wives are the ones with the best husbands, and I believe the same holds true for kids in that the best kids are the ones with the best parents.

So to educate Renzo about these issues, I would most definitely have to overcome them myself first. And with that, I'll have to inspire myself with quotes from one of the greatest men of all time, Albert Einstein,
Of perseverance, "It's not that I'm so smart; It's just that I stay with problems longer."
Of focus, "Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

I guess the best place to start is to focus on Renzo and persevere until he grows responsible and discipline enough to take care of himself.