SGSupernanny.com is officially launched!

I have officially launched my new website www.sgsupernanny.com I am Singapore’s baby sleep training expert. I know there are many parents out there who are sleep-deprived and are wanting to know how to get their babies to sleep through the night. My passion is to help parents and babies get the sleep they deserved, one family at a time and I am confident, you will be glad that you choose to do so now rather than later.

My thoughts on baby sleep training

I have met many parents over the years and while many agrees with sleep training, some are a bit hesitant. The question I always get asked is this:

Does it involve crying? 

To which I have to answer, yes because that is the only way baby knows how to communicate with us. 

Why do some parents shudder at the thought of sleep training?

Does the thought of their baby crying make them feel like bad parents?

Do they already feel like bad parents because their baby isn't sleeping?

There are so many methods of training baby to sleep out there and they all involve some degree of crying. Why? Because like I said before your baby will object to the new routine you are implementing and the only way she will be able to communicate her objection is through crying. Let's face it, no one like changes at first, but after a while you will learn to adapt.

Before I help my clients start their sleep training, I look at the overall picture first. Remember, sleep training is only one piece of the puzzles. Before sleep training can be implemented, we need to assess other pieces of the puzzles.

I believe that when sleep training is implemented on a healthy baby, loving and caring environment overseen by the parents, baby will be able to learn to sleep well and through the night in no time at all.
It's much better to let your baby learn the week long sleep training programme through some degree of crying than endure months of sleepless nights which would result in overtired babies and exhausted parents!

Contact me now if you want your sleep back and ultimately a good night rest for you and your baby. Every night. 

Why is self settling important?

When I was living in New Zealand, a lot of parents I met talked about self settling and how important it is for a baby to learn to self settle. In fact I must admit, self settling was one of the best things I did raising up my twins.

In Asia or more specifically Malaysia and Singapore, I realised that this is not such a popular notion here. Parents here tend to want to carry or rock their baby to sleep instead of implementing self settling method.

But why is self settling so important? Why should you bother with teaching your baby to self settle? Why not just keep feeding them or rock them till they sleep?

Well if you are happy with the amount of sleep you and your baby have, then I guess self settling isn't important.

But if your baby needs more sleep during the night, and you find him or her catnapping a lot and just seem rather tired and fractious during the day, then perhaps learning to self settle is the key solution to your problems. 

Your baby may not feel the direct effects of sleep deprivation, but what about you? Are your physical and mental health suffering due to lack of sleep? Sleep deprivation will make life with a baby much more stressful than they are and it can impact your relationships, your marriage, your work, your outlook and enjoyment of life with your child.

So don't delay anymore. Get your baby to learn self settling technique from young as you know it gets harder as they grow up. If you need any help and guidance in this, please contact me, happy to help you, your family and your baby get that sleep that you all deserved!

You will be surprised at how quickly your baby will learn to resettle himself once you learn the technique and stick with it consistently.

Why do we need parenting coaching?

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world and yet as parents we are not given any manuals and guidelines when we bring our baby home from the hospital. There are neither classes nor schools for parents to attend or graduate from.

Parenting is certainly no sport for the weak. The games are packed with obstacles and challenges that you may not be familiar with. Just like in sports, from badminton to swimming, you wouldn't dream of excelling without a coach. Parent coaching like all other coaching helps by letting you see your potential when you are feeling lost and hopeless. A coach helps by seeing the desired results, plan with you the steps towards your success and patiently reminding you of those steps.

Many of my clients have engaged me for help because they simply want someone who can walk with them shoulder to shoulder in their struggles with their parenting journey. Sometimes just getting someone from the outside looking in is all you need to create a new perspective and to help you see things from a different angle altogether. I always remind my clients that they are the expert of their own family. We simply co-create the future together. Think of parenting coach as a trusted family member with the top-notch know-how.

Being a parent myself, I know how big and scary this role of a lifetime can be. We all just want to get it right. But everyone's "right" is different. I believe there is no one right way of doing things. Otherwise our parents' approach of bringing us up would have been passed down from generation after generation. Parenting is about change and growth - ours and our children's.  There is no easy and simple formula. It's about knowledge, flexibility, teachability and hard work. If that's how you see it too, then parenting coaching may be right for you.

Contact me now for a parenting coaching session and you will be glad that you have taken the first step to feeling more confident and empowered in your parenting journey.

Effective Communication

It's been a while since I last posted. Life has been rather busy with 3 sick and vomiting kids, parenting talks and coaching sessions. I would like to share with you a topic that I recently shared with parents at a primary school.

To have an effective communication with your child, first you gotta have good listening skills. What's a good listening skills?

Well you need to use active listening skills when your child starts communicating with you. What is active listening skill? Active listening skills is when you encourage your child to express himself verbally without influencing him with your own preconceived notions or opinions. 

Your child will get to express himself while you just simply listen without forming any opinions. It does require a lot of practice and patience to be good at this, but I do hope you will try it out. Your child would then be able to share more with you without fearing about what you may judge or think. 

Tabletop Family Bonding Programme

I will be conducting a family bonding programme at Nan Chiau High School tomorrow morning and this is my personal favourite as I would be sharing my passion for board games with other families.

I love board games since I was a child. When I was in NZ, I discovered a whole new world of German board games which are not mainstream games like Monopoly or Scrabble. German board games require more strategy thinking and less luck is involved. There is something special about board games, something unique. They have the power to fascinate, to charm and to educate you. Albert Einstein once said "Games are the most elevated form of investigation." When you play board games, all your intelligence and attention are focused into solving the problems of the game. Playing keeps you creative and it makes you learn.

I love spending time with my children playing board games. Children loves to play and as adults we don't play enough. When we play board games with our children, we are allowing ourselves to be on the same level playing field as our children, and children will tend to open up more and share with us more when they feel relaxed and calm.

It is my sincere hope that more families will come together to play board games and have a great fun and laughter bonding together through games.

If you are interested to find out more about playing board games and would like to introduce to your family, your work, your school or your community please feel free to contact me at 92388060. I will be happy to run a workshop to introduce you to this wonderful world of German board games.

Upcoming parenting and family life education talks

I will be giving parenting talks at schools in the coming months as we get into the full swing of 2014.

Some of the topics that I would be sharing with parents will be:

• Help your child beat exam stress
• How to get your kids to listen without yelling, reminding and nagging
• The importance of family bonding
• Board games family fun

If you would like to find out more, do email me and join me as we navigate together through this journey we called parenthood.