The Global Generation - Home

I was laying in bed one lazy Sunday afternoon and I thought about Ps life. Simple things like what would he look like as he grew older, would he be a noble, honest, strong and determined man, if he would ever remember how attached he was to me as a baby. And then I realized that P is in a rather unique situation. I look at his friends who are of various nationalities and of mixed races. The next generation is so global, so mixed and mashed that the lines of nationalities and races are no longer an issue.

Take P for example. In essence he is a Chinese Australian/Indonesian but he has a Malaysian born Australian mother married to an Indonesian living in Jakarta. Pretty complicated right? Then I look to his playgroup friends and they are a huge concoction of mixed Caucasian with South American, Japanese, Indonesian, Indian, Thai, and plenty more. Majority of them are typical nomadic expatriate families who love travelling and being stationed in various countries.

How do these children grow up I wonder? Where would they call home?

As for P, how Chinese or Australian or Indonesian will he be?

Then I look at my own life. Brought up in an English speaking household where neither parent or my brother can read or write Mandarin. The only thing Chinese we may have in our daily lives would be eating rice and drinking soup for dinner. Aren't we all a confused bunch calling ourselves Chinese with nothing much to show for besides our skin colour.

Perhaps the main question of being so global is where would we call home?

How do we define home? Would home be a house that has fond memories? A city where majority of our lives were spent? Where our family reside? A place where we have decided to start a family? Or simply somewhere we find ourselves most happy at?

I still call Sydney home simply because it is where I am most comfortable and of course where my family are. Jakarta, is a semi-home of sorts, struggling with the love-hate relationship this city offers.

I do wonder how and where P will wind up. Will he be confused? Or would he seize the opportunities set before him and utilize it fully given his unique situation.

But above all, I pray and hope that he finds home in us, his family.

Infant Swim Lessons - Water Familiarization

P had his first swim lesson over the weekend, very exciting for us parents but not for him! He cried and made it known he was not happy for half the lesson and was clinging on to a toy for dear life. Not allowing me to put it away when I was changing him too!

The next day I decided to bring him swimming again, lo and behold he launched in on his own paddling towards a ball we had thrown in. So, here is my summation of babies and swimming.

1. They learn fast but forget just as quickly.
2. Everyone can swim, we are only hindered by fear.
3. Attitude of accompanying parent in the water is important as he/she is the main support.
4. Talking and singing helps a LOT.
5. Prepare lots of balls, squeaky toys and noodles.(where can I find swim noodles in Jakarta?)
6. Start swim lessons young before 6 months if possible. (not easy when in Jakarta)
7. A heated pool is a luxury.
8. Go swimming once a week at the very least.
9. Throw out those floaties! They restrict movement.
10. Make it fun for both parent and child.

There was a 6 month old who could freely swim on his own and willingly went underwater too. It was simply amazing to watch.

Lets hope that P will be able to do so within the next few months!

Activities with a 6 month old.

P has a very active weekly schedule that takes him out of the house for half a day most days of the week. Partly because I need adult conversations rather than babbling and acting like a clown each day of the week.

Initially, when we first got back to Jakarta I would have weekly lunches with my girlfriends at the mall. After a while I found that P would get restless even when we were in the mall hence I would only spend half my time at the table catching up on the gossip.

On top of that I would rather P be exposed to a more interactive setting where he can see, touch, feel, learn and play. 

Then viola, Ps super Grandma suggested and actually searched out playgroups for P.

On top of that, the playgroups only cost Rp20,000 ($2) per session and I get to mingle with other women outside of my regular social circle & P gets to meet other kids.

For those in Jakarta, I cannot recommend enough the playgroups run by ANZA and BWA. The women are friendly, the coffees are good and it gets you out of the confines of home.

One thing that does stand out from these sessions is how quickly a little person adapts and learns. P has had much quicker progress with his motor skills, crawling and sitting just by attending playgroup and simply....playing!

Although I have to admit that Ps attendance at Kindyroo has also helped a great deal. I am however, still a little apprehensive about continuing Ps classes for January and thinking of trying out either Gymboree or Kindermusik. Would love to hear comments from other mummies (if there are any other there reading this). Preferably within the Kemang, Kebayoran Baru or Senayan area.

Oh, I might also add that playgroups at BWA also has infant/toddler swim lessons run by a certified swim instructor!