As a first-time mum, I have lots to learn about raising a child. When I was pregnant, I spent a bit of time reading up on parenting styles, but what C and I found most useful, was attending a parenting seminar. When C first suggested attending the seminar, I laughed, because I thought he was joking. I was all, ‘Seriously? You think we need to attend a talk on how to be parents? Isn’t it on-the-job training?’ but since he was being so proactive about learning more, I agreed to attend the seminar with him. To my surprise, we actually enjoyed the seminar quite a bit, as it provided us with plenty of practical information, and C said he thought it was definitely a more efficient way of learning. Why spend so many hours reading up, when you can hear all about it in less than half that time, from the experts?
Now that we’ve been parents for slightly over a year, we have a significantly less amount of time to sit down and read parenting books. Whatever time we have is spent entertaining Noah, or resting after that. (Don’t laugh. It’s really very tiring trying to keep up with a very busy baby!) When I heard about the Rise and Shine Expo, I was very keen to attend as many sessions as possible, so that I can cut down on my reading time. (I would much rather spend time reading my other books, you know, those that aren’t related to parenting?) I spent quite a bit of time going through the long list of seminars, parenting talks, and workshops, and because I’m extremely indecisive, I took ages to decide which ones I wanted to attend. There are more than 100 workshops and trial classes by internationally renowned authors and local experts!
Here are two of the three sessions which caught my eye. (Details on my giveaway for tickets to these two sessions are at the end of this post. I’ll be writing about another session in a later post, and giving away tickets to that too, so do keep a look out for it.)
Date: Sat, 28 Sept Time: 12pm – 2pm Venue: Suntec Convention Exhibition Hall Presenters: Dr Thomas Armstrong, award-winning author and advocate of nurturing Multiple Intelligences in children; Mr Brian Caswell, Dean of Research and Program Development, MindChamps; Dr Lian Wee Bin, Paediatrics and Neonatal Specialist, SpecialKids Clinic
This seminar is for parents with growing up toddlers and it covers 3 components:
International keynote presentation by Dr. Thomas Armstrong: Awakening the genius in every child: discovering and reviving the natural motivation that exists in all children at birth
Mr Brian Caswell: Learning to Play – Playing to Learn
Dr Lian Wee Bin: Achieving your child’s potential by laying the foundation right in the first 6 years
C and I feel that it is important for Noah to enjoy his play-time, while being able to learn through play at the same time. This seminar is perfect for us, as there will be three experts touching on this subject, and all within two hours. Talk about time well-spent! To be honest, I haven’t read any of the books written by Dr Thomas Armstrong, but I have heard about him, and I’m definitely keen to learn more about how to nurture multiple intelligences in Noah. He is also conducting some workshops on that, so you can sign up for his workshops if you are keen.
Can I just say that I am really impressed that there are so many ‘big-names’ at the Rise and Shine Expo? I mean, the lady who wrote the ‘What to Expect’ series, Heidi Murkoff, will actually be there! When I was pregnant with Noah, we used to read ‘What to Expect when you are Expecting’ religiously, and I loved finding out more about how he was developing each month, in my womb. We also just finished ‘What to Expect: The First Year’ and are starting on ‘What to Expect: The Toddler Years’. I can’t believe I’ll actually get to see her in person at the Rise and Shine Expo!
Date: Sun, 29 Sept Time: 10.30am – 12pm Venue: Suntec Convention Room 301, Level 3 Presenter: Dr. Varsha Atul Shah, Senior Consultant, Neonatal & Developmental Medicine, Singapore General Hospital
A healthy baby is a happy baby. Physical and emotional health are equally important, and can work mutually to enhance each other. Happiness is not something one can give a child like a prettily wrapped present. The best predictors of happiness are internal, not external, so it is important to help our children develop a set of inner tools that they can rely on throughout their life. The most important part of raising a happy child is to bond with your child through play with them. Having fun with them will help you learn how to read their body language and instill security in your child. Be a good role model, allow them to be sad and angry, and teach them to be independent and confident in problem solving.
If you would like to learned from a professional on the proven ways in raising healthier and happier baby, attend this workshop as we explore the most important aspects of raising a healthier and happier child as below:
Physical health and growth
Bonding through play
Being a good model
Discipline
Instilling confidence and security
I think this workshop is very much in line with our parenting goals, and we are very thankful that Noah is generally a happy baby. As he grows older, we know we have to start disciplining him, and teaching him how to be independent, but we don’t quite know how to go about it. We both have pretty short fuses, though I must say that C seems to have more patience when dealing with Noah than I do. I get quite easily annoyed by him throwing things around, or pushing things away when he doesn’t want them, and I don’t quite know how to teach him not to do those things. We don’t want Noah to become a spoilt brat, so we are looking forward to learning how to discipline him in the right way, such that his pride and confidence aren’t negatively affected.
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If you are keen to purchase tickets to the Rise and Shine Expo, here’s some ticketing information that you might find useful.
Book by 15 August 2013, and you enjoy a 15% early bird discount. Discount code: earlybird15
Group booking: 3 or more in a group enjoy 50% off
PAssion Card holders: 1 for 1 signup (partner attends for free)
PS. There are over a hundred seminars, talks, and workshops available, so do take time to look through the list on the website. I’m sure you’ll be able to find at least one or two that you’re interested in!
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GROWING WITH THE TANS & RISE AND SHINE EXPO GIVEAWAY
As a partner blogger of Rise and Shine, I have FIVE tickets for each of the two sessions listed above for lucky readers of Growing with the Tans. Here’s what you have to do:
1. Like the Rise and Shine Expo Facebook Page
2. Like the Growing with the Tans Facebook Page
3. Leave a comment on the Growing with the Tans Facebook Page, NOT on this blogpost itself, telling me which session (‘Raising Sociable and Intelligent Baby’ OR ‘Raising a Healthy and Happy Baby’) you would like to win tickets for. Please also leave your email address, so that we can contact you if you win! UPDATE: Interested in both? You can now state that you would like to win tickets to BOTH sessions!
You need to complete ALL THREE steps in order to qualify for the random draw.
For an additional chance to win:
SHARE this post on your Facebook wall, and let me know that you’ve shared this post.
Closing Date: Wednesday, 7 August 2013, 2159h
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