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Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

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building communication skills to help with the Terrible Twos

25 April 2012 by Nathalie Leave a Comment

At 15 months, we’re getting a premature taste of the infamous Terrible Two stage. Our little boy’s personality seems to be developing along what the books call “spirited” or “strong-willed”, even “high-need” (although this last term is politically incorrect anymore). His Khmer nanny is bewildered and amused at the range, intensity and volatility of emotion he exhibits. He can be blissfully happy one second and thrashing about in a full rage for the next two hours. It sets him off when we don’t understand what he wants. With redirecting a bit more difficult now we’ve had to be creative.

Thankfully he’s developed some decent communication skills early on. The fact that signing and verbalizing are still novel to him at this stage, and that it gets a lot of positive attention, means we can exploit this! So we’re trying to help him realize that there are better ways to get his point across than through a tantrum.

He can sign. We signed to him since he was just a few weeks old, so he knows the basic ones like mum-mum (mom’s milk), finished, change the diaper, hurt and sleep. He demonstrates that he understands the signs but he doesn’t use all of them.

His verbal skills are excellent. His first words at just a little over a year old were mum-mum, chkai (dog), fish and turtle. Today his ramblings are sprinkled with big words or phrases like elephant (“puh-pet”), octopus (“AHH-puhpuh”), chipmunk (“muh-munk”), kangaroo (“rah-rah-rooo”), other side (“uhh-thuh-thai”).

And as with any multilingual and/or expatriate families, he’s is exposed to several languages. His nanny doesn’t speak English and most people he meets prattle at him in Khmer. I try to talk to him in Tagalog and one of our neighbors who he frequently interacts with speaks to him in Bengali.

Interestingly, he uses whichever language is easier for the word he wants to use. For example, he’ll say svai rather than mango, awluk rather than watermelon. We aren’t necessarily teaching him all four languages – but we want to give him that kind of exposure. I and most of my friends grew up in a 3+ language family and there’s increasing evidence it augments cognitive development. That he can choose between them to find the easiest way to say what he wants to say is a bonus!

And at this stage he gestures a lot. He asks to be picked up and we just follow his pointing signals.

The main point is that communication has been a huge tool in helping us deal with the Terrible Twos. It’s fascinating to watch this little boy communicating his wishes (what goes on in their little heads?!). He can now usually get his point across early so we can either accommodate him or anticipate and redirect temper flares. It’s a tiring and frustrating but very rewarding phase, “growing” this littler person!

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: baby, communication, dual language, expat, expatriate, Khmer, language development, multilingual, parenthood, parenting, spirited, Tagalog, Tristan

Awake training

4 February 2012 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

Lack of sleep – yes, it comes with the territory. (Don’t you love how every Jane Dick and Joe peddles this brilliant insight gleefully to new parents, regardless s/he’s a parent herself? Like the idea won’t logically pop into your head?) As a working mom who luckily likes her job, I’m amazed with how mind and body can actually still function – well, maybe not optimally – on the piddly rest I’m sometimes able to scrape out of my nights. (Sleep-training our little boy? I think he’s got me the other way around.)

When baby wakes me up to help him go back to sleep – and then I can’t get myself back to sleep, it’s the one opportunity I have to catch up on my rss feeds, in bed in the dark. (Thank god for tablets!)

So during these sleepless moments I sometimes happen across random great blogs, although I sadly manage to lose most of them once that elusive sleep beckons. But check this blog out: How to be a Dad. The cartoon above (a position Tristan sometimes likes to wiggle himself into) is from their sleep positions series, and here’s a witty read on Potty FAILing :-)

 

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: baby, dad, expat, expatriate, parenthood, parenting, sleep positions

What to do with an old crib

22 January 2012 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I love this idea, even though we never got around to buying a crib for the little boy! It’s reposted from A Little Learning for Two, a blog about raising two kids on a small budget in a small apartment.

 

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: children, crib, desk, expat, expatriate, parenthood, parenting, repurpose

from Diapers to Durians

23 December 2011 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

…speaking of pungent fruits.. It isn’t durian season, but Thai varieties are available all year so we can get them here. I had a craving for it a few weeks ago and the little boy got in on the fun. Yep, he’s had a taste and seems to like it.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: baby, diaper, durian, expat, expatriate, parenthood, parenting

a first Christmas for the little boy

23 December 2011 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

it’s a nice little rendering from the folks over at House32, no?

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: cartoon, expat, expatriate, House32, parenthood, parenting

Toys for tots

11 December 2011 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

 

 

 

We always have a ready list of items to look for on our travels, that we can’t find or don’t have a wide selection of in Cambodia. Toys were on that list this year. While home we looked for toys that’ll engage the little boy’s imagination longer than the immediate learning phase. And I’m not a fan of the plastic battery-operated trinkets with obnoxious bright lights and noise. I remember the toys from when I was a kid which had a lot to do with being creative – like blocks, tinker toys or legos. So one of our great finds is this Zany Zoo wooden activity cube. It’s sturdy and bottom-heavy (at 9kg/19lb this little boy can pull himself up on it without tipping it over), thoughtfully designed (rounded corners, bright colors, dense with a variety of activities), and very attractive. And I love the rest of the B. line of toys – great philosophy, great designs, lovely products.

We cabin-checked this toy through all flights from New Orleans to NYC to Phnom Penh. Thankfully all the flight attendants and crew were very accommodating.

That said, there are actually some options in Phnom Penh for quality toys. [Read more…] about Toys for tots

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: activity cube, Cambodia Japan Friendship Skills Training Center, expat, expatriate, Mekong Toys, parenthood, parenting, Phnom Penh, toy, Zany Zoo

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Those little feet pitter-pattering about rule our lives lately. But on the occasional free moment I get to tap out scatterbrained bursts of consciousness about raising toddlers in Cambodia, traveling with them and working abroad. These posts are my personal updates to friends and family. But since you’re here, have a look around. Thanks for stopping by…

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