With special guest, YB Soon Lip Chee, Penang State Exco for Youth and Sports, 3 mothers were invited to share about parenting tips on this Mother’s Day Special forum by the Penang Youth Development Corporation (PYDC), a Penang State Agency. Moderated by Dr Gwee, the General Manager of PYDC, the panelists include Ms Nurul Syazwani, Dr Nurhaya Yacob and Coach Z from Wisdom Woods.

Panelists discussed several topics on parenting, starting from the circumstances and preparation before expecting their first born. Some were unprepared whilst some did some extensive research. YB Soon shared that, as an Assemblyman, he was tied up with serving the public most of the time. However, when his first child came, he was mindful of the need to share the responsibilities of being a parent, together with his wife.

The panel then went on to talk about how to balance their professional work and the role of raising their children. Ms Nurul Syazwani pointed out the importance of ensuring time is assigned for both role intentionally. Dr Nurhaya Yacob highlighted that it was challenging for her for the first few years and she had to revise her personal and work ambitions. She also reminded that it is also important to work hand-in-hand with our spouses and to ensure effective communication.

On the topic of stress management, Coach Z shared that she was equipped with NLP and Hypnosis skills before her first born, allowing her the ability to manage her emotions effectively, thereby reducing her stress. She said that sometimes it may not be possible for us to clarify situations with everyone at all circumstances. It is more effective for us to learn skills for self-management and positive mindset.  Ms Nurul Syazwani reminded about the need to keep an open discussion with spouse and have personal time-out sessions.

Dr Gwee suggested the importance of physical, emotional, social and intellectual development in parenting and the panel discussed how these areas can be developed effectively. Coach Z pointed out that even parents might not have completely acquired those areas through previous formal education. Most parents would have learned through their own parents, people around them and through their experience throughout the journey of parenthood. However, she cautioned that the language and words we use in our daily conversation with our children will be absorbed by our children without much filters. Therefore, it is crucial that we do not plant negative thoughts and negative beliefs in the children’s mind through our wrong choice of words. Dr Nurhaya Yacob concurred that the ‘You’ message to children can have a long lasting effect on the children and added that children should be allowed to express and develop in their own way. Ms Nurul Syazwani advised that parents should refrain from using too forceful approach for toddlers as during these young ages they need to be allowed to calm down on their own timing.

The panelist faced different challenges during this MCO, mostly during the first phase of the MCO. As time progresses, most have found ways to adapt and, in fact, enjoy positivity out of it. Dr Nurhaya Yacob was able to develop a new routine for her family whilst Ms Nurul Syazwani enjoyed a closer relationship with her child during the MCO. Coach Z, on the other hand, learned to cook and enjoyed better bonding with her daughter through cooking.

The panelist ended on a positive note, generally urging parents to enjoy the journey of parenthood, with lots and lots of exciting and life changing experiences...

Full video: https://www.facebook.com/pydc.my/videos/549867835721895/UzpfSTIxNDI2MzUwNDkzMDEwNDc6Mjc0MDMwOTk2NjIwMDIxNg/