Instil Moral Values Through Stories

I found a great book in MPH. For those who know chinese, you know what I am talking about. Do you remember stories like "Kong Rong who chose the smallest pear?" and "Chao Chong who weighs the elephant using a boat?"

This story book is all about children of very young age, about how intelligent they are, how brave they are, how hardworking they are, how kind they are, how they love their parents and siblings. I read these stories to my kids and I can see the effect on them.

There are some mornings when Wayne felt like staying at home instead of going to school. I would ask him: "Wayne, do you remember the story of the little boy who wants to go to school but has to look after cows because he's too poor? Now that you have a chance to go to school to learn, do you want to go?" Wayne would look at me and say: "Mummy, I like holidays..... and I like school too!" Haha... that does the trick!

Karl likes to cry although he's already 6. I am constantly encouraging him to be tougher and after I told him the story about a boy (Shi Ma Quang) who kept calm and thought of a way to save his friend who fell into the water, I told Karl: "Karl, crying cannot solve problems. Look, Shi Ma Quang did not cry while his other friends cry and ran away and ONLY he managed to save his friend." Karl would wipe his tears and stop crying. I know it's tough for him to totally change but the story motivates him and I know he would learn one day.


Nyn would always share her portion of food with me but sometimes, she would give me the "not so nice" part and I would remind her: "Nyn, remember a boy named Chai Soon who picked berries for his mummy? He put the black berries in one basket and the red berries in another and he gave his mummy the black berries which were sweet while he ate the red berries which were sour. So, Nyn, if you love mummy, you must share with mummy the good and nice food and not the lousy ones, ok?"

Hopefully, they learn. I believe they will... one day.