No Improvements

Lil Isaac hasn't seemed to improve much pertaining to his unwillingness to go to school and the crying episodes when boarding the school bus as well as in school. Popo still complains that he cries on some day when it is time to go to school, depending on his mood. We had been firmed and I hope he gets the message that whether tantrum or not, school remains. Every day, I will ask Lil Shauna if didi cried in the school bus and in school. Lil Isaac will usually deny that he cried and when we ask him why he cried, he will either evade our question or simply tell us that he is scared. Unfortunately, he can’t really articulate what he is scared about. We would almost every day encourage him to be brave and not cry. On days that he didn't cry, we would tell him how brave he had been and asked him to remain brave. 

Last Sunday, he cried during phonics class as well but stopped shortly. I think he cried also bcos there was a new boy who cried and thus influenced him. I thought Lil Isaac is making improvements for phonics class and am quite hopeful that the crying will soon stop. Apparently, things aren’t as rosy as I thought.

This morning, Mrs Chong, the school principal called and I had a bad feeling. As expected, Mrs Chong called to talk about Lil Isaac. The issue of his persistent crying was brought to Mrs Chong’s attention. Mrs Chong said that she had intentionally observed Lil Isaac during one of the Chinese lessons and saw that Lil Isaac would be ok while the teacher is teaching. The children would usually sit together on the mat for the lesson. But Lil Isaac would start crying when the children are instructed to go back to their seat to do their work. This seems to be the reason why he cried and would happen not only during Chinese lesson. Mrs Chong seems to imply too that the teachers gave him leeway when he started crying and she put her foot down (during that particular Chinese lesson) that he wasn't going to get away with crying. She said that Lil Isaac was told to go back to his seat and to do his homework in that instance.

She called to check if we know the reason of his crying. I shared what I know, which is as good as nothing. Mrs Chong encouraged us to ask Lil Isaac and let her know if we could find out anything. At the same time, they would continue to observe him. 

Ms Chia, her ex-form teacher and probably one of his teachers now, called in the late afternoon to share her observations since school starts. She told me that Lil Isaac will exclaim that he doesn't want to do his work in school and will complain that he is tired when asked to do his school work such that the assistant teacher has to hold his hand to do the writing, which is not beneficial to him. At times, he could cry up to one hour in school! She asked me if Lil Isaac’s behavior has changed in the recent months and I couldn't really answer. He is alright in the evenings but I can’t speak for day time but I suspect that Popo gave him a lot of leeway. Seriously, outside of school, all the kids do is play or watch TV now. The only major change that has occurred recently is Daddy Lim going on night shift and the kids getting plenty of iPad time, which I wanted to cut down now that Daddy Lim is back. When I tried to revise his ABC with him or do phonics homework, there will always be a lot of coaxing required but that is not something new. It has always been the case. I am so worried now that I hear how bad the situation has been at school.

Daddy Lim and I would have some time alone with Lil Isaac this evening while jiejie goes for her drawing class. I thought this would be a good opportunity to shower him some undivided attention, tender loving care and probed him for answers on why he has been crying. It is also time to do more constructive play, more revision and less or no iPad time in the evening time. Of course, we need lots of prayer as well. By the way, the last visit to the PD on Lil Isaac’s development, we were told that Lil Isaac is meeting his developmental milestone less his pronunciation, which I don't think is a great concern. This is really a mystery.

Mummy Lim 

Adding on:
We brought Lil Isaac for ice cream and tried to ask him for the reason for his persistent crying. As expected, we couldn't put our finger down. At one moment, he said that he wanted mummy, then switched to say that he is scared of Ms Chia, then to wanting to stay at home to play. So we changed tactics and kept encouraging him to be brave, explained why he has to go to school to learn and assured him that we will be there for him at the end of everyday after school. We are not sure if it is going to help or whether it would at all. The holidays also mean away from school for a few days and that aren't going to help things. Lil Isaac also asked for the ipad the moment we settled down at home, which we firmly said no. Instead, he revised his ABCs after much coaxing and threats and we did some art and craft. I hope and pray that things will turn better.