Parenting #101

As parents, we are inevitably exposed to the many advices of parenting. From reading, being told or simply stumbling upon our own knacks in dealing with our children.

While I'm by no means a flawless parent, here are several things that I try to live by when it comes to parenting :

1. Positive Pushing

It seems like the standard of a good education for a kid today is attending school full time plus numerous other additional courses : Language, Art, Musics, Sports and so many more. Heck, there is even a class of Penmanship with kids as young as 2 years old. 

In a glance, this might seem over the top but in a way, I personally think that there is a silver lining in all these options and with the right push, I sure hope that my kids will benefit from the right activities. This is why I enrolled Ems into a ballet class when she was 2.5 years old despite the " 3 years old" minimum age requirement. 

Certain that she was ready, I also thought that she needed a new circle outside her school to hone her social skills as she can be quite timid for no reason sometimes. So far she has enjoyed the class and blends in really well too. It's really a win-win situation. 

For me, I think the key is not to overlook what really matters. I firmly believe that a kid should grow in a balance of emotional well being and academic achievements. For this reason, I really foresee myself pushing my children in plenty of extra activities providing that they are happy and actually gain benefit from them.

2. Ways of learning.

People often ask me where I went to study, probably because they associate my English skills with overseas education. The fact is I never went  out of my hometown for it. How I actually get fairly good with it is through unorthodox ways : reading, gaming, watching movies and lastly, teaching. I can safely say that it is only in my late 20s that I got a really thorough self- taught English lessons while actually teaching others. 

With that experience in mind, I sometimes stop and remind myself when Ems have inconsistent progress with her alphabets/ numbers or when Baby A isn't doing this or that yet. Kids will learn, maybe not in the way that we prefer or not in the speed that we like, but they will. I think as long as it is not alarmingly slow, I can live with it ( at least I'll try lol).

 

But yes, kids will learn. They will learn in time; they will learn by mistakes or by chance. Even if they don't, trust that there are SO many other aspects of life that they can still explore! Don't fret. 

3. Don't revolve. Involve.

When you just have a kid, your world revolves around him/ her; at least it was so for me. Then I stumble upon a perspective changing article which basically said that instead of making the kid our center of universe, why not include him/ her in gratifying towards other positive things in life.

 In my own term, I call it " Don't revolve. Involve".

The article exemplified religion, but not limited to other good virtues in life : gratitude,  mutual respects, manners etc. In my case, I would say there really isn't any specific value I focus on but more to the whole idea of not letting myself over-glorifying the existence of my children.

4. Healthy Relationships. 

I used to consider clinginess equals to the most desirable mother & daughter relationship. It was to me, like the ultimate approval of motherhood. Sounds crazy, I know. 

I complained too many times when little Ems wasn't as attached to me as I'd hope until a friend pointed out a drawback that really got me think. She told me to imagine if I was sick and can't care for her, while the kid refuses to be cared by other persons except you. Who'd have harder time then? You or the kid? ( Hint : it is always the kid that suffers most)

Yes, it must feel very special to be the only person your bubs can't live without but like all good things in life, there should be a moderation. A child should be able to interact in healthy ways with other people. We as parents, should minimize any extreme preference towards certain person in his life, including ourselves.

Well, this is the end of my Parenting #101. Here's hoping to the #102!

Portfolio : Print

List of Portfolio for Print:

Writing that falls under Print category :
- Brochures
- Flyers/ Banners
- Catalogs
- Company profiles
- Advertorial

Penna Papier's work for Print as displayed below, in no chronological order :

 Qton Indonesia 

Type : Brochure

Language : Bahasa

 

CNC Gallery

Type : Brochure

Language : English

Helious

Type : Brochure

Language : English

 

Jittlada

Type : Flyer

Language : Bahasa & English

Meryline

Type : Brochure

Language : English

PT. TMS

Type : Company Profile

Language : English

 

Unibis

Type : Product Catalog

Language : Bahasa & English

Portfolio : Style Guide

List of Portfolio for Style Guide :

In Medan's business scene, a style guide is pretty rare in existence. However, in my opinion style guide is actually very crucial in maintaining a business standard especially when it comes to graphic designs, logo application and company image. 

In a style guide, the writing work scope mostly deals with the logo's verbal explanation, the (hidden) meaning of it, the color representation and a lot more. 

As it is of client's property, I would be displaying only excerpt of writing with hope that it sheds some lights of the extent of Penna Papier's work :

CMC ( Medan)

apique creative studio ( Medan)

For more info and details, please kindly email : pennapapier@gmail.com

 

Portfolio : Website Content

List of Porfolio for Website Content :

This list is made in no chronological order. Links to the websites have also been provided for further information.

It is important to note that all content materials in below websites are 100% original writing of Penna Papier ( I pretty much condemn all kind of frauds but especially plagiarism).

CNC- Gallery  (Medan)

 Daverson  ( Singapore)

 HB Architeam( Medan)

Honorich Plasindo ( Jakarta) - Bilingual

The Laural Company ( Singapore)  

Maxciti  ( Medan)

 STC Indonesia ( Medan) - Bilingual

Trimanunggal Sejahtera  (Jakarta)

Unibis ( Medan)- Bilingual

Milestones ( except, not really)

Ems

Age count : 2.5 years 

- Only willing to wake up to relentless persuasions from the nanny, lasting up to 15 mins.

- When she does wake up, she chirps out a happy Good Morning. 

- Pirouettes with 2 feet like a pro, and ending it with a leg up. 

- Makes up silly song lyrics. All the time.

- Requests songs during car ride.

- Worships the TV.

- Ends her sentences with Singlish 'lah', annoyingly so.

- Still demands to be picked up and carried, EVERYWHERE. She's almost 14 kgs. 

- Favorite exclamations " Oh My God!" or " Oh My!".

- Clingy when she's awake, even more so during bedtime. 

- Still is very fascinated to stories. Considers herself a princess.

- Names animals/ toys " Tickles" when asked.

- Says " Sorry lah" when I'm angry, then pats my back.

- Says " Thank you " sincerely when I hand her things. 

- Says " I love you" and plants a wet kiss on you.

 Baby A

Age count : 5 months

- Only willing to drink or be fed on her terms.

- Smiles generously. #ubercute

- is extremely energetic! Can't stop moving.

- Shows little interest to musics. Premature musical instincts, I hope?

- is a tummy time expert.

- Worships the TV. *groan

- Loves the mirror.

- Prefers to be carried in facing- in position, her head sticking out all over the place.

- Gurgles incessantly.

- Hates sitting lying down, must be sitting up all the time.

- Super cranky if nap time isn't fulfilled.

- Likes to be teased, coos in delight. 

- Screams. Very short temper!

- Thinks her fingers and knuckles are the yummiest food in the world.

- Is just #ubercute.

Penna Papier - Copywriting Service

Penna Papier or Pen and Paper, simply means writing.

Originally I had wanted a dedicated domain as a business platform to display my copywriting portfolio but the idea has always been pushed to back burner for several reasons, such as cost & return, maintenance and sporadic updates. 

Seeing how free hosting website can more or less work to the same purpose, I have decided to publish all of the writing work from earlier to recent. This online portfolio will be done in separate posts as this post is solely about Penna Papier itself.

Penna Papier is a recent branding to the copywriting work I have been doing since around early 2010. The name is only properly given later on in late 2013.

There has been one major person behind all my writing jobs and that person is the creator of Maxciti. As a website designer he's opened me to the majority of writing opportunities that I've encountered and for that I will be eternally grateful. 

The logo is also a work of his, and he's probably the most awesome graphic designer I've ever known. Do check out his work over at maxciti website.

There isn't really any technical approach when it comes to writing, but how Penna Papier works can simply be broken down to 3 steps :

Head. Heart. Hand. 

Getting head first into a topic means putting a lot of brainwork into the subject. Then, what comes next is a matter of putting a little soul into the writing itself, which is the heart part.  All of which will come down to getting dirty into the business of handwriting ( or in this case, keyboard writing). 

Penna Papier mostly deal with content writing ie : websites, blogs, profiles, prints, guides, manuals etc; but not limited to lines such as taglines, mottos, flyers, brochures, etc. Basically, Penna Papier does writing.

What I hope to achieve with Penna Papier is simply more writing opportunity. 

Writing can be one of the most underrated jobs in the creative scenes and charging fees can be extra difficult. This is especially true in my experience; there is hardly any standard as to how much one should be paying for writing because it is still widely considered as a piece of cake, not that much of a worth.

Having said that, I still firmly believe that writing doesn't expire. On the contrary, it affirms and resonates ideas. It is the reason why that fancy paper on your hand is called a brochure or why you spend that much time in front of your computer screen. 

With that optimism in mind, here's a mental toast to Penna Papier , that it will hold true to the worthy value of every writing piece under its name.

Second Thoughts

Yesterday I saw this article being shared on Facebook timeline. 

While I'm certain it is written in playful nature, many times I have stumbled upon articles with similar sentiment. That is, how subsequent children matter- for the lack of better word- differently.

Having recently had a second baby girl, I do not find such articles to be relevant. Here's why to me having second is just as good as your firstborn :

1. Falling in love all over again.

I first saw her in the operating room. They placed the baby next to you for intimacy purpose although it happened within 3 seconds and I was in a druggy state. 

Later on, she was rolled into the room, and in the instant that I saw her, I felt it. 

So, get this , remember how fiercely in love you were when it was your firstborn? Basically you get to experience that ALL OVER AGAIN. And how many times do you get to fall in love with a different person without offending your previous ones? In babies, it would be an exception, a good one at that.

2. A do-over

A friend once joked that when your second baby cries over hunger you would strut to milk station instead of rushing around like you did the first time. I'd say it's true but it doesn't mean that you are not as attentive, it would be because you're calmer and you handle the situation better now.

My first year with Little Ems was a blur. If anything all I remember were guilt, inadequacy, fright and so on. Part of it was probably hormones, but most of it would be first-timer stress. 

Way before Baby A arrives I have vowed to keep things light, surely second time around I would be far more experienced and prepared. So far I have enjoyed her truly without as much stress. She is a welcome change of the whole guilt ride I've had before. 

3. The gift of siblings.

Adding a new family member means a lot to me, but one of the most significant ones is introducing sisterhood  to Little Ems. This goes beyond the idea of just having a playmate too.

Growing up with 3 sisters means I have 3 extra person I could count share everything with : problems, worries, happiness, good news and life itself.  Sounds simple, but in all essence of words, it is everything.

My ultimate wish would be that the two of them could be friends for life and since I've set the examples of good sisters, I sure hope they'd follow through. 

4. One is a king, two are peasants. 

When it was just Little Ems, we poured all sorts of first-class attention, time, energy and money to her. Not only was it exhausting and very stressful, the kid- being the genius/ manipulative creature that she is-, was also spoilt rotten.

With two kids though, when you have one crying in your arm and another literally hanging on your back, try as you might but you'd just have to resort to second-class treatment and basically just lock them in one playpen to shut them up. Catch my drift?

So when you're all stressed up on your only kid, have a second one! lol. Seems like a logic fail but it is so far the ethic I've adopted and is working well for me.

 two little peasants

To be fair, I do have a wonderful nanny whose existence is too good to be true. That explains why I can still afford to be a working mom with ( almost) a peace of mind. 

That being said, I will look forward to baby A's milestones with glee. To print out her baby pics and put them in albums. To always be fair in love and judgment and to continue to disagree with such articles.