Some time back, I was looking around for Thomas and Friends music CDs to play in the car to encourage car seat cooperation since Gavin loves listening music, especially songs from the Thomas and Friends series.  I managed to find about 30 MP3 clips that I could download for free and burnt them onto a CD for him.  Since the songs were unfamiliar, Gavin initially did not really take to the CD.  After playing the disc for him a few times, he started to like a few of the tracks, especially because there were lots train sounds, Thomas theme music and the names of the characters were familiar - like Harold the Helicopter, Sir Topham Hatt, Toby and Emily. 

Two of the soundtracks I downloaded were recordings of a narrator reading from the original Rev W Awdry’s Thomas the Tank Engine stories - Thomas and Gordon, and Henry and the Elephant.  Once Gavin recognised the stories, they became two of his favourite tracks on the whole disc and would often want me to repeat them over and over until he got bored of them.  Since he enjoyed listening to stories about Thomas so much, it got me thinking that if I could find more MP3 recordings of Thomas the Tank Engine being read, I’d have more tools to use in the car to help me manage Gavin in the car seat.

I had initially tried looking in the book stores for Thomas and Friends books with audio CDs because I remembered seeing some.  I found some at MPH Bookstore in Midvalley but it was a rather thin book with only one story and it cost me about RM40 so I didn’t think it was worth it.  At best, it would only be good for a couple of a car rides before Gavin would be sick of it and want a new story.

I decided to look online and managed to find two recordings created by BBC Audio books, each about an hour long from the original Thomas the Tank Engine stories by Rev W Awdry.  They are narrated by Michael Angelis - whom I think does the best reading for Thomas the Tank Engine and because he is also the narrator for the TV series, his voice and style of reading is already familiar to Gavin.

The books can be downloaded to your computer for about $13 each, where you can burn them onto a disc to be played in the car.  Although you pay $13 for it, the recording quality is good and they also throw in some music and sound effects in between, so I think it’s pretty worth it.  You’re given three options to download - one that is very quick to download, a high quality recording and one in between. 

Here are the two links:

Thomas & Friends: The Railway Stories

Thomas & Friends: The Railway Stories Volume 2

I bought the first volume to see how easily it could be downloaded and burnt to CD and to test out the quality of the recording.  I’ve tested the CD out in the car with Gavin and it was a hit.  Even my MIL was surprised by how quietly Gavin could sit in the car just listening to the CD.  I think I’ll get Volume 2 when Gavin gets sick of listening to Volume 1.

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I’ve always believe that the best way to learn is when you are having fun.  Likewise, the best way to encourage your children to be interested in learning is to make the process fun.  I don’t believe in pushing children to learn at an early age, but I do believe you should expose babies to as much as possible and allow them to absorb whatever they are comfortable with.

An infant’s brain potential for learning is so great and it only declines as the baby grows up.  Not to tap into this potential of the early developing brain, I believe, is a waste of your child’s resources.  Additionally, babies are so eager to learn - an eagerness that often diminishes as they grow older - so why not take advantage of it and inculcate a healthy desire to learn while there interest is still there?

“Use it or lose it.”

I have also read that a child’s developing brain begins to prune off neural connections that are underutilised and focusses development of those that are used, therefore, skills that aren’t developed early become more difficult for the child to learn when they grow older. 

For example, children who learn to speak another language are often more capable of learning a new language when they are older because the part of their brains that helps them to process new languages has already been developed.  Conversely, the child that only learned to communicate in one language will have difficulties (albeit not impossible) picking up new languages as an adult.  That is because this part of their brain was never developed.

The debate about early learning can be quite a heated one and you can read more of the pros and cons on Brillbaby. They also have a lot of resources on this topic which you can read about in greater detail, should it interest you.

I first heard about teaching infants to read on Brillbaby who offer a software program that helps you teach your baby to read from four months up.  They offered a free 30 trial of the program that I was keen to take up but was a little busy over the past couple of weeks so I never really looked into it.  I almost forgot about it until I saw a short video on facebook about a mother who had taught her 9 month old how to read using a video series called Your Baby Can Read, created by Robert Titzer, phD.

I remembered the series because I saw it briefly in Metrojaya during one of my outings with Gavin.  I was vaguely interested at the time but since Gavin was getting tired and cranky, I didn’t really get a chance to take a good look at it.  After watching that video, my interest was renewed and I started doing a little more research on early childhood education, and I was pretty impressed with what I saw.

Below is a video from the Infant Learning site showing a 9 month old baby reading:

The complete collection of Your Baby Can Read comes with 5 DVDs/VCDs, 5 books, and 2 sets of “Lift the Flap” cards.  You can purchase them online or offline.  They also have a series of 5 books titled Your Baby Can Learn (which teaches propositions, colours, shapes, numbers and patterns), which I bought from Metrojaya for $119.90.

Alternatively, you can check out the program offered by Brillbaby which is a software program retailing at US$99.00.  They have updates and new downloads which you can continually add to your program for free.  I took up the free trial and gave it a whirl.  It looks pretty interesting but when I tested it out on Gavin (now 21 months), he lost interest fairly quickly and found my books, pens and CD covers more interesting.  Well, I do have 30 days to trial the program, so I might continue and see how it goes, although I think I’m pretty sold to get the series by Infant Learning.

Regardless of which program you use, I think the results are pretty amazing.  Check out another video below - I think this family was using the Brillbaby program:

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I have discovered that one of the best places for Thomas and Friends books is the MPH Bookstore - the branch at Midvalley Megamall.  It’s also worth noting now that the branch in 1Utama is hopeless - at least so it was the last time I was there.  Not only was the selection quite poor but most of the books looked to be second hand quality (very ratty second hand quality, I might add). 

At MPH Midvalley, they have a whole shelf devoted to Thomas and Friends - including the complete original series by the Rev W Awdry, the new series written by his son, Christopher Awdry, and the TV series.  They have puzzle books, sticker books, activity books and educational Thomas and Friends books. 

They also have boards books that teach colours, the weather, first words, opposites and other basics for toddlers.

So if your child is as crazy about Thomas as mine is, you might want to mosey on down to MPH Midvalley and take a squiz at the selection they have.  Even though my purpose there today was just to see what Thomas and Friends books they had, I ended up walking away with another sticker book with posters at a bargain price of $10.  I reckon it was one of the best spent $10…

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Since my SIL2 started using a sticker rewards system with Gavin to encourage good behaviour, I’ve been looking around for Thomas stickers.  Some time back I saw 200 Thomas and Friends Stickers at MPH for RM20 but I didn’t buy it - what a big mistake.  Since then, I’ve been hunting through all the MPH Bookshops I’ve come across looking for those stickers without success.

So when I spied the following Thomas Sticker Express at Borders Bookshop in the Gardens yesterday, I bought it without a second thought (it was the only one left on the shelf).  A colouring book with over 700 stickers for RM50 - I thought it was a good deal since I was already prepared to pay RM20 for 200 Thomas and Friends stickers.

Needless to say, the stickers have been pretty effective in getting Gavin to be extra cooperative.  Definitely RM50 well spent!  And I haven’t even gotten to the part about the colouring pictures, yet!

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When Gavin was born, hubby and I bought him a Little Touch LeapPad talking book.  Although it was far too advanced for him, I figured he would enjoy it when he got older.  Little did I realise back then that he was going to develop such an affinity for Thomas the Tank Engine that I should have bought this instead:

It’s the Vtech Thomas Teach and Touch Busy Book.  It is rather unfortunate that the Little Touch LeapPad doesn’t come with a Thomas the Tank Engine story.

They both function similarly - they have an outer casing and a slot to attach the book.  Once attached, the casing detects special features about the book so that when you touch specific spots on the pages, the reader will make the relevant commentary.

The Vtech Thomas Teach and Touch Busy Book costs RM240 and comes with three interchangeable Thomas book titles covering the topics of letters, words, shapes and colours.  The Little Touch LeapPad costs RM200 but it only comes with one book title.  Additional titles costs RM60 each.  Although the Vtech option seems more economical, the flexibility of the Little Touch LeapPad is the range of titles available for purchase, whereas the Vtech Teach and Touch Busy Book is specifically for these three Thomas titles.

At RM240, I thought the Vtech was fairly reasonably priced since I’ve seen Thomas and Friends board books that teach toddlers about shapes, colours, words that cost RM45 at Kinokuniya.

The Little Touch LeapPad offers a recommended age of 6 months onwards, which I think is rather optimistic.  The Vtech Thomas Teach and Touch Busy Book is recommended for ages 3-6, so I guess I still have time to get it for Gavin at a later date.

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Some time back I said I was going to summarise the salient points from the landmark parenting book by Margot Sunderland, titled “The Science of Parenting.” For any person who truly desires to raise their child in a manner that will offer that child the best skills for happiness, emotional well-being and success in life, this is the book for you. This summary is intended to offer the gist of the information from the book, but I strongly recommend reading the book to gain a thorough understanding of the psychology of child development. Implementing the recommended methods of parenting is more effective when you understand the theory behind it.

Who is Margot Sunderland?

Firstly, who the heck is Margot Sunderland and why should we be listening to her? What does she know that makes her an expert and an authority to talk about child psychology or even to tell us how we should raise our children?

Margot Sunderand’s professional background:

• Director of Education and Training for the Centre of Child Mental Health in London
• Psychotherapist for children with 20 years of experience working with children and families
• Runs a Masters degree program in Child Psychotherapy and Emotional Literacy for Children
• Author of more than 20 published books on child mental health
• Won an award in Mental Health (from the British Medical Association) for the publication of one of her books in 2002

The Science of Parenting

The research from The Science of Parenting is backed by more than 800 studies from around the world.  The philosophy behind the Science of Parenting is not merely to raise children that become functional adults but for them to become caring, compassionate adults with the capacity to respect the differences of others.  This books reveals the science behind how the early interactions children have with their parents can affect whether or not they grow into adults suffering from depression, anxiety or anger management issues.

When I talk about successful children, I refer to Dr Sears’ definition of a successful child.  A successful child is one that is:

• able to form meaningful relationships with others
• empathic and compassionate
• kind and polite
• smart
• healthy
• able to make wise choices; to think and act morally
• confident
• has a healthy attitude towards sexuality
• able to communicate well
• has a joyful attitude

As a parent, knowing that my role in his life contributes largely towards the success of my child leads me to relentlessly pursue the parenting methodologies that have been proven to offer a child the best chances for success in life.

Professor Jaak Panksepp who has studied the emotional brain for more than 30 years states that:

• “children who emotional feelings are cherished and respected, even their angry outbursts, live more happily than those whose early passions are denied.  Both excessive distress and tender loving care leave lasting marks on the emotional circuits , and mentalities of developing brains.”
• “the first three years of seeking and affectively engaging the world are critical for the future success of every boy and girl.  It is important for them to get off on the right track both emotionally and intellectually.”

“The advances of neuroscience, brain scans, and years of research on the brains of primates and other mammals…” reveal that “key emotional systems in the human brain are moulded for better or worse by parenting experiences.  Although we cannot protect our children from future unhappiness, we now have scientific information about how different methods of parenting impact a child’s brain.”  Although our parents may have raised us differently because they did not have access to the information we have now, the parents of this generation cannot claim such ignorance on the effects certain styles of parenting have on the fragile mind of a child.  We live in the information age and as parents it is our duty to use that information for the betterment of our children’s lives.

This is the first of a series of posts that look at the key points outlined in the book “The Science of Parenting“.  Stay tuned for more on this topic.

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Here is a great way to encourage your child to read: create a personalised story about her with her photo in it:

Of course, for Gavin, I would get a boy theme, like the Pirate story. 

Click here to see a preview of what the story book looks like with your child’s picture in it.  Pretty cool, huh?  Even I want one!

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Although it can be quite alarming just how crazy Gavin is over Thomas and Friends, I’ve discovered that there are benefits to having a child that is mad about a specific subject.  Because of these benefits, I have been actively encouraging his interest in Thomas the Tank Engine. 

These are 7 ways that Thomas and Friends have helped us:

1. Whenever I want to get Gavin into the bath and he refuses, I just tell him, “Let’s take Percy (or any other Thomas and Friends character name) to the washdown.”  After that, it’s smooth sailing.

2. If I want him to get out of the bath, I just say, “Do you want Mummy to read Thomas to you?”  Quick as a flash, he gets out of the bath.  Alternatively, I can also use: “Percy’s all clean now.  I think it’s time to dry him up.  You want to help me dry Percy?”

3. If I urgently need him to sit in his carseat, the key is to introduce a new Thomas something or other that he hasn’t seen before - whether it’s a snack with a picture of Thomas on the box, a new Thomas book to read, or a new Take-Along Thomas toy.

4. I never used to be able to get him to sit still long enough to read a book from cover to cover.  Now he keeps asking me to read to him his Thomas books over and over and over again until I can recite the entire book by heart.  After this, I was inspired to go out on a limb and buy the entire collection of the original Thomas the Tank Engine stories written by Rev W Adry, which cost RM200 at Times Bookshop.  Although I had some reservations about spending so much on a book that is probably a little too old for Gavin right now, I’m glad to say that Gavin really enjoys the book and sometimes prefers to listen to me read from the book rather than watch the VCD series.

5. If I want him to come upstairs for bedtime, I just have to tell him I’m going to watch Thomas without him.  Alternatively, I can also ask him if he wants me to read Thomas to him.  He also falls asleep without a fight after watching a few “silent” episodes of Thomas and Friends - in fact, since I started employing this method, I haven’t had to endure any fights about going to sleep.

6. We used to have to take Gavin for walks whenever we go out for meals because he couldn’t sit still for long enough for us to get through the meal.  Ever since I started bringing his Thomas Take-Along trains with us, his ability to sit in his seat has improved so remarkably that sometimes we don’t even have to take him for walks any more.

7. In fact, if I want him to do anything, I just need to find an artful way of including his favourite engines and I can usually expect good behaviour to follow.

So the next time your child exhibits an interest in a particular subject to the point of obsessiveness, don’t worry - it’s a good thing because you can work it to your advantage. 

Thank you Thomas, James, Percy, Emily and Gordon!  You are all very useful engines!

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In an effort to reduce the non-interactive effect of TV on Gavin, I started turning off the volume and reading the subtitles out to Gavin.  I’ve only been doing this with his Thomas and Friends VCDs because they come with subtitles and each episode reads like a story from a book. 

Since I started to do this, I’ve discovered that:

• Gavin enjoys hearing my voice over the narrator’s voice and keeps asking me to “read” to him even during the times when the volume is on.  I think this says a lot since I reckon Michael Angelis (the narrator) sounds much better than me.
• Gavin now wants me to read his Thomas books for him (which has inspired me to get him the original series of books by Rev W V Awdry).  Previously, he would be easily distracted and would keep flipping from page to page before I could finish reading the words on the page.  Now, he keeps asking me to read and re-read the book even though I’ve just read the entire book for him.

Looks like there are benefits to watching “silent” TV after all…

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When my friend C sent me a second congratulatory note about Gavin winning another Parenthood magazine competition, I thought she was referring to him winning the June edition “Candid Camera” competition sponsored by Pigeon.  Little did I realise that he had won the July edition “Mini Me” Contest sponsored by Sweet Cherry.

To think that when I first submitted Gavin’s photos I was dreadfully disappointed that he didn’t win anything.  What a surprise it was to discover that he won not one but two prizes! 

Here’s the winning shot:

My caption: “My friends and family members said that I’m a “chunk” off the old block, but I reckon I have Mummy’s eyes!”

Now it will really make my day if he can win a place in the Johnson and Johnson’s Baby of the Year Competition…

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