Mi Choza De Nipa

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY TODAY Friday July 18, 2008 By Dr Bill Maier You don’t have to break the bank to design a great holiday. Just getting away together as a family is all it takes to create great memories. Start by brainstorming with your kids. Sit down with a map of Singapore and talk about all the places you’ve wanted to go. There are lots of places on this island I bet you haven’t been to! How about a ride to St John’s island? Or biking for a day on Palau Ubin? Have you ever been out to the wetland reserve? You could even narrow it down to three options and then have a family vote. Don’t let the lack of funds get in the way of your summer holiday. Just plan wisely, and then have a blast.

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY TODAY Thursday 26 July 17, 2008 By Dr Bill Maier Am I the only one whose life feels like a three-ring-circus? Between work and family and all the other things going on, I can hardly keep my head above water, much less find time to exercise. And chances are, you’re feeling the same. Here are a few tips for keeping your body fit on the go: Try walking every chance you get. You don’t need an hour to walk around the block to get your blood pumping – just look for ways to work it into your day. Take the stairs instead of the lift or escalator, or pace in your office while talking on the phone. Little steps add up quickly. Use break times wisely. Instead of sitting in the lounge with a cup of coffee, walk around the building a few times. Or, you could find a quiet place to stretch your muscles, or even do a few sit-ups – do whatever it takes to keep your bones and body moving.

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY TODAY Wednesday July 16, 2008 By Dr James Dobson Remember when you promised to stay together no matter what during your wedding vows? Couples don’t promise to stay together because they think things will never change. They promise because they know things will change. And unless their commitment to the marriage is solid, those changes will likely come between them. Life is made up of a series of surprises and alterations. Nothing stays the same for very long. Jobs change, people get older, children grow up, parents die, friends leave and other friends take their place. Few people go through more than a few years without feeling drastic changes in the way their lives operate. Unless couples go into a marriage understanding that fact, they’re likely to struggle with each new change. That’s what a wedding vow is all about – it’s a promise to commit, no matter what. So, unless you plan to keep that promise, think twice before heading to the altar.

According to Ms Jessie Phua, a senior podiatrist at Changi General Hospital , good footwear should have:   • Stability and should not twist or roll easily;   • An inner sole made of material that can provide adequate cushioning for shock absorbency; and   • A good fit that nearly conforms to the shape of your foot.

From Health TODAY Tuesday July 15, 2008   On MATERNITY FOOTWEAR Experts say flat shoes do not provide the stability and support expectant mums need   EVELINE GAN eveline@mediacorp.com.sg   LIKE most sensible mums-to-be, I dutifully banished all my vertiginous shoes to a dusty corner of the shoe cabinet when I found out I was pregnant last year.   Believing that lower and flatter footwear would be safer with the extra load I was lugging around, flat strappy sandals and flip-flops became my staple footwear.   But I was mistaken about that. While traipsing around in flatties, I had slipped and fallen twice during my second and last trimester.   Contrary to what most people think, experts say that flat shoes, like high heels, are not suitable for expecting mothers.   Ms Jessie Phua, a senior podiatrist at Changi General Hospital , calls ultra-low footwear such as flat pumps and flip-flops ...

From Plus Arts TODAY Tuesday July 15, 2008   The curvy form is the Cornucopia, by Frank Stella in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Singapore. The other one is Check out Progress and Advancement, by Yang Ying Feng, just outside Raffles Place MRT.   TREVOR TAN

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY TODAY Tuesday July 15, 2008   By Dr Bill Maier   Most kids love sports. But not all of them are meant to be athletes. Organised sports are a great way to expend physical energy and develop skills like teamwork and coordination.   Healthy competition teaches kids how to win and lose gracefully. Sports also help kids make friends, and helps build self-esteem.   But sports need to be kept in perspective. Not all kids are wired to be competitive and sometimes parents or coaches focus too much on winning. Kids feel pressured to perform beyond their abilities and when they can’t, their self-image takes a plunge.   Encourage your child to play sports, but let them choose what they want to play. Praise them whether they win or not. And, make sure that their coach is a good role model.

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY TODAY Monday July 14, 2008   By Dr Bill Maier   If you have planned to quit procrastinating, just have not got around to it yet, here are some tips you might want to consider.   Procrastination is a mental barrier that needs to be mastered before we can really put our lives in order.   And overcoming it is done through a series of simple but tough steps.   Stop making excuses. If your bills are constantly late, it’s not the fault of the bill collectors, it’s because you choose to put off paying them.   Schedule a time each month to sit down and deal with them — and put it on your calendar.   Learn to delegate. Often procrastinators are people who take on too many tasks, and then nothing seems to get done.   If your laundry is piled to the ceiling, assign the task to one of your children. Always finish what you start.   It takes a conscious decision ...

From My Lifestyle – Moments MY PAPER MONDAY JULY 14, 2008   LONDON : Just a few more portions of broccoli each week may protect men from prostate cancer, British researchers reported.   The researchers believe a chemical in the food sparks hundreds of genetic changes, activating some genes that fight cancer and switching off others that fuel tumours, said Professor Richard Mithen, a biologist at Britain ’s Institute of Food Research .   In the research, he and his colleagues split 24 men, with pre-cancerous lesions that increase prostate cancer risk, into two groups and had them eat four extra servings of either broccoli or peas each week for a year.   The researchers also took tissue samples over the course of the study and found that the men who ate broccoli showed hundreds of changes in genes known to play a role in fighting cancer.   The benefits of eating broccoli would likely be the same as in eating ...

From Voices, I Say Thursday July 10 2008 TODAY   Disobedience, defiance to parents will also lead to problems at school   Letter from Ho Kong Loon   I REFER to “So much for parenthood” (July 9), about parents who foist their parental responsibilities onto the domestic help.   If not rationally, quickly and sensibly handled, a hydra-headed social menace would inevitably emerge, with dire consequences for kids, parents and society at large.   The emotional, psychological, physical and social needs of children in their formative years really make it mandatory that parents rightfully assume their leadership and role-modelling captainship, or retake it if it has been unwittingly farmed out.   Regardless of how busy they are, parents owe it to their children to ensure that their vital role in passing on good values and inculcating desirable character traits is not compromised.   Surrogate pare...

From Voices, I Say Wednesday July 9 2008 TODAY   Domestic helpers should not be substitute parents   Subana Hall   TWO children are playing. One falls and the other shouts: “Mei Mei has fallen down!” A woman runs towards the little girl, looking worried. She pacifies the crying child. What a loving mum, I think.   But I am wrong. She is the helper. The mother is sitting on a bench, reading a magazine.   It is common to see helpers pushing buggies and carrying bags in shopping malls while their employers walk about empty-handed, executing instructions. I have seen helpers playing the role of parents, carrying and feeding babies — in the presence of the actual parents.   Over the weekend, I saw a couple with two young children and it was quite apparent that it was their petite-sized domestic helper’s responsibility to ensure that the kids were attended to as she was constantly ensuri...

From My Say MY PAPER MONDAY JULY 14, 2008   I BEG to differ with the view that we should start teaching the young about good manners in school, as expressed in the letter “Graciousness should be norm” ( my paper , July 11).   At best, teachers can only help parents to reinforce what has been taught by them to a child about the virtue of practicing good manners.   It is the duty of parents to teach their children good manners. They should own this responsibility and not leave it to the teachers.   Here is an example to illustrate my point.   I was travelling on an MRT train some months ago and saw a young mother together with her toddler boarding the train at Clementi MRT Station.   They were both standing and she was having difficulty managing her son, but none of the passengers seated nearby seemed to be bothered about her predicament.   Later, a man in his 50s offered his seat to the young m...

From My News – Home MY PAPER FRIDAY JULY 11, 2008   DARYLL NANAYAKARA   T HE United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning late last month against the use of amalgam dental fillings that contain mercury.   But five local dentists my paper spoke to said they would still carry on using the fillings unless patients request for an alternative.   Early last month, the FDA warned that the use of the amalgam fillings poses a potential health hazard, due to the mercury contained within the fillings.   According to a report in The Independent that was published late last month, the FDA is “reviewing its rules and may end up restricting or banning the use of the metal”.   The warning from the organisation follows years of lobbying from activists, the article said. They argue that the use of the metal in dental procedures can result in health conditions such as heart ailments and Alzheime...

ON ABUSE OF DOMESTIC HELP   From My News – Home MY PAPER THURSDAY JULY 10, 2008   DARYLL NANAYAKARA   O VER lunch a couple of days back, a group of friends and I were engaged in a conversation about maid abuse.   The topic came about after we had read several reports in local newspapers of how some employers had abused their maids.   One of them started recounting how she had heard of a particular abuse case.   It involved the maid being given one slice of bread per meal and being made to stand and face the wall each time she had allegedly made a mistake.   The maid was eventually found dead at the foot of a block in a tragic end to her apparent escape bid. She had attempted to climb down three storeys from her employer’s HDB unit in Woodlands with the aid of five towels that were strung together.   The 33-year-old maid had probably come here in search of a brighter future, as with...