人还是孩子？

当你在养育孩子时，你是在教一个人还是一个孩子？

Target ball

This game is to help the child develop his gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination. As name implied, this game has to be aimed at a target.

1. Place a basket on the floor.
2. To demonstrate to the child, stand close to the basket. And then gently throw the ball into the basket.
3. Now is the child's turn. Pick up the ball and pass to the child. Invite the child to try and throw the ball into basket.
4. You can increase the difficulty by increasing the distance between the standing point and the basket.

婴儿哭闹

婴幼儿大脑发育不完全，当受到惊吓、委屈或不满时，就会哭闹。哭闹可以将孩子内心的不良情绪发泄出去，调和人体七情。所以宝宝适当哭是有益于健康的。

Craft material - felt

When I was searching for homeschool ideas, I came to know about felt board. Hence, I decided to buy felt.

Popular bookshop has sell felt material, which cost S$5.15 - the left most (gray) in the picture. The size is about 1 x 0.5 meter.

The another 5 felts are bought from Daiso @ IMM, which cost S$2.00 each. The size is 65cm x 65cm.

Cloth diaper care

These are the cloth diaper care instruction received from seller.

DO NOT use bleach, softener, rash cream and liquid detergent (most liquid detergent contains softener and bleach) to wash cloth diaper (both cover and insert) - The cloth diaper will become less absorbent and less elastic after washed.

DO use powder detergent.

If the baby poos, simply wash off using toilet spray to spray off the poo into the toilet bowl. After get rid of the poo, just rinse it and put it aside to be machine washed later.

Cloth diaper - Haute and Kangaroo

上个星期我收到我所订购的布尿裤。牌子是 Haute's 和 Kangaroo （原本是 Sunny Baby， 可是厂方却给卖家 Kangaroo 牌子，两个牌子唯一的不同就是标签 - 牌子）。

这是 Kangaroo 牌子。
Outer Layer: Water proof (100% Polyester)
Inner Layer: Soft Microfleece
Insert: Microfleece
适合用于大部分婴儿 3 - 14 公斤。

Kangaroo 或 Sunny Baby 牌子的布尿裤与 Sunshine 牌子的布尿裤非常相似。大小、长短和款式一样。

这是 Haute's one size pocket cloth diaper。It is available in hook and loop (velcro) fastening.
Outer layer: Waterproof - 100% polyester with a Polyurethane coating or PUL
Inner layer: Super soft comfortable microfleece lining
Inert: Two super absorbent microfiber inserts
适合用于大部分婴儿 3 - 14 公斤。

File Folder Games

I had make these file folder games last year. Since then, my son loves them. Very often, he will take those games out and play by himself.

These file folder games I was getting from Homeschool Share - http://www.homeschoolshare.com for free.

1. Animal match file folder game - match between the animals and fur
2. Bird match file folder game - match between the birds and feathers
3. Penguin match file folder game - match color
4. 1, 2, 3 to the zoo - match number / counting

Comparison between sunshine and babyland

I had bought another brand of cloth diaper - Babyland, which I received few days ago. The red color cloth diaper is the newer design, and the white color is the old design. Purple color cloth diaper is the velcro type.

Outer layer: waterproof TPU membrane, breathe freely
Inner layer: cotton, super water absorbent
Insert: 3 layers of super absorbent microfiber

Below are some photos of the comparison between Sunshine and Babyland cloth diaper and inserts.

The top insert is belongs to Sunshine brand, the bottom one is Babyland. So Sunshine's insert is longer than Babyland. For the feel, Babyland is softer than Sunshine, however in terms of absorbent, I am not sure which one is better.

This is the comparison between cloth diaper.
Left: Babyland Pocket diaper
Right: Sunshine Pocket diaper

I had washed both brands of cloth diaper together, and realize that Babyland's inner layer is wetter than Sunshine's inner layer after wash.

For Babyland's cloth diaper, although the inner layer information that I got is cotton, but based on the tag attached to the cloth diaper, it is 100% polyester. However I am not sure the tag is referring to inner or outer layer.

Left: Sunshine Pocket diaper
Right: Babyland Pocket diaper

It is clearly seen that Sunshine's diaper is longer than Babyland's.

My baby girl first time wearing cloth diaper (Sunshine)

First try on cloth diaper

I have decided to let my 2nd child to use cloth diaper.

The first cloth diaper brand that I bought is SunShine, it is a pocket diaper and 1 size fit all, which I bought through eBay at S$7.40 per piece (including 1 insert).

2 days ago I received my orders. As instruction given, need to wash for few times to increase the absorbent of the cloth diaper. So currently I haven't let my child to try on it.

Below is the picture of the 1st set of cloth diapers that I bought.

Outer layer: Waterproof - PUL (Polyurethane laminate) outer layer
Inner layer: Soft microsuede inner liner
Insert: Cotton and microfibre

Reason for using cloth diaper

1. Save cost - Cloth diapers are cheaper than disposable diapers
   Although 1 cloth diaper is much more expensive than 1 disposable diaper, but cloth diaper is reusable. So in the long run including the washing of cloth diaper, it is still cheaper than using disposable diaper. Based on the estimation cost average each child need to spend more than S$1000 until the child is potty trained. However, for cloth diaper need about 24 pieces, which in average each cloth diaper is cost S$15, the total cloth diaper cost is S$360, with addition water, electricity and detergent, it shouldn't be more than the cost spent on disposable diaper.


2. Cloth diapers are healthier for baby
   What should be of serious concern to all parents are the toxic chemicals present in disposable diapers. Dioxin, which in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, skin diseases, and genetic damage, is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers. Trace quantities may even exist in the diapers themselves! Dioxin is listed by the EPA as the most toxic of cancer related chemicals. Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals. Disposable diapers also contain sodium polyacrylate. If you have ever seen the gel-like, super absorbant crystals in a disposable, then you have seen this first hand. Sodium polyacrylate is the same substance that was removed from tampons because of its link to toxic shock syndrome. No studies have been done on the long-term effects of this chemical being in contact with a baby's reproductive organs 24 hours a day for upwards of two years. Studies have also been done to show that the chemical emissions from disposable diapers can cause respiratory problems in children. Cloth diapers, on the other hand, are free of the many chemicals contained in disposable diapers.


3. Environmental Friendly
   Disposable diaper is one of the largest product in the waste stream, and majority of the disposable diaper is not biodegradable and needs hundred of years to decompose. Apart from that, the manufactures need a lot of plastic and trees to manufacture the disposable diaper. This is causing depletion of our valuable forests, and indirectly causing animals losing their natural habitat, and may caused extinction for the animals that lost their home.