Hello! And welcome to our space where we share the joys and struggles of family life with 6 children.
Just when I thought I had nailed this parenting gig, the next child needed a whole different approach. And when I finally figured out a phase, the next phase descended – with absolutely no warning nor manual.
Such an honour to be on the list of Singapore’s inaugural 40-over-40 inspiring women 2021!
Award presentation by Ms Sun Xue Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social and Family Development.
Minister of State, Ms Sun Xue LingSingapore’s 40-over-40 inspiring women
our story
You have 6 kids ??
I get that all the time. Yes, I do have 6 children. And I’m thankful for each and every one of them.
All of them are different. Different personalities, interests, temperaments, learning styles, strengths and gifts. It has been an interesting journey, to say the least.
I had my first 5 kids in succession, all 2 years apart. They were natural births sans epidural (ok, maybe I was a little bit crazy). We had a break of 6 years, then baby Kate came along.
The way I parent Kate is a culmination of the experiences, the benefit of hindsight on what worked and what didn’t, and knowledge that I have amassed from the past 21 years of parenting the older kids.
It’s been quite an adventure, as we had the older 2 kids overseas, while the hubs and I were in University. Half the time we didn’t know what we were doing, but somehow we managed to cook every meal, get the household chores done (without a helper), and brought up a toddler while being pregnant with #2. Obtaining our degrees felt like the afterthought.
When I was posted to a hospital in another city for a couple of weeks, I would drive down with #1 and put her in the care of close friends while I went to work in the day. Luckily she was an easy toddler and everyone was more amused than nervous when babysitting her. I have a whole village to thank for helping to raise the kids over the past 2 decades. We learnt through our mistakes and resilience was my middle name.
In a blink of an eye, the 5 older children have finished their PSLE, and the 2 older girls are already in University. Despite Singapore’s pressure cooker education system, I chose not to succumb to the academic rat race and instead focused on developing their skill sets and guiding them to find their passions and purpose. They hardly had any tuition except in the P6 year, and don’t do any extra assessment books at home, are not coached by either of us parents (so we don’t go mad), and they play at the playground every day (so they don’t go mad).
In my blog, I share about common parenting topics such as education, discipline, family life, food, fun and the motherhood journey. Both the good, and the bad. There are enough “perfect” blogs out there, but sometimes we need to hear that parenting is messy business and we are not the only ones struggling. Many are muddling their way through the same challenges, and I hope to let other parents know that hey, you are not alone, and no, you have not failed as a parent. Take a deep breath, re-centre, and know that you can do this.
I started my Mummy Wee: Parenting Secrets course for parents who are time-stretched and want easy to follow and quick to implement in-depth guidance and practical tips which can help them improve their relationship with their children and alert them to the common parenting traps and mistakes to avoid, which I have learnt the hard way, and sometimes with painful consequences.
Parenting is one of the toughest, if not the single most difficult job, you will ever undertake.
I hope that through the sharing of snippets of our lives, we may support one another, shed tears of joy as well as of sorrow together, as we journey along this beautiful journey called family life.
Happy parenting!
Hi! I’m Kate. (yes, the baby of the family) We’d love to hear from you!
drop us a line at michelle@mummyweeblog.com
Parenting Courses
Get Your Kids to Listen MASTERCLASS
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Even if you are a busy parent or struggling to manage them now
You will get REAL advice from Michelle, Mum of 6, Occupational Therapist, Parenting Coach, Founder of The Figurine Family, co-founder of The Little executive, Founder of SPEAK and International Certified Professional Trainer, U.K. as she shares practical tips and strategies for the Singapore parent that you won’t find in books.
”I was struggling with my daughter’s tantrums and unwillingness to cooperate. Michelle’s digital course helped me to transform her behaviour and improve my relationship with her. Within a few short weeks, she started listening to me and was more cooperative. This course is really convenient for busy mums like me. It is easy to listen to while I’m doing the laundry or driving. Thank you Michelle for your guidance on my motherhood journey!” Yu Ming, mum of 4
I coach parents with kids aged 2-20. Whether your kids are in preschool and you are struggling with getting them to listen and behave or if you are concerned about your teens, I’m here to help. With my own experience of dealing with 5 teenagers and having counselled both children and parents, I will guide you to re-build the relationship and transform things at home. Children of this generation face many challenges; influence of social media, high academic pressure and dis-connection from their parents. What I’m most worried about is that our suicide statistics are alarming, with 1 suicide every 3 days of our young people aged 10-29 in Singapore. We need to remove the stigma of seeking help, and address the emotional pain of our youth before it is too late. Parenting plays a big part in making our kids resilient, and not triggering them by our wrong methods of discipline.
5 of my children personally know someone who has taken their life. Secondary schoolmate, best friend’s brother, poly mate. And most heart wrenching – a primary schoolmate. Something is wrong and we cannot stay silent anymore. Between the both of us, we’ve heard more stories than we wish we had. Not some headline in the …
I first got to know Ee Jay about 10 years ago when we met as guests on Susan Ng’s radio show on 93.8 Live and I was impressed by his immense knowledge and years of dedication towards helping youths. We met up recently and I was sharing with him my personal mission to half the …
I started this blog 10 years ago when Kate was a baby, at the encouragement of friends to share my experiences to help other parents going through similar challenges. We met up recently with our daughters as one was heading off to University. One mum said, “I take my hat off. You raised so many …