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Ben Kao

(Self) Examination Ben Kao Family life as we know it Getting all sentimental now Nat Kao

Being mama to my fabulous Feb boys

March 8, 2019

I always find it hard this time of the year not to go all crumbly and soft and shed tears of nostalgia and reminisce.

My boys are Feb boys and this time of the year each one of the boys adds one more candle to the cake and I’m always an emotional wreck.

I have penned many such entries every February as a mother because there’s just too much emotional flooding not to write and get it out.

Nat turned SEVEN on 20th and Ben turned TEN on 26th. I cannot believe that it is double digits now for my firstborn. Has it really been a decade already since I’ve mothered this child?

Both the boys are sassy and smart (and sometimes smart-mouthed) and they are growing up so fine, I find it hard to believe so many years have gone by. Nat is learning to navigate the forays of formal schooling, making new friends and discovering his interests.

Along the way we’ve found out he’s got a nasty temper when pushed and can really immerse in name-calling so much so you don’t want to piss him off and rub him the wrong way. He gets especially annoyed when his clean and neat and organised private spaces have been compromised by his siblings, or if I gave instructions to make everyone pack that included him because that to him is grossly unfair – he is the most organised child of the lot, so he thinks!

We’ve grown to learn that this boy does have fangs. Hurhurhur.

The other one, my beloved firstborn, is 10 this year and I would never have imagined him being almost as tall as me now and weighing so much that I can’t, for all the strength in me, lift him even a quarter inch off the floor. I know someday he will stand taller than me, which I need to prepare myself mentally for. This boy frustrates me to no end with his quirks (think farts and burps and the ‘floss’) but at the same time lets me in to his world with all that’s trending including fortnite dances, lame jokes, unfiltered language and everything he loves as a boy. I am just afraid I will not have him as a boy very soon and the thought of seeing him as a croaking, pimply teen is making me cry a little every morning when fb invites me to revisit my memories. I see all those cute little chubby Ben faces and I’m not joking, I really lay in bed to cry.


Boys, if you are reading this some day, know that mama has had a hard hard time adjusting to you guys growing up so fast and maybe that’s why sometimes she’s a little lunatic and emo on days you just don’t get her.

Those times you got frustrated not knowing why your mama was like that? Yea. Cos she also has got bad, bad separation anxiety she basically couldn’t function.

She too, has to grow, little by little, to accept that you boys will someday grow up to be fine young men and that she no longer can hold you both like the babies she used to squish.

 

Ben Kao Milestones and growing up Nat Kao

To my Kao boys

August 7, 2018

Dear Ben and Nat,

You boys turn 9 and 6 respectively this year. How time flies.

You have now become best friends to each other. You need each other every day. I see that. I see that you have need for each other in the form of conversations and play time all the time. You boys talk about everything you love under the sun from Smashers and Avengers to Beyblade and Pokemon. You make silly boy jokes and invent silly boy sounds.

And you fart and burp with such finesse ON DEMAND.

Sometimes I think you boys are the grossest ever. Your hair stinks. You brush your teeth for a total of 5 seconds. You are perpetually sweaty.

I sometimes wonder if I could raise gentlemen out of the both of you.

Beyond the dirt, booger and clamminess, I know you boys are incredibly kind-hearted souls. For one, you love and take care of each other. You protect your sister. You stand up for justice. You fight on reasonable grounds. You knock sense into one another when the time calls for it. You take care of the house. You help with the strength that you now have.

You catch lizards. You kill bugs. You shield mama from things she is afraid of.

And every single day, you would show Mama how much you love her, by saying ‘I love you’ and hugging her.

By the way, Ben, you’re already as tall as my shoulder. Soon you will be towering over me. I know that will happen sooner than later.

May you always use your strength to show kindness. When you become strong, remember to help the weak.

And may you both be brothers in life and in love. May you both always find solace and strength in this brotherhood.

And may you both always keep this view in my sight, as long as I live. Let me always see your hand on your brother’s shoulder.

Love, Mama.

Ben Kao Thunderstorm days

Damn you, bee

May 26, 2018

It’s never a dull day as a mother. Since I became one 9 years ago, I’ve received all sorts of calls from school ranging from kids running a temperature (haha no big deal now) and vomiting (this one I dread) to my son having a concussion after being knocked by someone at the canteen and this one recently:

“Hi Ben’s mum. We wanted you to know your son was stung by a bee,” the admin lady from the General Office said.

She then went on to assure me that the sting was taken out in the morning but had to do her due diligence to inform me that his finger where the bee stung him was swelling 5 hours after she did so.

Right. My trooper actually continued life in school for 5 hours before feeling discomfort and needed more medical help and went back to the General Office again.

This happened on 30th April and after school, I brought Ben to the GP. He got checked, some cream and oral medication, and things were pretty much under control. He did feel weak and ran a fever on Day 1 but by Day 5 he said he felt ok.

But at Day 7 his finger swelled a little too ridiculously and looked so out of proportion we had to rush him to the A&E.

See his right middle finger?

After a 3-hour wait at the emergency, what the doctor diagnosed was that he probably needed another dose of antibiotics.

And that was when the nightmare began.

By the third day of this new second round of antibiotics which he started, he began having hives from neck down to every single bit of his body from back and groin to arms and belly. The poor boy missed two papers for his mid year exam, lost sleep and was tortured every single minute by an unbearable itch, and he could only conclude, as I would:

“Dang it, you stupid bee! Why the heck did you sting me!”

And this was only the front view. There’s the back, arm, groin and leg view too!

Believe you me, I have never seen my son so upset. He is usually a pretty chill child but he was really, really bummed to have such a severe allergic reaction to we-don’t-even-know-what-because-we-were-back-at-A&E-two-more-times-after — and every doctor we saw friggin’ refused to even conclude he was allergic to the medication.

It is not suggestive, they say. If it was the medication, his hives would stop when you stop taking it.

But it went on for helluva weeks and this poor boy had only just managed to recover after THREE WEEKS.

So, do I have any advice for having been there done that?

Yes, for sure! For one, please make sure if your child’s been stung by a bee to check that the sting is taken out. Ben’s sting was, and he watched the bee die. Hurhurhur.

Second, please have a doctor check the site of the sting and monitor it for swelling and secondary infection.

Third, if your child requires any steroids or antibiotics medication, stop the moment you see any signs of rash. Our mistake was to only check his swelling and ignored his comments of “I have some heat rash coming up” only to realise that it was full blown hives and not heat rash.

Lastly, I would think on hindsight we should have prepped his body better to handle the venom, the secondary infection, the new medication as much as we could by loading on the probiotics and vitamin C. I had completely forgotten about that – giving him probiotics – and for that I’m sure his gut must have been overworked with all the antibiotics the doctor were making him take (it was 4 times daily for 7 days, CCCCRRRAAZZZZYYYYY).

I am glad that the episode is almost over – Ben still has some itch here and there to handle – but we are quite certain now we are not fans of BEE + HIVES. Kinda like a bad joke you pulled on us, Bee, but RIP.

Becks Kao Ben Kao Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reviews

When a little MORE Chinese is great for them with the help of technology – ft. Connected Learning

May 15, 2018

ALL HAIL THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION! Ed-tech is here to help my kids in their Chinese!

They are not hopeless! And I am hopeful! 

I am always doing the happy dance when they have Chinese lessons these days in the comfort of home, in front of a computer.

For a while now since last year, Ben and Becks have been communicating with tutors based in China weekly, thanks to Connected Learning’s offering of online Chinese tuition. This is on top of their usual weekly face to face session with our local Chinese tutor who has been with them since they were in kindergarten.

I know, kiasu, right?

BUT they need it. Their Chinese proficiency is what we figuratively say, half a pail of water, in Mandarin.

-_-

I love it that a solution using technology comes along to make things easier for busy kids and busy parents and make our lives easier and learning a little more convenient. I hear that the good local folks that started this were looking for an online alternative to make Chinese more fun and refreshing to learn. Their families spoke English primarily at home, and they felt that once a week lessons weren’t enough for their children to become fluent in Chinese (hey, that’s me too!). They wanted to expose their children to Chinese more frequently, yet this was difficult to accomplish when both parents are working full-time and are unable to send their kids to tuition so often (story of my life!).

For their creds, they have a team of 15 full-time tutors who are from China, are University graduates and/or equivalent in either Chinese Language or education-related fields. Their teachers are well-trained in online teaching to keep classes engaging and to develop a love for the language that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives. They adhere to the latest syllabus and exam formats as advised by MOE with the guidance of local MOE consultant teachers and have access to the Chinese textbooks and assessment books available in Singapore.

And so with Connected Learning at the convenience of our home, Ben and Becks log in weekly to to a web-based conference tool and literally take in the comfort of home to a whole new level while in “class”:

Make oneself comfortable with neck pillow and headphones

Anyhow sit don’t care

Study with chou-chou bolster

Lesson time on ipad on Mama’s work desk at her work place

What goes on in each 60-minute lesson? Lots of conversations, questions, recapping of learned vocabulary, writing practices, new vocabulary and short video clips. They also look at papers and work on the various components assessed in Chinese from listening comprehension to sentence construction and oral. In every class, all elements of language learning 听(listening), 说(speaking), 读(reading), and 写(writing) are incorporated.

Learning vocabulary

Doing practice papers and going through answers

Writing new phrases

Constructing sentences

Reading aloud

Making sentences

My kids started out really being extremely embarrassing whenever it was their turn to construct sentences, but they have since gotten better because they also learn in a “class” of sometimes 2 to 4 other students. The parents also get a monthly progress report from the teacher and it’s super thorough – from the mistakes they make to what they can continue to work on, the tutors are very, very detailed when it comes to that!

Also, the pricing is really affordable as well. The website features pricing for 3 times a week class (that’s intense!) but if you want a twice a week or once a week lesson package, it is definitely not exorbitant. I remember it being less than $100 for once a week for one child (P1-3), but please go ahead and enquire with them here.

I am also pleased to report that while my kids still have a long (and I mean, loooooooooooooooooong) way to go for their Chinese, their Chinese teacher at school recently complimented them for their willingness to speak up and commented that they are both speaking more as compared to the beginning of the year and their peers.

That’s good enough for me. 加油吧, 孩子!

Disclosure: We were invited to try Connected Learning for two months. All opinions here are my own, as well as our standards of Chinese proficiency.

Ben Kao Family life as we know it Milestones and growing up

My son, my parent

April 16, 2018

Overheard these days with my nine-year-old…

I will stay up to wait

Ben: Where are you going?

Me: Oh, I am going out with my best friend.

Ben: Who?

Me: Aunty J.

Ben: Where?

Me: Dinner at somewhere nice.

Ben: What are you eating?

Me: Good food.

Ben: Yes, what kind of food?

Me: Western maybe?

Ben: What time are you coming back?

Me: About 9ish or 10?

Ben: Ok, I will wait for you.

~~~

Manage your money, please

Ben: What time did you come home last night?

Me: About 11pm.

Ben: Why so late? Thought you said 9ish or 10?

Me: Sorry, we got carried away chatting.

Ben: I tried to wait for you but I fell asleep.

Me: It’s ok. You should sleep.

Ben: So how much was dinner?

Me: About few hundred dollars.

Ben: Who paid?

Me: Erm, we wanted to split but in the end I gave the treat.

Ben: WHAT!?!? You got money meh?

Me: -_-

~~~

Why do you have so many bffs?

Ben: Where are you going again?

Me: Dinner

Ben: With who?

Me: With my best friends.

Ben: Thought you just went?!

Me: Yea, but I also want to meet other girlfriends.

Ben: Why you so many girlfriends one!

Me: -_-

~~~

While at work

Ben (calling): What time will you be back, Mom?

Me: Soon.

Ben: Thought you said you are coming back by 4pm.

Me: I got held up.

Ben: If you say you’d be back, you should, ok?

Me: -_-

~~~

Phone vs. presence

Ben: Look, see – you’re always on your phone.

Me: I am working.

Ben: You are always working. At work you are working, and at home you’re working.

Me: I’m sorry.

Ben: Don’t be sorry. Just put down your phone.

Me: -_-

~~~

Dear Papa, I am in good hands. Your grandson is doing a great job being my dad.

I love you, Ben. For the way you fuss over me, keep my phone habits in check and wait up for me!

 

Becks Kao Ben Kao Invites & Tryouts Reviews

Making it personal this Teacher’s Day with Bright Star Kids

August 4, 2017

As a teacher, on that one very special day I am celebrated, thanked and honoured, I always loved the gifts that had a personal touch. Red pens are nice, chocolates are nice and flowers are definitely welcome but the students that prepared gifts with a little more thought – like a picture of me taken in secret (yes, I have had that – those sneaky people took pics of me in my most dramatic), or something with my name on it (like a personalised card or mug) – warmed my heart a tad more on Teacher’s Day.

Would so totally be nice if I got something like that for Teacher’s Day (source)

I confess: I haven’t been thinking like a teacher when it comes to gifts to buy for my children’s teachers for Teacher’s Day.

We have been giving chocolates and red pens.

So terrible, and lazy, I know.

I do tell my kids to make personalised cards but that really is about it.

This year, I resolve to be a little more thoughtful. The older two are in primary school now, and we have had the privilege of having two very caring form teachers in our kids’ school life. Ben has the same form teacher and Chinese teacher for two years now, because most P1 teachers follow their classes up to P2, and they have been awesome in nagging encouraging him with their positive affirming words to display exemplary conduct and demonstrate focus in his endeavours. Thank God for MORE people who would nag guide him like this.

Becks had a rough start to school mainly because we’ve discovered that she might have some learning difficulties that require remediation and intervention (I’ll share more in another post when I am ready), and her form teacher has been the most supportive and kindest person anyone can be to a lost 7-year-old who’s still transitioning from preschool to primary school. The local education system punishes late bloomers harshly (and I have no qualms saying this as an educator and mother of 3 who’s been born and bred in this system herself) and her teacher’s nurturing ways are a gentle reprieve from the cruel realities of KPIs and academic outcomes.

I digress. Point is: I’d better spend more thought to show my gratitude to my kids’ teachers this Teacher’s Day.

And so I did with Bright Star Kids. They do the most gorgeous personalised gifts from lunch bags and rompers to stickers and mugs, and I so had to ink my kids’ teachers’ names on these canvas totes bags that come with an inspiring quote to encourage them every day. Teachers carry a lot of things to class, from marked worksheets and resource guides to whiteboard markers and water bottles and these tote bags make a practical gift for any school teacher. Besides, if it’s forgotten and left at some corner of the school, it’ll be picked up and returned easily because the teacher’s name is on the bag.

Thoughtful enough, for sure!

And here you have it, my little girl parading with the bags customised for her teachers. Ben says he wouldn’t do anything cheesy like that, it’s already embarrassing enough I am making him bring the bags to school next month. Hurhurhur. My wimpy kid and his half grown up mind.

One for the form teacher

One for the Mother Tongue teacher

Imagining how her teacher will look when she gets it

Yea, probably a happier face would be more like it, girl!

More details:

Shop for customised gifts for your kids’s teachers here at Bright Star Kids (still got time!) and use the discount code ‘TEACHER’ to  check out. You get 30% off with that code for a $30 minimum spend on all gifts. Pretty good deal and impetus to start shopping and making your gifts more personal, this Teacher’s Day!

Disclosure: Bright Star Kids reached out to us probably already guessing what a lazy mom I have been and offered to sponsor my kids’ Teacher’s Day gifts for the purpose of this review. All opinions here on what I would love to get as a teacher are my own. But I think I speak for most teachers lah.

Ben Kao Milestones and growing up Reviews

Going the Ortho-K way (Part 2)

May 6, 2017

It’s been two weeks since Ben started putting on his Ortho-k lenses. I shared in Part 1 why we decided to make that his choice of visual aid, and how we got him started by first taking him to Aero-V for a check up and subsequently getting his lenses customised.

So when we were informed that his custom made lenses arrived from the States, we headed down for a one-hour session at Aero-V with Brian to get Ben acquainted with his new visual aid to wear to sleep at night.

Now, for a noob to contact lenses, this may all be extremely overwhelming. Sticking something into your eye, and sticking hard lens (RGP lens, or rigid gas permeable, to be precise) that would make your eye feel uncomfortable for a few days till your eyes get used to it, would certainly be something that any child would feel jittery about.

But Ben’s mom was NO stranger at all to these things, having worn all possible kinds of contact lenses from soft to toric and RGP, and so I guess my familiarity – and that it wasn’t really THAT big a deal or anything to be afraid of – was something that my son could latch on quickly to to find comfort. I guess it helps that I had been a confident contact lens wearer for a good 14 years, and my don’t-worry-you’ll-be-fine attitude helped calm Ben significantly.

But of course, he was still a little apprehensive. Who wouldn’t?

Learning a new habit isn’t always easy. Ben still had to learn to put his Ortho-k on and take them out himself.

 

Getting acquainted with his lens - learning that the most important thing is CLEAN HANDS

Getting acquainted with his lens – learning that the most important thing is CLEAN HANDS

Putting it on -right side first always - with the help of a mirror and looking down, keeping eyes wide open at ALL TIMES

Putting it on -right side first always – with the help of a mirror and looking down, keeping eyes wide open at ALL TIMES

The technique of keeing one's eye wide open is to use the left hand to keep upper eye lid open wide up to the bone of the eye brow, and pulling the lower eye lid down with the right middle finger. Lens to be put on the right index.

The technique of keeing one’s eye wide open is to use the left hand to keep upper eye lid open wide up to the bone of the eye brow, and pulling the lower eye lid down with the right middle finger. Lens to be put on the right index.

DONE!

DONE!

And now the left. Never forget putting a drop of eye drops before wearing it to keep eyes lubricated while asleep

And now the left. Never forget putting a drop of eye drops before wearing it to keep eyes lubricated while asleep

Learning how keep the left eye open to put the left lens in quickly

Learning how keep the left eye open to put the left lens in quickly

After taking them off, and trying on his full degree spectacles for fit and comfort. This pair of spectacles is to stand by for days he wouldn't be able to put on his Ortho-k, like if he falls ill or goes for camps

After taking them off, and trying on his full degree spectacles for fit and comfort. This pair of spectacles is to stand by for days he wouldn’t be able to put on his Ortho-k, like if he falls ill or goes for camps

And of course, for a 8-year-old, it was daunting. Especially taking them out.

To ease his fear of squeezing his eye lids, we opted to use the little suction pump for removal, and vowed to have enough of these little pumps so we would never be found in a situation where can’t take the lens out (true story that happened to me when I wore RGP in my teen years).

The fitting and training session went well, and Ben got a little gift box – which Brian thoughtfully prepared – to bring home. The entire package with Aero-V to make his Ortho-k lense included the following:

Service at its best!

Service at its best!

  1. Ortho-k lens, custom-made
  2. a starter kit for lens cleaning
  3. a bottle of saline
  4. suction pump to remove the lens and Blink eye drops
  5. a mirror with back light
  6. a box and white cloth (more on that later, on the brilliance of simple things)
  7. two pairs of spectacles – one made to Ben’s full degree, and one with his power halved
  8. one year warranty for lens
  9. one year follow-up
  10. 24/7 access to the optometrist by email or whatsapp (how awesome, if we had any questions!)

How brilliant is the idea to do all the saline rinse over the transparent container box, and putting on the lens over a piece of white cloth. Why didn’t I think of that, in the past? Many a lens could have been saved from digging them out of the sink hole and bending on all fours to locate a missing lens with the feel of a finger.

Could.have.been.more.innovative.last.time.

I am happy to report that for two weeks now, the Ortho-k wearing has been a great success. Ben’s mother has been helping him put on and take off his Ortho-k for him religiously every night, and on two occasions where I came home late and he had no confidence to wear them on his own, he only needed to put on his half degree spectacles in the later part of the day.

But if he was on his Ortho-k in the night, he always managed to sleep well with zero discomfort and absolutely no eye-rubbing (he wears an eye mask to sleep) and woke up to perfect vision every morning after the lenses were taken off.

This has been the best thing for him so far, and I know my boy is loving the freedom of not having to wear his spectacles. I know he relishes in this freedom because I watched his grump level increase tremendously when I forced him to wear his half degree spectacles on those two occasions I didn’t manage to help him put his Ortho-k on to sleep.

Just compare this face…

Ben in his half degree

Ben in his half degree

With this contented one…

Ben_OrthoKPart2 (2) - Copy - Copy

Ben_OrthoKPart2 (3) - Copy - Copy

Mom’s definitely the more tired one, no thanks to needing to wake up when he wakes, and putting them on for him before he sleeps, and doing all the lens cleaning in between on his behalf. But thankfully, the boy has promised to step up his game next year to try to do this by himself! His freedom to swim, read, play and do sports with perfect vision every day (ever since that dreadful eye test result) without the need for any visual aid makes this mother’s efforts all worth it.

YAY TO NO-SPECKY BOY!

Disclosure: I didn’t get engaged by Aero-V to share this, but I am definitely recommending Brian and his impeccable service and professionalism if you’re seeking for an Ortho-K expert to advice you. All opinions here are my own.

Ben Kao Milestones and growing up Reviews

Going the Ortho-K way (Part I)

April 5, 2017

So I last posted in January that I was super bummed that myopia and astigmatism had finally hit my firstborn (ugh, sneaky thing), which started me on my quest to gather research about childhood myopia and how to control it.

There’s tons of literature out there about myopia being acquired and/or inherited and most research shows that it’s a combination of both genes and environmental factors that lead to bad eyesight. And if genes has a part to blame, then I am indeed worried. Because growing up, I had severe myopia and astigmatism. The type that inconveniences your life. Like not being able to even see your toes when you shower. And the last thing I want to witness in my kid is him going through the anguish I did: my myopia and astigmatism rose rapidly every half a year starting from age 7 and there was nothing I could do to stop it from deteriorating. And with every passing year, I would be in spectacles half an inch thicker than before, and this was the narrative of my sad story of the long drawn battle against myopia from age 7 all the way to age 23.

Which sucked. Big time.

Anyway. With this excruciatingly crappy experience with poor eyesight (until the beautiful five-letter word made my world), I was determined NOT to let it hinder the joys of growing up for Ben. Imagine being knock out of your glasses in a ball game, losing your spectacles when your canoe overturns, and having someone step on your glasses, breaking it so bad you got to tape your specs and wear them to school to the amusement of all your classmates, AND the worst of all, being chosen as a flower girl and having to put on those horrible looking speckys and having the photographs of you looking like NERD stick in your head for forever – those were terrible growing up years having to live and depend on spectacles.

Which then led me to my research on Ortho-K.

Which also made me scream at my mom (I am, unfortunately, 29 years late) when I found out that this could have and would have been my way to seeing better as a child.

Mom, if you had taken a stab with this then, I would really have been much better off and not be as blind as a bat. Even my dreams were blurry growing up. Just sayin’.

Orthokeratology, or Ortho-k, is the fitting of specially designed gas permeable contact lenses that one wears to sleep overnight. While you are asleep, the lenses gently reshape the front surface of your eye (cornea) so you can see clearly the following day after you remove the lenses when you wake up.

This article calls it ‘braces for the eyes‘.

I wasn’t sure if it was an option for Ben who loves to rub his eyes and if it would be a huge hassle at waking time for a child who gets ready for the school bus with his eyes closed all in 5 minutes. Until I spoke with three of my cousins who were on it for close to 20 years now, and found out how it has liberated them, made life convenient for them and kept their myopia under control all these years. Nothing deteriorated since the day they put on their first pair of Ortho-K lenses to sleep, and in fact they could now (as young adults) go for 4-5 days without it before power came back.

Sounds like something I want Ben to go through.

I was recommended to both Issacs-Optom (one of the pioneers in Ortho-K, here in Singapore – this is also where my cousins go) and AeroV, the latter being highly recommended by Mumseword whose kid is also on Ortho-K lenses. I was assured that Brian from AeroV would really make sure everything – from custom fitting to checking and following up – would be done smoothly, and so we’ve been there for two appointments already.

 

Eye examination to assess for clarity of sight

Eye examination to assess for clarity of sight

Getting his power determined

Getting his power determined

His eye was a little swollen due to rubbing, so we had to go back again. That's the reason why we had two checks.

His eye was a little swollen due to rubbing that day, so we had to go back again. That’s the reason why we had two checks.

Ben_OrthoK_AeroV (3) - Copy

Measuring his cornea

Checking the health of his cornea

Checking the health of his cornea

Ben’s Ortho-K lenses has been ordered last night, and it was like a stone off my chest.

I can breathe now, because the checks have been done twice and custom fitting for the lenses was checked and double checked, and all that’s left to do is to introduce a new sleep time and wake time routine when the lenses arrive and he is pretty much set to get his myopia corrected AND controlled at the same time.

Of course, the hole in the pocket is bigger than if he were just to make glasses but we’re certain that this is really what we want for him: a spectacle-free childhood, and the freedom to see without hassle.

Becks Kao Ben Kao Invites & Tryouts Product Reviews

Getting good light wherever – Review of 3M’s LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light

March 11, 2017

Do you have this problem? You get the kids a study table and then they draw and do their work everywhere else EXCEPT at their study table.

And then you go on and custom make a pretty study area with some personalisation here and there for each kid and they continue do their everything – drawing, reading, writing – everywhere EXCEPT there.

And the study area you’ve painstakingly designed and built, with all the good lighting and proper seating, becomes just another place to dump all kinds of things.

True story.

I’ve given up on asking my kids to sit at their desks to do their work. Over the years it has been just too daunting to nag them to go there – sit down – do work. 

So I stopped, and I invited them to consider different parts of the home to do their work or to read a book. It could be at the dining table, on the floor, on the beanbag and even on the master bed, which they love to hang out at.

But I always had one serious problem: lighting.

Whenever they are everywhere, it always feels like they are casting shadows over what they are looking at.

I need a solution and I am so glad to have found it.

Enter 3M’s latest colour-change polarizing lamp, the LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light.

LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light - Copy

It’s everything I need for my kids to make everywhere a work and reading space – it’s cord is long enough to bring from where it’s plugged to where they are and it’s fully adjustable and rotational.

Best of all, the LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light is adaptable enough to function in any space at any time of the day (not just at a desk, but when the kid is on the floor, seated on the sofa, wherever!) and allows you to customize the light colour via a touch control. Offering 5 colour selections – cool white to warm white – users can adjust the colour of the lamp according to the time of day, or their mood levels.

Which means you can switch the colour of the lamp to a ‘Cool White’ in the mornings for increased alertness and change it to a ‘Warm White’ when winding down for the day.

In addition, the LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light is also an extremely versatile lighting solution. Using the same touch control, you can perform a myriad of tasks under sufficient light intensity.

More intense or detailed activities such as studying or knitting often require higher lux levels, while activities like watching the television require lower light levels. The LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light has 5 levels to choose from, with the highest providing focused illumination at 1000 lux and the lowest providing a softer glow of 200 lux.

Guide to the the LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light explained - all it takes is experimenting with two touch control buttons and one ON/OFF button to find your comfort level

Guide to the the LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light explained – all it takes is experimenting with two touch control buttons and one ON/OFF button to find your comfort level

Ben reading with warm white at 400 lux in the evening, with no room lights on - bright and comfortable enough!

Ben reading with warm white at 400 lux in the evening, with no room lights on – bright and comfortable enough!

To top off it’s versatility, the LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light is also fitted with 3M’s Polarizing Filter Technology, which consists of a 3M proprietary optical film to reduce glare by up to 80%. Such rays occur when harmful light bounces off surfaces and creates reflective light (glare), a by-product when light bounces off a glossy surface material which actually is a main cause of strain on the eyes. While most other lamps allow normal light rays comprising both comfortable and harmful light to enter, the 3M polarizing optical film – which is what 3M is really great for! – only filters comfortable light through; at the same time, it converts the harmful rays into optimal lighting which means that only optimal light reaches the eyes.

Which is great for the kids as there is minimal immediate eye strain for them and they can work more productively and safely when the light is used, improving their psychological health as well.

Becks doing her homework at night - it's great that the light cuts out the glare and there's no shadow cast on her paper

Becks doing her homework at night – it’s great that the light cuts out the glare and there’s no shadow cast on her paper

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The LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light eliminates multiple shadow with its 3M Air-Guide Technology as well

The LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light also gives free angle control. I use it to clean the kids' ears at night too!

The LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light also gives free angle control. I use it to clean the kids’ ears at night too!

By providing effective illumination, constant task work is made more comfortable and better in the long run for protecting their eyes.

It’s amazing that 3M constantly upgrades its products to allow users to achieve optimal experience, and taps on its patented technology to enhance the well-being of its users. We’re certainly beneficiaries of good technology, and it’s great that as a mom, I’ve finally found the lighting solution for my kids who love to do their constant work and reading everywhere except their study table.

It’s now ‘Go there – sit down – do work – WITH the Polarizing Light, kids!’ and when that instruction is followed, it really doesn’t matter if they are found at the study table or not.

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More details: 

The LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light retails at SGD289 (w GST), and is available in two colors – Pure White and Solid Black, at all Popular bookstores and selected Best Denki and Challenger outlets.

A good investment that goes a long way, in my opinion!

Disclosure: The Kao Kids received the LED P1610 Polarizing Task Light from 3M for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are our own. If you’re hard and fast about kids sitting right at a table, this light has a diameter of 16 cm and uses only 7.5W. Make space for it, and it will be a worthwhile investment! 

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For learning and the love for wildlife – Safari Zoo Run 2017

February 27, 2017

This has got to be the most meaningful Zoo Run yet.

To run for wildlife conservation, and to be educated along the way (literally) – what a new twist this adds to participating in a run.

Last Saturday, the boys and I, together with their father, participated in the annual Safari Zoo Run 2017. We took part in the fun and non-competitive race – the 2.5km Family Dash – and rooted for Team Canola, with a beautiful manatee named Canola as our team leader. Hurhurhur.

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But what was amazing was the fact that this year’s race took on a larger than life conservation effort that involved education about 4 endangered / threatened species.

Imagine being encouraged by cute animals – aka various “team leaders” – along your race route to stop for a photo and spread their message.

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And because I had inquisitive kids, I had to educate them along the way. With help from Google of course. Explaining to them why manatees are a threatened species, why elephants are endangered, why orang utans are facing extinction, and why even the hornbills have now made it to the list.

Here were my shoutouts for Team Chawang, Team Ah Meng and Team Sunny:

And of course, for our team leader – yipeety, Ms Manatee!

Now that is how we kill two birds with one stone – join a race and get that movement fix, and participate in conservation efforts while at that.

Thank you, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, and Safari Zoo Run 2017, for having us, and educating us. Looking forward to your continued conservation efforts in the next zoo run, for sure!

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