Working-from-home has become a new norm in Singapore. On a beautiful Friday morning like today, I took a stroll from home to the beach. We live near the coast, so it is a real privilege to be able to take in the sea breeze (literally!) before starting the day. I met a special little boy named Leonard and this post will be dedicated to him. It is also Children's Day in primary schools across the island today.
While Children's Day is a day to celebrate childhood and childlike innocence, much like how Teacher's Day is to show our appreciation for the hard work of educators, I'm sure many would agree with me when I make a sweeping statement that children nowadays are far from innocent. Exposure to long hours of media and sensationalisation in the news has made them mature prematurely, pun intended.
Especially in a cosmopolitan city like Singapore, it is a rare sight to see young families without the children glued to the iPad Mini or Samsung S20. Somehow or rather, talking to these young parents, some of whom are my age or just slightly older, reveals how they themselves are exasperated and "have no choice to give them the iPad", in order to have some alone-time with their own digital devices. How have we been led astray by technology?
This brings me to little Leonard. I'd thought to write about him simply because he was an awestruck, innocent boy just contented to sit endlessly on the swings with his Japanese mother. Striking up a 15-minute conversation with her, I found out that his father was European, which wasn't one bit surprising given he was a charming young fellow, sure to melt the hearts of teenage girls once he hit puberty.
Taking tiny, measured steps as he approached the swing which I had put my belongings on, the determination was clearly written all over his face that he was to be seated on this very swing and would have it no other way. I verily believe I only gave up my swing willingly because of Leonard. Gathering my things into one hand, I grinned beneath my mask and remarked, "He is a big boy uh, very active." That catapulted a chit-chat which mainly revolved around her son. Leonard, though energetic, knew few words to manage complete sentences. Granted, he is only fourteen months.
^ They settled on sitting on the same side after initially sitting on opposite sides. This lasted for a good 10 minutes, a rarity given the short attention span of kids these days
It was a nice, shady spot to pick on this bright morning and I was enthralled at the mother-son dynamic in front of me, no need for any phones or tablets to "keep the toddler quiet, you know". Even after I had said my goodbye and taken a quick picture with Leonard to capture the moment, he continued looking at me with curiosity - as if he were observing a slow-moving animal like a tortoise - head tilted slightly and all the while following me as I walked away from the hand-painted swings and towards the other play area.
Before I knew it, Leonard actually followed me to the area nearby, which were individual swings like in this picture and more for older children or adults. Call it fate you may (有缘youyuan), I'd never had a stranger met me for only 15 minutes and want to find out where I go afterwards, what's more a young kid.
I soon got him acquainted with another 4-year old and his nanny. The two boys started running about playing a game of tag, slow-mo edition given that Leonard was still rather clumsy on his feet. I liked how pure the whole scene this morning felt, and it was surely refreshing for me to breathe in a breath of crisp morning dew combined with salty sea wind. Enjoy what's left of your work week, folks!
"Being a role model is the best form of educating." - John Wooden, American basketball player and coach