Although Gavin has been adjusting well to school, there is still one slight problem we keep encountering: wearing his school uniform.
There are two school uniforms at Gavin’s playschool – the sports uniform, which looks like this:
It is usually worn on Tuesdays and Thursday. Gavin has no issues wearing this uniform.
Then there is the formal school uniform, which looks like this:
This is worn on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For some reason, Gavin hates it. Not the shorts, just the top.
You might be wondering how we managed to get him into the top for this photo… Well, you can see from his expression in the photo that he didn’t like it one bit. He even attempted a hunger strike to protest against wearing the uniform. Unfortunately for him, breakfast happened to be his all-time favourite noodles – Wan Tan Mee – and his will power lost out to his taste buds.
At first we couldn’t determine whether it was the shirt that he didn’t like, the fact that it wasn’t Thomas and Friends or that it signified having to go to school. Now that he seems willing enough to go to school and that he doesn’t mind wearing his sports uniform, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is simply the shirt that is the problem.
Ever since Gavin was little, he has never liked button-down shirts. Every single button down shirt we have tried to make him wear has been met with resistance. Back then, it was simply a matter of offering him something else to wear.
Unfortunately, no other kid seems to have a problem wearing the school uniform – except mine.
I’ve been pondering over the problem and have come up with the following solution:
It is an iron-on Thomas and Friends applique that I found on eBay that I intend to stick onto his school shirt.
What do you think? A winning idea?
Mephala says
He looks so cute in the school uniform! How can he not like it? 🙂
Yes, do ask him if he will like his uniform with Thomas on it.
Chin Li says
The tie… 🙂 is so cute.
The badge is a great idea, and definitely worth a try!! Good luck with that, Shen Li!
figur8 says
Haha… yes, I think it’s adorable, too, but try telling him that…
Still waiting for the appliques to be delivered – they’re coming from the States, so hopefully they’ll work out. 🙂
Thanks Chin Li – hope your trip down to Singapore went well. 🙂
valeriechuan says
the iron-on is an excellent idea! 😉
wuahaha..i have Teddy bear iron-ons on my labcoat too just to con some kids lah…haha…
there was this once this little rascal dig his nose and then he wipeed it on my labcoat…so sad right..haha..but basically he wanted people’s attention only by being mischievious.He was an abuse victim that’s why lor.so sad hor..
figur8 says
Thank you. I hope it works. Still waiting for it to arrive.
You know, that’s a common reason to misbehave – a child trying to seek attention. There was an interesting study that showed children would rather get negative attention than no attention at all…
Poor kid. I’m sure if he received more positive attention, he wouldn’t feel the need to be mischievous.
valeriechuan says
yup! i knw…bcoz usually we just comment or scold them off when they misbehave and only that’s when we pay attention to them.Whereas when they are good we dont usually say anything right?
I guess that’s what they realised in their little mind of theirs too..hahaha…
what u said is totally so true!
His grandma said that, when the child was under her care last time, he was a very obedient and good boy.
Which i do believe too u know because i observed it myself.On days when he behaves well he will be veryyy good boy.
And on days he decides that he needs more attn., he would go around making other kids cry or he would go around boxing or kicking the nurses, or the other kids’ parents who are there taking care of their own kids.
But then again i felt bad too when i left thte ward after my training last year. He was quite attached to me because i sort of accompanied him to draw, fed him lunch,tried teaching him to read etc. When i was going for lunch he didn allow the specialist, me and my friend to leave the ward he would want to follow.there was even once he ran out to the balcony and said he would jump down from there which basically he was just mischievious and continue running around.Everyone had to go around chasing him.HAha!
And when i didn show up for one day e.g times when i just spend my day at the clinic and i didn go to the ward, the folllowing day he would come and asked to spend my whole time with him.
How is that possible right? So he was being mischievous lor…When the specialist was round for ward rounds he would come pulling my labcoat, tried lifting my skirt ( accordin to him that was what he saw his dad did to their housemaid! gosh!), said all those bad words to me, etc etc just to get my attn. and especially he will raise his hands and say ” i will beat u ah i will beat u ah” ( which i think this was what his dad always say to him”
It was quite bad lar to the extend the security guard had to be called to carry him back to his crib.So yeah he was crying and screaming away in the ward.Sigh!
Specialist, me and my friend tried talking to him u know.We asked him what his dad did to him.And straightaway his facial expression changed.He just kept quiet and didn want to talk much about it.Playing with the toy he has in his hand and ignoring us.
They got a psychiatrist to talk to him in the end.
i felt bad in away, i got too close to him which i think i shouldn have.Yeah…another new lesson for me to learn! 🙂
He was 5 yrs old! His dad kept him locked at home and didn allow him to go kindergarten.He was attending kindergarten when he was under his grandma’s care last time..Parents are divorced.
Days before i left the ward, his mom came to visit him with her new family.The kid’s mom got married to another man and has a child and at that time she was pregnant with another one too.
Yeah then after that i think he got better and he didn come looking for me anymore. 🙂 that’s according to what the nurses told me.
hmm..yeah what an experience for me! hahah 🙂
figur8 says
Poor child. Sounds like he hasn’t had a very good home experience with his Dad. From the sounds of it, Daddy isn’t exactly a good influence either…
It’s tough to reach out to children like that especially when they are naughty and yet that is exactly why they are like that.
I think I’m going to stop here before I start ranting again about parents who have children for the sake of having children and not because they want them.