My parents are Malaysians, and although they come from very diverse ethnic backgrounds (mum is Kelabit and dad is Chinese), they seemed to have some pretty quirky unifying behavioral traits. I’m not sure if I can enlist them as typical to “Asian parents” per se (your feedback is most appreciated), but these were some of the things/practices I grew up with. Welcome to my childhood.

p/s: Mum/dad, if you’re reading this, I love you veeeeeeery much, so please don’t take this the wrong way. :-D

#1: They speak louder on outstation and international telephone calls

Apparently, the further the geographical distance, the harder it is for the person on the other line to hear them.

#2: Word of the day – STUDY

Question of the day – “Have you studied yet?” Anything apart from studying is unacceptable and a total waste of time.

#3: Holidays are an opportunity to get ahead of others in school

Holiday? What holiday? Tuition = A way of life.

#4: Anything less than an A+ is unacceptable.

In your report card: A = average, B = bad, C = crap, D = die, F = there is no such thing. Oh and if you don’t get at least an A for Mathematics, you are a disgrace.

**#5: No matter how well you did at school, they always know someone whose kid did better than you.**

#6: Second most important word of the day – EAT

“Finish your food”, “Don’t waste your food”, “Do you know how many children out there don’t have food to eat?”, “Eat first”, “Eat now”, “Eat while it’s hot”, “EAT!!!!”

Oh and plus, your food will always has rice in it, no matter what. Maybe that's why now, I can't live without eating rice at least once a day.

#7: If it’s not on sale, don’t buy it.

#8: They think they’re doctors, even though they’ve never set foot in med school.

#9: They want you to study hard and be a Doctor. Or a Dentist at the very least.

#10: Every conversation with them turns out to be a life lesson

So how many of you also grew up with the rotan (cane) for discipline, Tigerbalm as a solution to most things, and a piano/organ in the living room? :-D

Growing up in a rather strict Christian family environment, my siblings and I were granted minimal access to TV and radio. At that time, “internet” wasn’t even part of our vocab, so as kids, our form of entertainment included:

1) Main getah (jumping “rope” made out of rubber bands)

The “rope” is woven by rubber bands and is used to challenge one’s ability to jump over it, as the height gradually increased with each successful attempt. Not recommended for people with hairy legs.

[Photo credit: http://flourbasic.blogspot.com/2014/01/lompat-getah-aka-zero-point.html]

2) Hopscotch

I believe this was a universal form of entertainment for most children born before the 90’s and requires no further explanation.

[Photo credit: http://goodtoknow.media.ipcdigital.co.uk/111/00000c81d/218d/Hopskotch.jpg]

3) Batu tujuh (translated literally as seven stones)

Better known as “batu seremban”, the idea of this game is to flick one stone up while sweeping as many of the remaining ones before catching the stone that had been flicked. A quiet game of balance, speed and agility. A variation of this game uses tiny square rice pillows instead of stones.

[Photo credit: http://syahdinabatrisyia.blogspot.com/2013/06/batu-seremban.html]

4) Guli (marbles)

A border is set and players aim to hit their opponents’ marbles out. A non-violent game of strategy and accuracy.

[Photo credit: http://guliroket.com/contact/]

Sure, there was a host of other activities that proved to be truly amusing to us back then (waaaaaaay before the age of iPads and touch-screen phones). I remember playing with fighting fishes, flying home-made kites, congkak, jumping ropes and my ultimate favourite…

ttp://www.contengconteng.com/2013/02/badminton-berpagar.html

…playing badminton over the house gate. Classic.

As you’d probably guess by now, TV was a treat; and even more so when you have your church Pastor as a dad. A disciplinarian at that, mind you.

I remember having a 30-minute daily allowance to sit in front of the TV. That meant that I had to choose wisely. Very wisely.

You can imagine the dilemma I faced as a child, when my favourite shows like MacGyver, Nightrider and Airwolf were showing on the same day as cartoons like Voltron, Care Bears, Jem and Thundercats.

Then there was Transformers. Remember this?

This is a must see for all my older heads who no about the original cartoon

Now that was the Transformers I grew up with. #nostalgia

In 2007, thanks to Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg, the first live action film of Transformers was born. Every 2 years since then, a new installment to the movie was introduced, bringing us to Transformers: Age of Extinction, released 12 days ago.

Despite being the worst-reviewed film of the franchise, Age of Extinction still proved worthy of some valuable leadership lessons.

In this movie, our all-time hero – Optimus Prime – proved that great leaders create loyalty, so much so that an Autobot actually said,

"You just want to die for the guy."

"That's the kind of leader you die following." - Crosshairs

A few of my favourite quotes from the movie:

Rule? Don’t make it sound so harsh. It’s wisdom. -Cade Yeager

At times, we tend to misinterpret valuable advice from leadership figures as rules, especially when they prevent us from acting according to our impulses. Never do something permanently foolish because you are temporarily upset.

I’m doing things out of my league. -Cade Yeager

In life, if you don’t risk anything, you risk everything. Successful people willingly do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do. Don’t be afraid to push yourself to extend the boundaries of your capabilities.

You gotta have faith, Prime. Maybe not in who we are, but who we can be. -Cade Yeager

Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come. We are destined for greatness. However, that path to greatness requires effort and effort is only effort when it begins to hurt. Don’t give up.

Focus! Stop talking! -Shane Dyson

Stop talking and start doing.

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." -Eleanor Roosevelt

Let me know what you think of the movie! Meantime, have a wonderful day ahead super people! Thank you for inspiring this post!

Asian Parenting – true or false?