Unforgettable Firsts

Iwas never much into babies and children until I had my very own, eight years ago. Due to my inexperience I had to ask a nurse to teach me how to diaper-change my son. Breastfeeding was also a herculean task as I struggled to get my baby to latch on, and I was always worried if he had enough milk. And whenever we faced something unfamiliar and scary, we would always call our friends and ask, “is this normal?”, and “what do we do?” You know, first-time parents. Reading our beautiful spread of first-time mothers and their children ( The Birth of A Mother, p.164), the memories of those first few months came flooding back. In this article, we tread through the pleasures and pitfalls of modern parenthood. But despite the stresses of round-the-clock feedings, dealing with tantrums, plus putting your own needs and wants last, the rewards are so much greater than you imagine. The look of love, trust and adoration in your child’s eyes, and watching them grow into bright, cheery, and wonderful human beings—you cannot put a price on that. A child’s first teacher may be his parents, but we cannot discount the impact that teachers also have. With May 16 being Teachers’ Day we wish to turn your attention to this noble profession. Through the Teach For Malaysia programme, Dzameer Dzulkifli enlisted William Sin and Denise Chiew to volunteer as teachers for a day at a school in a rural part of Kedah, to find out what’s it like to be in a teacher’s shoes. What they learned from the experience was deeply profound—turn to page 152 to find out. Also, the time has come to unveil 2018’s Generation T Listers, with cover star Dzameer among this year’s batch of disrupters and young, dynamic visionaries. Make sure you get a copy of the Gen-t booklet that comes with this issue!

— Elizabeth Soong Managing Editor