We had this conversation the other day when Zaria asked me how old I was.
Zaria : How old are you mummy?
Me : Me? 15.
Zaria : (suspicious) The number is so little.
Me : Ya. Because I’m not that old really.
Zaria : (a little convinced) Oh…
….. then she thought for a while.
Zaria : (a bit worried) So when you are 18, you are going to leave us and go to college?
Zara : Mommy is just pulling your legs. How can she be so young!
Awww.. when they are older, they become less gullible.

Over dinner on Sunday.
Zaria : I don’t like fried bee hoon. BUEK.. so horrible… BUEK.(always exaggerating)
Me : If you don’t like fried bee hoon, you can have a dumpling. Your choice.
Zaria : I don’t like dumpling too! I don’t want to eat dinner. I want to drink milo.
Me : (not giving in) If you don’t finish your beehoon, nobody is allowed to make you milo or give you milk, and you cannot have any snacks after that. Anybody give you snacks or make you a drink, I’m going to cane that person! And if you got so hungry in the night and start shivering, I won’t give you anything to eat as well, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow breakfast! So your choice. Eat your dinner or go hungry for the rest of the day.
Zaria : (started eating reluctantly) Next time if I was (were) a mummy, I’m going to let my children eat anything they want. I won’t say (change her voice to higher pitch) YOU MUST EAT THIS… YOU MUST EAT THAT…..
So lets see what she will do next time when she becomes a mom.
And she did ‘force’ herself to finish her dinner and then went on and had all the other snacks she wanted.