Everybody has a fever. No it’s not the virus that I am talking about.
It’s the election that I am talking about. Malaysians would go for the 13th election come May 5th.
Not that politicians are without jokes on normal days, but during election season, they are more rampant and daring to say and do things just to fish for votes.
They prompted me to write this post.
For the record, I refrain myself from touching on politics. If you notice, I have never written anything about it in the past.
It’s different this time. Because I have found some useful lessons parents can learn from our politicians… even though they are lousy!
I am not saying all politicians are the same but generally they are. I don’t know about other countries but I find Malaysian politicians are extremely hilarious. They can say things they don’t mean without blinking an eye.
Hilarious is an understatement. In fact, parents should do the opposite of what the politicians are doing to be on the right path.
Don’t believe me? Read on.
1. Sugarcoat everything. Especially during election, the politicians word their sentences just to please you. They can say different things to difference audiences. Whether they mean what they say is not important. As long as the voters are happy and hear what they want to hear, they can say anything – even they are contradicting with each other.
Do the opposite as a parent: Say what you mean and mean what you say – even though what you say hurts.
2. Making empty promises. The politicians often make sky high promises. And they don’t have the intension to keep them. They just want to look good and smart in the eyes of the voters. Once they are elected, they walk the other way round. They don’t even know what they have promised in the first place.
Do the opposite as a parent: Only make promises you can keep. If you fail to do this even once, your child will not trust you anymore. Trust is an important ingredient in parenting success.
3. Use money as the reward. This is especially widespread in this election. The government has given out goodies (read: cold hard cash) irresponsibly to as many parties as they like to gain support. It looks like they are a caring government but if left unchecked, it can have negative repercussions on the country. Money is important but it should not be used abusively by putting the country in financial jeopardy. There are many ways to convince people to vote for you besides money or materials.
Do the opposite as a parent: Don’t use money as the reward for your child to do something (ie: scoring A’s in the exams). Use internal motivation instead. Read more about this topic: How NOT to motivate your child during exams
4. Insist on doing something even though it’s highly risky / life-threatening. One recent example (there’s more) is despite strong objections from many parties, the government went ahead with setting up of a rare earth processing plant in Malaysia. I don’t know why they wanted to proceed and I don’t see any benefits out of it rather than it brings harm to the people nearby. It’s not that the country is so poor that we have to depend on this factory to boost the economy.
Do the opposite as a parent: Parents of course don’t do things that harm the child. But sometimes they do it unknowingly. When you see protests from the child, stop and re-evaluate the situation. Don’t be stubborn and ignore what your child is trying to tell you. Protests can be in the form of excessive crying, rashes on the skin, insomnia, stress, loss of appetite, and of course verbal protest.
5. Double standard. This has run through the government for a long time. For the same statement, if the politician is an ally of the government, you’re safe and not condemned when making an insensitive statement. But if the same statement comes from an opposition politician, you are criticized and sometimes be threatened with a lawsuit. Different treatment for different people.
Do the opposite as a parent: Treat fairly and equally to every child – not just the clever ones. Don’t be biased and if you do, your child can feel it. You don’t want to create unnecessary friction between you and your child and also among the siblings.
For more parenting tips that boggle your mind, goto:
