Bringing parents and children together..
30 June 2013 marks a special Sunday for the participants of the 3rd edition of Midnight Football (MF) as they invited their parents along to join the ‘MF Parents Workshop’.
Alice Cornwell Neowcharurn, Director of Midnight Football program kick started the workshop with an introduction to MF’s background and purposes. She also presented a video compilation of the 1st and 2nd edition of MF, which highlighted the activities that the participants took part in, including their futsal training, outings and field trips, workshops and learning sessions, and also testimonials from the parents and the participants.
Talk, Sharing & Games Session
Mr Chua, guest speaker from the Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara (National Population and Family Development Board) gave a talk and shared useful pointers in children upbringing and healthy interaction with their kids. In his talk, he highlighted the importance of communication between a parent and his child. He talked about how parents usually interact with their children nowadays, and he also shared his experience of being a father and also how his parents treated him.
It was not all ‘talk’ – but also educating the parents and participants about how they should communicate with each other. Mr Chua also got both parents and children to interact in the activities. The parents and their children were asked to write out what they would normally say and do to each other, and then present it to everyone. Activities such as solving random riddles also put the parents and participants creativity to the test.
A Parent’s Love
Mr Chua called out a participant and his mother to the front in which he blind-folded the boy’s mother and told the boy to wait on the opposite end. Then he called out two more boys to join as distractions. He then told the three boys to call out to the mother, guiding her by giving directions to come to them. The other two boys were actually used as a distraction to the mother. The whole purpose of this activity is to test and show everyone how much a parent really knows her child by being able to identify him through his voice.
Testimonial
“Azreen used to be a terrible daughter. She had a very bad attitude, she was very rude, she used to loiter around after school, sneak out of home at night and come back very late. I don’t know where she goes. Now, after joining this Midnight football programme, I see her a lot happier, I see mixing around well with other people. She has become a responsible daughter, and most of all, our relationship has grown and she cares for me very much”, says Puan Jamilah, the mother to one of our participant’s, Nur Azreen.
We also caught up with another participant during lunch.
“I never liked studying. I’ve always loved sports. That’s why I joined Midnight Football. I really want to pursue a career in sports,” says Nur Asyiqin. When asked what her parents thought about her decision, she says “I feel I’m very lucky my parents support my decision. I’m glad they know and understand that they can’t change me. So, I want to thank MF for giving me hope and a sense of purpose..”
The MF Parents Workshop was held at the Bilik Gerakan UMNO Cawangan, Kuala Lumpur. The program started at 10.30am and adjourned at 1pm with lunch provided.
