Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?

I was born and raised in Singapore, a tiny island 137 kilometres north of the equator. I’ve lived here all my life. The only time I’ve stayed abroad for an extended period was when I worked in China.

What language(s) do you speak?

I speak English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

When did you first become a mother?

I became a mom in January 2010 and I’m so blessed that my son and I share the same birthday!

Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?

I’m a work-at-home mom (WAHM). I was previously a human resource professional. Even before I got pregnant, I already knew I wanted to be a WAHM. I also wanted to pursue something that I love doing. So I quit my job and started freelance writing and translation. I became a mom about two years later. In Singapore, most women continue working full-time after having a child, part of the reason is the high cost of living. So I feel very blessed to have a spouse who supports my decision to be a WAHM. On my part, I’m happy to enjoy the simple things in life and I’m perfectly fine doing less shopping!

Why do you blog/write?

I started blogging as a way of recording my son’s milestones and the special moments we share as a family. Along the way, I started writing about things close to my heart-–like my love for food and my strong belief that we should pursue our passions in life since we only live once. So recently, I started a series on mumpreneurs. I admire these moms’ courage to pursue their passion and hope their stories will encourage and inspire others.

 How would you say that you are different from other mothers?

This is a tough question! I don’t think I’m that different, but if I really have to name one thing, then perhaps it’s how I’m a bit unconventional in my parenting philosophy compared to many parents where I live. While the norm here values paper qualifications, I believe that developing good values, a strong sense of self-worth and confidence, as well as critical life skills like the ability to think critically and communicate well, are more important to helping my child succeed in life than paper qualifications (in Singapore, having ‘a good education’ is of great importance to many).

What do you view as the challenges of raising a child in today’s world?

In the highly connected world that we live in now, I see protecting my child from negative influences as a challenge.

In addition, it can be a challenge raising a child in Singapore because of a strong emphasis on education (not that it’s bad!), which has created a stressful environment for children to grow up in. For example, more and more children are attending enrichment classes at a young age (some as young as few months old) because parents want to give them a ‘head start’ in life. Then when it comes time to enter primary school, there are parents who will do everything they can just to get their children into the top schools – which include doing volunteer work in the school of choice or even to move house. How stressful!

While I do think that paper qualification is important to some extent, I view the love for learning and developing an inquiring mind as even more important for my child. So I often remind myself not to follow the herd blindly but to do what’s necessary to nurture the gifts and talents God has placed in my son so that he can develop his potential fully.

How did you find World Moms Blog?

I was searching for a community of mom bloggers when I came across WMB. Unlike some other blogging communities I’ve joined and felt lost or overwhelmed by the huge membership, I felt this is a cozy place where members can really get to know one another. More importantly, I found the content interesting and totally unique and love the international perspective on motherhood it offers!

This is an original, first time post to World Moms Blog from our new writer in Singapore, Ruth Wong. You also can find Ruth writing on her personal blog Mommy Cafe.

The photograph used in this post is credited to the author’s husband.

Ruth

Ruth lives in Singapore, a tiny island 137 kilometres north of the equator. After graduating from university, she worked as a medical social worker for a few years before making a switch to HR and worked in various industries such as retail, banking and manufacturing. In spite of the invaluable skills and experiences she had gained during those years, she never felt truly happy or satisfied. It was only when she embarked on a journey to rediscover her strengths and passion that this part of her life was transformed. Today, Ruth is living her dreams as a writer. Ironically, she loves what she does so much that at one point, she even thought that becoming a mom would hinder her career. Thanks to her husband’s gentle persuasions, she now realises what joy she would have missed out had she not changed her mind. She is now a happy WAHM. Ruth launched MomME Circle, a resource site to support and inspire moms to create a life and business they love. She has a personal blog Mommy Café where she writes about her son's growing up and shares her interests such as food and photography.

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