While the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused stress and anxiety to many, especially those families that also need to accommodate online learning and working remotely under one roof, Phoo Mei Queen and her family have fully utilized this time to bond over food and fun activities together.
Saw Jia Jie (right) and his mother Phoo Mei Queen (second from left) share the appreciation of extra time with the family during the pandemic.
Mei Queen, who is the mother of Saw Jia Jie, a student of the American Degree Transfer Programme at INTI International College Penang, said having teenage children who are independent made it easier to work from home during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).
“Usually we hear of children disrupting their parents who are working from home during the pandemic. For me, it’s the other way around. In fact, I am the one who always accidentally interrupts JJ’s (Jia Jie) online classes as I was not familiar with his timetable. However, both JJ and his younger sister, who is in Form 5, are independent, so I get to do my work at home in peace!” laughed Mei Queen who is the procurement manager of an industrial supply company that she and her husband run together in Penang.
Acknowledging that the kids do face challenges with having to stay indoors all the time and having to adapt to virtual learning, she said she makes it a point to cook their favourite dishes when she takes a break from work.
“I know it’s tough for JJ and his sister as they are unable to meet friends or do activities like they used to. So, I keep them happy by cooking what they love, and they do love their desserts. I think I’ve made about 27 types of desserts for them during this time,” she said, adding that her children had also learned how to cook simple dishes during the pandemic and are now able to prepare food without any supervision.
When asked about what she has observed since her children started spending all day at home, Mei Queen noted that they seemed happier not having to wake up early and rushing off to school or college. She added that Jia Jie even schedules in exercise and music in between his studies.
Saw Jia Jie flipping pancakes for breakfast. Cooking is one of the skills he picked up from his mother during the Conditional Movement Control Order.
“Being able to spend so much time with them now, I can see how not having to get ready early in the morning is a relief for them and they seem to have less homework and assignments than before. It looks like online classes are less stressful. The best part is, he takes the effort to slot in workouts and music practice in between classes without me telling him to,” she said.
According to Mei Queen, one of the ways the family keeps its spirits high during the pandemic is by appreciating the time they have with each other and doing activities such as gardening, cooking, and even chores. Jia Jie agrees with this, adding that he enjoys this extra time with his parents and sister.
“Besides the knowledge I gained through online classes, seeing how my parents run their company from home taught me one thing – opportunities need to be sought, and instead of following trends, we need to be creative and come up with something new. These are the learnings I applied to the YouTube channel I created under the name JiaJie,” said Jia Jie who is majoring in Animation.
Jia Jie, who will be taking his piano performance diploma exam this month under the Licentiate of the London College of Music (LLCM), also plays the drum, guitar, electric guitar and ukulele and spends his free time making music covers which he uploads to his channel. He has also managed to arrange workout sessions online with friends and guides them on the correct way to exercise indoors.
“I’m hoping that my videos will get more attention and make me famous one day, but if not, I’ve also picked up some cooking skills from mum! I remember making stacks of pancakes for the family and mum was so proud that she took a whole lot of photos of me flipping them. Now I can cook some Chinese food, fried rice, and more!” said Jia Jie with a smile.
Though he prefers interacting with lecturers and friends face-to-face instead of online, he has warmed up to learning virtually.
“It’s interesting how this pandemic has forced us to get used to learning online fulltime. I miss campus life, but don’t miss travelling to get there. While I have this time with the family I am definitely going to take advantage of every single moment. Besides, being able to eat my mum’s delicious cooking all day is definitely the highlight of this whole experience!” Jia Jie concluded.