He again visited the dentist and this time, requested the doctor to remove his third molar or wisdom tooth which has been a bother for sometime, hoping that this is the source of his pain. After the removal we thought that the nightmare is over, but still the worse is yet to come. When the effect of anesthesia wore off, he started to complain of this searing pain on the area where the tooth was removed so he took antibiotics and mefenamic acid. Men does not have the gift of waiting and as usual, it was like the end of the world for him because the pain was that too intense for him. I gave him ice for him to chew on, and it seems to give him temporary relief. But as soon as the ice is gone, he will start being grumpy again, telling me to hurry up with the ice because he thought I was not that concern about his situation! This really pissed me off. So I told him this is just a toothache, is there any other pain more extreme, severe and stronger than labor pains? This toothache thing does not hold a candle to what a woman experiences when delivering a baby! So stop whining and be man for once because there is no such pain that can cause death. It’s just all in the mind. Overcome the pain, the drugs are just there to assist you, but only you can cure yourself.

So after taking 4 days of sick leave due to toothache, I forced him to get back to work because its too much already. I just could not imagine anyone giving too much fuss about a simple toothache.

As for me, I am no exception in experiencing potty training problems.  Those mis-shots, accidents, embarassments, and the likes, we all go through them.  It’s like a baptism of fire for both parents and child that we must pass.  But I used one technique that I hope all mothers out there can inspire to apply. 

I have two daughters and they were both successfully potty trained at the early age.  My eldest, Gabi, ‘graduated’ from diapers at the age of 1 year and 11 months, just weeks before her 2nd birthday.  The youngest, Bambam, ‘graduated’ at 2 years and 4 months.  When I say ‘graduated,’ this means no diaper even during night time.

Potty training them during daytime is something that we can easily teach the child, since they are aware of their surroundings and we are there to remind them every now and then to go the potty.  But at night, its a different thing.  Accidents do really happen, and we don’t want to soil our linens and beds, so most moms opt to use diapers at night, until such time that the child is ready to be on his own.

The technique that I used for my children might sound odd to most parents.  But I tell you, this is very effective.  When my kids go to bed at around 9pm, they should use the bathroom whether they are going to use it or not.  Before I go to bed at around 11pm, I will carry each one of them to the potty, even while sleeping.  With their eyes closed, I coaxed them to take a pee, and they will surely pee.  Then I will set the alarm clock after two hours, which is around 1am.  When the alarm sounds, I’ll do the routine again, then set the alarm after two hours, until early in the morning.  This routine was performed for months, and still, I have to go to work in the morning.

But it soon paid off.  The time that I throw the last diaper in the trash bin was a monumental success.  Free at last from sleepless nights, exhaustion and financial burden from buying those diapers!  As of date, my kids never had those ‘accidents,’ if they have to go, they will be awaken on their own.  They just woke me to accompany them to the bathroom.

This has been a proven technique that I hope you could learn a lesson or two.  It really takes a lot of patience, tons of endurance, understanding, dedication and most of all, love to make it a success.  Enjoy the experience because as they say, kids are being kids just once in their lifetime.

PUBLIC PERCEPTION ON SONA
Pulse Asia July 2008 Ulat ng Bayan Survey

Note: Pulse Asia started monitoring the public’s sense of SONAs in 2005.

• Truthfulness (2008 SONA)
  • 46% are unable to anticipate whether it is going to be truthful or not
  • 40% expect it to be untruthful, from 29% last year
  • 14% believe Arroyo’s coming SONA will be truthful
• Truthfulness (past SONAs)
  • 46% of those who are aware of Arroyo’s past SONAs believe her past SONAs had not been truthful
  • 41% are undecided
  • 13% see truthfulness as characteristic of her past SONAs, from 16% last year
• Public awareness
  • 6 out of 10 Filipinos say they have heard or read about Arroyo’s previous SONAs
  • From July 2005 to July 2008, public awareness for her SONAs remained fairly constant at around 60% nationwide

PRESIDENTS’ SATISFACTION RATINGS

• Arroyo received a net satisfaction rating of -38 in the July 2008 SWS survey — a new record-low for Presidents since 1986
  • Arroyo broke her own previous record of -33 in May 2005
  • Arroyo last received a positive net satisfaction rating in August 2004, when she got +12
  • The highest rating she received was +30 in March 2004 during the campaign for the May 2004 presidential elections
• Arroyo is the only post-EDSA president who received negative satisfaction ratings. Her highest rating, a +30, is relatively low compared with that of other Presidents.
  • Former President Corazon Aquino’s highest rating was +72, which she received on October 1986, while her lowest was +7 on November 1990 and near the end of her term in April 1992.
  • Former President Fidel Ramos received his highest rating of +69 on July 1993. He got his lowest rating of +1 in October 1995.
  • Ousted President Joseph Estrada’s highest was +67 on March 1999; his lowest was +5 on December 1999 and March 2000.

“MOST CORRUPT” PRESIDENT
Pulse Asia October 2007 survey

• 42% of Filipinos consider Arroyo as the “most corrupt” President since the Marcos administration.
• Ferdinand Marcos placed only second to Arroyo with 35%; Joseph Estrada was third with 16%, followed by Fidel Ramos with 5%.
• Aquino was perceived as the least corrupt with only 1% of respondents thinking that she engaged in shady deals during her term.

PERFORMANCE AND TRUST RATINGS OF ARROYO
Pulse Asia March 2008 survey

• 51% disapproved of Arroyo’s performance
• 23% were in approval
• 26% were undecided
• 57% had small or no trust for the President
• 19% had big trust for her
• 23% were undecided

NET SATISFACTION RATINGS OF OTHER OFFICIALS
First Quarter 2008 SWS Survey

• Vice President Noli de Castro +47
• Senate President Manuel Villar +53
• Chief Justice Reynato Puno +2
• House Speaker Prospero Nograles -12

CORRUPTION PERCEPTION

• Transparency International’s 2007 Corruption Perception Index ranked the Philippines 131st out of 179 countries. The country’s score since 2005 has been 2.5, the lowest since 1995.
• Note: TI ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. A country’s score, which ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt), relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts.

HUNGER
SWS June 2008 survey

• 16.3% (estimated 2.9 million families) of households reported that their families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months
• The current hunger rate is four points above the 10-year average hunger rate of 12.1%
• The figure increased from 15.7% in March 2008
• Record-high figure was 21.5% in September 2007

CREDIT RATINGS

• Fitch
  Citing the country’s relatively strong external position, Fitch Ratings on June 27, 2008 affirmed its Philippine ratings, with the outlook remaining “stable”. It, however, described public finances as still “fundamentally weak”, and urged the government to boost its revenues given mounting spending pressures.
• Moody’s Investment Ratings
  On January 25, 2008, Moody’s Investor Service upgraded its credit rating outlook on the Philippines to positive from stable. It cited improvements in public sector finances and a reduced dependence on funding from abroad.
• Standard and Poor’s
  On September 14, 2007, Standard & Poor’s maintained its stable outlook on the country’s sovereign debt ratings. The country’s “local and foreign currency funding and rollover risks remain manageable in the wake of global financial market turbulence and consequent tightening liquidity conditions,” said Agost Benard, a Standard and Poor’s credit analyst.