We have had one of the best family summer vacations. Immediately after the long-haul journey in Europe, our daughter will start her fourth-year school the next day.

Saying goodbye to our trip inevitably means tear drops for Jasmine, whereas the first day of school gives her much excitement in buying eraser and packing the school bag.

I was reading the last chapter of John O'Leary's On Fire on the plane when Jasmine wept over the end of our trip. John O'Leary talked about the

A big part of preparing the family travel is packing our bags. We aren't going bush; we are going to Germany and Switzerland. That's why we are supposed to keep it simple, or buy much of what we need at our destination.

The bulkiest items ended up to be my daughter's reading materials. Not out of boredom or ritual, but we've learned that our daughter loves reading, and when she does, we try to nurture her habit.

We found ourselves bringing thirty

Running during family vacation, too naff? Not always.

We runners pride ourselves on calling the activity itself an addiction, and rightly so. Which is exactly why I find it somewhat difficult to balance with the special time with my loved ones.

This summer, our family are having vacation in Germany and Switzerland, easily the most charming lands straight out of a picture book. Running on vacation should not take a bite out of the precious hours during this irresistible trip, I hear that little voice in the back of my

When I read about the Diffusion of Innovations theory this week, I knew very well where I've been falling across that bell curve - far far on the right side. Imagine five segments of our population: the first 2.5 percent with innovation ad infinitum on the left of the curve, followed by the next 13.5 percent being early adopters, and then early majority.

The last two chunks, the right-side-of-the-curve, refer to the late majority and laggards.

The first step for kids to enjoy summer camp is to stay calm and be in control.

I remember my daughter's first outdoor summer camp few years ago, back when separating from parents was a real struggle. I was close enough to a brutal dad sending his girl to the Survivor without her agreeing. I tried to put myself in her (then) five-year-old shoes and imagine how she must have felt. And that's not the worst part. To add to the frustration, her

I'd never described myself as a sportsman in any sense. To tell the truth, I seldom do exercise (if you don't count rushing between seeing patients in hospital). One of my favorite activities when my wife and daughter go swimming on Sunday, for example, is poolside reading.

I can't believe I would change my mind and start running. That was one month ago. By now I've got more than 100-odd kilometres of mileage. The feeling of running

How many parents can honestly say that they loathe at summer vacation homework?

Why, I wonder, should we ask students to bring home a stack of homework at the end of school year? To my relief, my daughter doesn't have to. The important thing in summer is not so much to pack students with mountains of homework, as to discover new ways of learning.

As kids, they want and need us to bring them new ideas. My daughter spent the whole night playing Scrabble with me yesterday.

How many hats can we juggle at the same time? It's a question that intrigues many of us.

One at a time.

That's what I've been learning from Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats . On this point, I concede that I'd been multitasking a lot. I guess it's fine as long as I switch my hats one by one. Or chapter by chapter. And it's true that I like to embark on several books before finishing each one

One hot Sunday morning this summer, I picked up my casual footwear and started running. It seemed like a nondescript day. But this kick-started a healthy habit. Right away, running feels like the next right thing. I ran again the next day, and then the next, and the next after that. Ballpark figures showed that I've run for more than 15 kilos during my first week.

It was a hockey stick moment. Even more so for a bookworm without exercises for years.

Go

Father's Day is just around the corner.

The best celebration is my daughter's annual school event: Father's Day Challenge. A very special day. We dads can't go to children's school that often. That is a brilliant idea to bring daddies to have a challenging game with kids at school. Every time I joined this event I registered a nice jot of energy. Year after year after year, I kept my promise to join my daughter at school, feeling uplifted.

That