Joe

Growing up I was taught by my parents, teachers including the principal that average is just not good enough. I should always strive and work harder and aim for that distinction. They believe that by instilling that idea when young I will learn to apply that attitude to whatever I do in the future.

Once I entered the work force I learnt quickly that turning in average work is also not acceptable. Not if I want that raise and big fat bonus anyway.

I believed this applies to all of us so basically we were all thought that being average simply wouldn't do! We should not accept average in our lives. This can be applied to simple things like the food we eat, the movies we watch to more important things like our job satisfaction, to our pay and definitely our partners.

However I learned that there is an exception to this universal rule during our last visit to Dr Chang for our detailed scanning. I believe I have never been so happy and relieved to accept "average" in my life.

You see, according to Dr Chang, Baby is "average"! Baby's growth is average and this applies to all parts of Baby. His head is average, his weight at 397grams is average, the sizes of his hands and feet are average. The development of his spine, rib cage, kidneys and brains etc. are all in average progress.

You can see from the below graphs that Baby's growth is really right in the middle of two extremes. So according to Dr Chang, we should be happy parents and there is nothing to worry about.

With Baby being so "average" maybe we should just name him / her Joe.

So when was it in our human history that we decided average is not good enough anymore? It surely was when we were growing in our mums' wombs. In fact as a father-to-be, I am delighted that my baby is average. I definitely do not need Baby to excel and strive to surpass the line above his chart. So now my question is at what age should I tell Baby that the time to be average is over? It was all good and acceptable when he / she was still in the Mrs's womb but now times have changed!

From which point in his / her life must Baby be subjected to all the scrutinies of achieving average?

Should we emphasize so much on result for our next generation was well? Surely things are different now! In the past to pursue arts and sports are deemed doomed! There was no money there so all Artists and Sportsmen back then were all supposed to be struggling for roofs over their heads as well as meals to fill their stomachs. These days however even an average artist or sportsman is able to make a decent living pursuing his dream here in Singapore.

I would like to think that I am an open-minded parent and will encourage Baby to grow and to pursue his / her interest.

Of course I understand that it is still early days now but that is something I feel rather strongly about. Only time will tell if I am as open-minded as I believed I am.