Do you know you've made my life hell by screaming for 3 years 8 months?

It's been another long day. A morning rush to the doctor for an ultrasound on bub #3 (codename: Bobo), a mad dash to the hardware store to get a tank of weedkiller for the garden, a hurried lunch at the food court for starving kids, more hand-weeding of the front yard, a late pizza dinner and an even later kids' bath.

When EggEgg started screaming in the bath (as usual), it was the last straw. His daily screams usually go like this, "Mami, I've finished bathing. Mami, where are you? Where are you now? Come here Mami! Come!" x 100 times in crescendo until my blood boils over. In the meantime, Cola sits calmly next to him, oblivious to EggEgg's increasing loss of self-control.

"Get out and go to bed now!"

EggEg has been getting on my nerves lately. He wears me down with his chattiness, his repeated questions (with answers that he very well knew) and his boisterous energy.

Half an hour later, in the darkness, I could hear him sobbing in bed.

"Hey, why are you crying?" I crept into his bed and snuggled up next to him.

Booooo~ The flood gates have opened.

"Mami, I'm very unhappy coz you've scolded me. (Sob, sob)"

"Hmm... never mind. It's nothing."

"(Sob, sob) Mami, I will do all the good things from now on. I will never do the bad things again."

I was deeply moved by his sensitivity and consideration for others. His temperament is so like myself, that he makes me want to cry too.

I tried to comfort him. "EggEgg, you are so much like me. I used to cry lots too when I was small. I cry over every small thing, and it made Poh Poh and Gung Gung really angry. They always ask me, 'Why are you crying again?' "

Then I started to count his merits. "You are actually a very good boy in general. You see, you are very independent and you could take care of yourself. You could make your own breakfast, squeeze your own orange juice, put on your school clothes, go to the toilet by yourself, and you put back the shoes into the shoe cupboard neatly everyday. And you pack up your toys so tidily and eat your meals completely and quickly.

"You are also very good with taking care of your little brother Cola. You help him take off his pyjamas in the morning, sometimes you help him put on his shoes, and you even feed him breakfast. You read to him and you teach him how to play with the toys.

It surprised myself when I realised that I've been quick to scold him for little errors, and not praising him often enough for his consistent good performance.

EggEgg seemed to be a bit relieved. "So I'm guai (good)? Everyday I am took care of Cola and I am took care of my toys."

"Yes, but..."

The unpleasant portion has to begin.

"...but you see, you have one very very bad habit. You are always going berserk whenever you cannot see me around. One moment you're fine, and the next moment you start to run around the house and scream like a madman. You know, you've been doing this everyday since you're a baby. When you're 1yo, I want to go to the toilet in the next room, and you started crying right away. When you're 2yo, you still cry when I walk into the kitchen. Now you're 3 yo, you are still crying when I go to the bedroom or the garden or somewhere else.

Remember yesterday when you were playing on the computer and I said I would be picking up the weeds in the garden? After 5 minutes, I heard somebody running around the house and screaming for 'Mami! Mami!'. Do you know who that was?"

"Cola?"

"No, that screaming person was you!" EggEgg seemed surprised.

"And do you remember last week when we get to get the car tyres fixed? I told you both to stay inside the car while I walk into the office to talk to the tyre-man? What happened next?"

"I started going crazy inside the car again." EggEgg cleared remembered.

"Yes! And what am I supposed to do? Should I just jump into the car with you and not fix the car tyre?

"And do you remember last month at the bike park, where you were riding your bike and started screaming while we were actually right behind you? And what about last time in the department store when Mami was trying to get some new trousers and you started screaming again when you couldn't find me in the aisle?"

"This is your one bad habit, EggEgg. You've been doing this since you were a baby, and Mami & Daddy are very tired of your crying and screaming. Your home is a safe place, and we are always nearby coz we love you. So don't scream anymore, please. Stop, think calmly, and slowly search for us. See Cola? He doesn't scream when he wakes up from a nap, he doesn't scream when I go to the toilet or the garden. He calmly walk around and seeked, 'Mar-neh? Mar-neh?' Can you be like that from now on?"

"Reserve the screaming for bad people who kidnap you on the streets. In those situations, you can scream loudly for help. Or when bigger kids hit you, then you may also scream."

EggEgg seemed to see the light. He repeated, "So, I can scream when there are bad people like Zorg in the Buzz Lightyear story. But I should not scream when Mami says, 'Wait here', or 'I'm going to the toilet'"

I smiled at the Zorg analogy. "Yes that's right. Please try to remember what I say, I've repeated this many many times to you already."

"I understand all that you say. I'm sorry, Mami. I'm sorry."

You know, I think EggEgg is a very sweet guy.