Wavelength

Remember the long queue in front of the telephone booth at the university dormitory? Not many - even though, as the common scene before the mobile phones have revolutionised the way we talk to our girlfriends and boyfriends.

If it's not because of the recent movie You're the Apple of My Eye, the picture could have faded in the society's collective memory. This movie has made itself a household name after its debut. There's no medium like the movies to give us the flashback pleasure of going young and fooling around. You're the Apple of My Eye is rife with incurably innocent and naive ideas that make us laugh.

I went to see the movie last week and almost laughed my head off. I'm not saying that we should follow the kids and appear stupid. As adults, it's easy to forget how boys and girls feel. Amazing as it may seem, getting on their wavelength is the only way to draw ourselves closer to the young generation. One of the important lessons from the book Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is to imagine how we would feel if we were young. Instead of emphasizing that a kid should not whine when his brother received a birthday gift, we are taught to respond in a way to demonstrate our understanding - something like, "I used to feel jealous when I was a little boy and Aunt Mary got a gift."