Tips to Menawan Hati Orang Tua aka Ibu Bapa

Ecehwahhh..title so Melayu leddet :p

I had an interesting conversation with a good friend a few days ago who pointed out that I, me, yours truly have a certain charming way with parents and old(er) people that they all simply adored me :)

hahaha

actually that is true :p

at the risk of sounding berlagak, i know that i usually can get along with all of my friends' parents, ade yang said if they have a daughter, they want her to be exactly like me la, yang nak i jadi menantu pun ade, even though they dont have any sons! of all which im truly flattered and glad cos really, you can learn a lot from the wisdom of the older generations

so anyhooo, berbalik kepada conversation with the good friend above, he mentioned that the girls he brought home somehow selalu tak mencapai kehendak his mother, and its not that the girls are not great but they simply behave in a weird way in front of parents, maybe kes terlampau control ayu la kut, till his mom declared "dont bring back girls i cannot have a decent conversation with! bring Nique next time!" (ahahaha nie saye tambah sendiri hehe)

so he asked me to list down tips or do's and dont's when visiting the parents supaya menjadi tauladan kepada semua :) to be honest, i dont know what exactly i do sebenarnye but okay, here are some things i thought you might find interesting :)

Tip No 1

Basic Grooming - dun la go and meet your friends parents pakai baju serabai koyak2 or too sexy or mcm baru bangun tido or too much makeup or no makeup at all or macam orang nak gi night club, rambut tak sikat, tudung senget la etc etc u know wat i mean, parents like to see fresh faced young people, makeup natural looking, dressed sopanly and appropriately baru la they will trust their daughter/son to be friends with you, right?

Tip No 2

Be Helpful - make yourself at home, asked if they need any assistance, dont ask and still sit down on the sofa macam punggung tu berat sangat nak angkat, ask while standing up and usually even if they say no follow them into the kitchen anyway, and ringan kan tangan tu and here you can find plennnnty of conversational stuff you can bond with the mother, regardless of whether you can cook or not (note : i know this cos i cant cook!), the kitchen is usually the mother's pride and joy and u can usually find something u can complement her with, BE SINCERE, she can tell if yr faking it :p

Tip No 3

Conversations - regardless of what people say, parents are human too and human nature is that people likes to talk about themselves (ape la saya merepek nie haha korang faham2 je la kan) of course they are interested in you, but balance it out, ask about them too, with mothers safe topics are household decorations, gardening, cooking, their hobbies (most of them have hobbies, better ask your friend before going over) about their work, childhood memory etc, with fathers, if u know basic politics better, without getting into argument of course, i know nothing bout politics so i usually ask about his cars, his work or his vintage and antique collection :p they surely have something u can talk about and really its not that difficult, trust me all you have to do is be open about it, kalau tak tau ckp jer, just dont berlagak pandai la, but again BE SINCERE. one topic i do like to ask, usually if i know them much longer; is how the parents meet and fall in love (^_^) really, best korang dengar citer cinta zaman2 dolu kala nie and u can learn a lot from them :)

Tip No 4

First Time Visit - its usually best if yr visiting for the first time to bring something, food is good, cakes or kuih muih or fruits..i usually get this and a bunch of flowers, simple flowers like daisies or carnations or gerberras, trust me they will always remember you then and ive said over and over again, flowers are highly underatted, they have the simple power to bring an instant smile to your frend's parents face, so folks, food for the fathers, flowers for the mothers, kapish?

Tip No 5

Thank you and SMILE - i think this tip speaks for itself right? kalau tak tau nak cakap ape, smile jer la korang, tapi jangan tersengeh2 mcm kerang busuk plak, smile and laugh and make jokes or at least laugh at the father's jokes, even if it is a quite poyo joke, trust me, even my father makes some poyo jokes okey tapi takpe at least he makes the effort so you guys better laugh! Saying thank you ni kalau korang tak tau jugak, tak tau la nak ckp ape, kalau yr friend tu future bf or gf, send the parents flowers with a thank you note the next day, gerenti korang boleh jadi menantu kesayangan hehehe

Tip No 6

Remember - when you have the conversations, whatever you talked about, remember it for the next time, if they mentioned a recent health problem, ask them again when you see them or when you talk to your friends and they are with their parents, ask after them, if you talked about a pet or a particular show or gardening stuff, follow up and they will be happy that you remember them :)

Tip No 7

Other Visits - by this time you should be at home enough to get your drinks or at least know where the fridge is, so just be familiar BUT NOT TOO FAMILIAR sampai buleh tido2 kat living room la kan, i am so close to one of my best friend's parents to the point that i have visited them, without even the presence of my friend around, its because i want to see her parents and lepak with them hehe so that's saying something rite :p

Tip2 Tambahan

Presents - one of my friend who always goes travelling always remember to buy something for my mother, simple things je like fridge magnets or keychains but my mom LOVES her, so its not the material things babeh, its the thought that counts! others include wishing your friends mothers happy birthday, buy them simple bouquets of flowers or chocolates etc etc u know the drill :p i dont really do this tip cos selalu terlupe hehehe and terlepas tapi takpe yang penting niat tu ade, tak kesah pun if u never give them presents yang penting BE SINCERE :p

Picking up your Friends - my parents pantang tok nenek 7 keturunan kalau my friends datang pick me and hon jer depan pagar, pantang okey! luckily most of my frends dont do this, kalau tamo masuk pun, call yr frend and ask her to wait outside, so it is considered extremely rude not too mention annoying to hear that honking sound..better still, turun la salam sekejap, bukan susah and lama sangat pun kan :)

So cukup kah tips tips di atas?

hehe

tak lah susah sangat kan? i know the cliche is for you to be yourself, but extra efforts are always appreciated to make "yourself" a better, parents loving person (^_^)

(walauwei, panjang gak entry nie, well folks enjoy it while u can before i get busy and start dissapearing again hehe)