Social media influencer and ex-educator, Diah Mastura, is known for writing food and product reviews for home-based businesses. But running a successful career while parenting five children aged 13, 4, 1 and a pair of twins aged 12 who just completed their PSLE examinations this year, isn’t exactly a walk in the park. So how does this super mom do it all?

Building a Happy Home

To help her stay on top of her to-do lists, Diah who is not one to procrastinate, plans and establishes routines ahead of time and makes a point of sticking to them. Even while juggling many hats, she finds time to keep herself fulfilled, like enjoying a cup of Starbucks coffee while grocery shopping in the morning or meeting up with her close girlfriends occasionally.

“Slot in an activity for you and only you. Also, make it known to your spouse that you need some time off from the kids,” suggests the 39-year-old.

Although managing everyone’s needs can be trying, Diah admits that she enjoys having a big family. “The house is super lively every single day, and I am not complaining,” she shares. “It’s just so fun to have a lot of kids because you will never quite feel lonely. When the older kids are in school or busy with their exam preparations, I still have the younger ones to play with.”

As a rule, no matter how busy she gets, Diah finds time to connect with her kids as much as possible as she believes this contributes to a more meaningful parent-child relationship. “I think as a parent, you need to keep up with the trend and what your kids enjoy doing these days. That way, you will learn to understand their likes and dislikes better,” she shares.

Keep Calm and Connect

Dealing with five different temperaments daily cannot be easy, so when it comes to getting her kids to cooperate, this modern mom is of the view that respect is a two-way street.

“You respect your kids and they will respect you. With my older kids, I just need to talk to them and explain the reasons. It works most of the time because my older girls and I have a pretty amazing relationship. I am really thankful to see how respectful my girls are and how they are always careful about their intonation when they talk to me.”

While reasoning works well on her older children, disciplining her four-year-old son has proven to be quite a challenge. But thanks to her experience as an ex-educator and her extensive research on parenting, Diah successfully avoids power struggles by keeping calm and not reacting to his angry outbursts.

“He is more outspoken and he always expects things to go his way. So I have to be very calm when I handle him. Even when he loses his temper, remaining calm works best. If I were to lose my cool too, it will worsen the situation,” she explains.

All Hands on Deck

Maintaining a house with many young children is undoubtedly demanding. Fortunately for Diah, she has a helper to assist with chores like cleaning and laundry and a supportive spouse who routinely helps out with the kids whenever he is home.

Hoping to nurture a sense of responsibility in her kids from a young age, Diah ensures that they too, help out with the daily chores. “My older kids help out with their younger siblings when I’m working. They are also responsible for the maintenance and cleanliness of their own room.”

Adopting a positive approach to parenting so that all her kids grow up happy remains Diah’s top priority. And as serious as juggling the needs of seven people can get sometimes, she is thankful that her whole family shares a similar light-hearted philosophy,” “To thrive in life you need three bones – a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone!” she quips.

Image source: Diah Mastura