Oct. 7, 2025

A Pause on Herself to be a Mother: Qiaoqing’s fight for her children and community

A Pause on Herself to be a Mother: Qiaoqing’s fight for her children and community

“The hardest pause and one of the longest pauses I've ever taken in my life was a pause on myself. Ever since I became a mother, me as QQ has taken a backseat.” 

 

When I first started Semicolon Spaces focusing on pause stories – “Mothers” were one of the most requested guests. The first person I thought of was Qiaoqing – fondly known as QQ. 

QQ’s story is one of navigating the challenges of raising children with severe eczema and allergies, while building a supportive community through her clothing brand, Little Warriors (on top of her day job). The revealing moment came: She paused herself to be a mother - “Who is QQ now? I'm a mother of two girls. And what else am I?”

Her “anxiety-filled” motherhood journey has changed her as a person – starting with guilt. When she learnt that her firstborn child has eczema and allergies, her world came crashing as she thought that she gave her daughter eczema. It did not stop there. Her second daughter was also diagnosed with more severe eczema and allergies. Since then, it became all-consuming with fear of losing her children, as well as years of finding cures to help them. That was her new reality. 

“To know that your precious child's life can be taken away in a second just by food is life-changing.” From an innocent and trusting young lady before she became a mother, QQ no longer recognized herself now. Her family situation is highly delicate and fragile and she took it upon herself to be the default caregiver. She is the only person who can give her children food. Unknowingly, she became an “uptight” person refusing help as she no longer trusts anyone. 

After almost a decade, QQ’s journey has evolved beautifully. As her children grew up, she started to empower them to advocate for themselves and slowly, letting go of control. She also discovered the importance of self-care, noting, "By taking care of myself, my capacity to love and relax expanded." 

More importantly, QQ found her new purpose and now fights for a community of parents, especially mothers. Through her Instagram account, Little Warriors, QQ has created a space for mothers facing similar struggles. "It's hard, but you're not alone," she assures, emphasizing the power of community and shared experiences in overcoming isolation and fear. 

Defining success, QQ was quick to share that she has peaked in her life. Her greatest joy and achievement were giving birth and raising her girls. While she was regretful that her success is unsurprisingly defined by her children, it was an admirable phase of life – one that has lasting impact on families and our future generations.

In the next decade, QQ visualizes her and her girls “growing together, finding out the answers and being happier with less anxiety.” 

Her motherhood story is a testament to the power of vulnerability, community, and self-discovery. These valleys in life eventually became defining for us as humans - fulfilling a purpose larger than ourselves.

QQ, we are rooting for you! 

Little Warriors is available on: Website and IG

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Her ways to restore, refresh and recharge during her pauses:

Restore... Heal and regulate body and mind

  • Sleep - I'm the worst at this because I take care of my kids all night and haven't had good sleep in 10 years! For parents with young kids, it is so important to get help in the night because sleep deprivation is an absolute torture. I used to handle all the nights alone for 4 years until I engaged a domestic helper. The extra pair of hands to help out so that everyone gets an extra 20 minutes of sleep is so valuable.

  • Nutrition - Eat as a family and model healthy eating for the children. This way, everyone can have healthy meals together!

  • Health - Always investigate into the root causes. Most illnesses and discomforts are signals of something deeper. I believe that health starts from eating well.

Refresh: Gain new perspectives 

  • Learn new skills - With the help of Instagram, I have learnt to cook allergy-friendly meals for my entire family. At the start of our allergy journey, I used to cook separate meals for my children to keep them safe. Eventually, I realised how divided (and exhausted!) that made me so I started to find substitutes for cooking ingredients and now, our family enjoys meals that are free of gluten, dairy, egg and soy.

  • Learn new hobbies - I've never been good at needles because my mother is excellent in sewing and I never had to mend any clothing growing up. My elder child expressed interest in needle work so we took up crochet lessons together and started multiple sewing projects. It's been a fun process learning together with my daughter. Watching her patiently and confidently work her needle has been such a fulfilling sight!

  • Read - "Oversubscribed" by Daniel Priestley had been very useful for my business while, "The Highly Sensitive Child" by Elaine Aron was instrumental in helping me understand my child with big, intense feelings.  

Recharge! Bring new energy

  • Exercise -  Inside Flow is a form of yoga that combines music and yoga movements. It has been my weekly self-care that I indulge in without the kids.

  • Travel - Being out in nature is hard for our family because the Singapore heat triggers my girls' eczema. I intentionally chose destinations that allow us to enjoy cool weather in nature when we travel. The beaches in Australia and waterfalls in Philippines were core memories for us.

  • Community - My Little Warriors tribe. Nothing like mothers who empathise with one another's struggles and uplift each other with words of affirmation.