An obsession with cars, in young children.

My boys are obsessed with cars. At least, if not obsessed, then they are highly knowledgeable about them. Sometimes, I think they are speaking a shared secret language filled with abstruse names, and fine discriminations.

On November 3rd, 2009, I was walking Tiarnan and Fintan to the local shop. As we walked together side by side, Tiarnan, three, casually remarked of a passing car: "That's a Toyota Crown."

Now, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't know a Toyota Crown from a biscuit. So, I looked down at Tiarnan, somewhat stunned, at his assertion.

"Is he right?", I asked of Fintan, six.

"Yes.", Fintan, nodded.

I absorbed his confirmation quietly.

Then Fintan, spoke, again, only to make me feel even more ignorant. "There's a Mitsubishi Lancer GLX.", he pointed, at a parked car.

I looked. I saw a car...to me it was nothing more defined than that.

Then, Fintan did it again.

"There's a Mini Cooper S.", he pointed, at a cute white car.

I felt that I should try to play this game, so, when I saw a familiar symbol, on two cars parked in a driveway I said, "There are two BMW Z3s!" I said this because I could read "Z3" on the back of one of them and they both looked rather similar to me.

Fintan looked at me, appraisingly, as if, perhaps, wondering whether to take pity on me and keep silent.

"That is a Z5, Daddy.", he said, at last, indicating one of the cars - the one I hadn't read the symbol on.

Ah. Oh well, at least one of us knows.

I didn't say anything, however: I just looked more closely and saw that he was right, and I was wrong.

This is not an unusual occurrence. Every day, when we are out with the boys, they will remark on passing cars: on their brand, their model name and number, their engine size, their engine design, their horsepower, their acceleration, the presence or absence of turbo chargers and superchargers, whether they are four wheel drive or rear wheel drive - indeed, they speak of anything and everything to do with cars. It is a shared pastime between the brothers, even though they are of very different ages: 3, 6 and 9 - they all speak of these things. It is funny really, because this line of conversation has only emerged in recent months and I just don't know how they have all learnt so much about cars in so short a time.

What gets me, in particular, though, is that Tiarnan is only 3, but is able to make fine distinctions between car models - and Fintan, too. They are funny boys.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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The science fiction, fantasy fan.

Tiarnan, two, is already showing certain traits that I possessed as a child. The mystery of it is where it all comes from - because I am not really showing these traits as an adult, so he has no real model to draw them from.

Yesterday, Tiarnan, was invited to choose videos at the video store. He was very sure of his selections: he chose 10,000 B.C, The Road to Terabithia and Eragon. Now, as anyone should note, these are all science fiction/science fantasy titles. He ignored all other genres in the store - except he also wanted to get out a dinosaur documentary DVD - but he had already seen that so Syahidah, his mother, vetoed it.

I found his selection very interesting since, as a child and teenager, I had been drawn, primarily, to science fiction and science fantasy in my reading and, if I had the chance, film watching. So, Tiarnan, given complete freedom of choice, is replicating my own childhood choices. I read much science fiction (sci-fi), as a complimentary activity to my interests in science. Thus, my childhood life of the imagination was one that extended my more down to earth interests.

With Tiarnan, it seems he is naturally drawn to that which is more imaginative, more outside the norm of human experience. He is, for instance, a great fan of Ben 10. He has also shown a liking for science, such as is his exposure at this tender age.

To me, this tendency to echo the childhood of the parents is interesting: it seems that basic dispositions of character and interest may also be found in the children. Perhaps much more is inherited than one might suppose.

Tiarnan is a child of great imagination: it has a great effect on him, but I shall post of that another time. It gives me great pleasure to note, though, that his interests are reflecting my own childhood interests. As a father, this means that I can share with him, what once I enjoyed so much, and so come to enjoy it again, in a new way, perhaps a deeper way, as I see him explore territory I so used to explore myself.

Then again, it makes it quite easy for me, as a parent - because I already have such familiarity with his area of interest and so have much to give him, in that regard. This is the kind of luck every parent could do with.

I am looking forward to introducing him to the works of Tolkien, later on - for those were a memorable discovery when I was a kid. No doubt they will be for Tiarnan, too.

I think I have got some videos to watch, now...

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)