An unexpected architect.

Ainan has long been a designer of buildings, either drawing them or making them. The other day, however, I discovered something unexpected.

I came across Ainan sitting in the kitchen. Next to him, on the dining table was a model of a building - a most exotic construction. It was of the most otherworldly design, looking at it felt like one had glimpsed a tower from an alien city. It was both bizarre and beautiful.

"That's lovely, Ainan." I said, assuming him to be the creator of the work.

"It's Fintan's.", he said, looking at it with respect.

"Fintan's?" I said, to check what I had heard.

"Yes. Fintan's."

I felt, perhaps, we were both impressed. There was something very sophisticated about the design - and something original too. This building had a vision all of its own. It was unlike any building I had ever seen. Fintan had taken the idea of a building and made it his own.

Fintan is only five years old. Yet, I can see something happening in him, that happened in Ainan, too, when he was a younger boy: his mind is starting to come alive, he is starting to express himself and show a unique character and viewpoint. Fintan's viewpoint is different to Ainan's. That building, for instance, which Fintan had designed, was unlike any that Ainan had ever made. Fintan's was made to fulfil an inner aesthetic, Ainan's were always designed to be structurally sound and solid. Fintan designed for beauty, Ainan designed for longevity. They had a different outlook on what a building should be - but each also had their own viewpoint as to what a good building was. Ainan's buildings had their own characteristic personality and flavour - and now I had discovered that Fintan's did, too - but a very different one.

It is funny to think that they are brothers and therefore share 50% of their genes - because there are both great differences and great similarities between them.

I don't know how Fintan is going to develop, but I am already seeing the beginnings of a boy taking his own path, in his own way, to his own destination - even if it is not yet clear, to us, where that might be.

It is interesting to note, though, that Fintan is showing high spatial skills - for that is one of Ainan's attributes, too. Yet, they each make different use of those skills.

Though I wonder at the future, the present is interesting enough as a parent. It is good to see each of them flower in their own way, yet also just as interesting to see the inter-relationships and commonalities between them. They are brothers, after all...

(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.

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The beginnings of sibling rivalry: competition.

Observing Tiarnan is always interesting. The little things he does say so much.

On October 21st 2007, Tiarnan was offered some melon, on a plate. Now, it must be remembered that, at twenty months, Tiarnan was (and is) the youngest and the smallest member of this particular household. He has two older siblings. So what effect does having two older, bigger siblings have on him? Well, some of the effects are funny.

He reached out for the melon with his broad hand and put a piece in his mouth, rather quickly. It bulged in his mouth, inflating his cheek. He began to chew on it. Then he reached for another - and quickly popped it in his mouth. Another bulge appeared in his cheek, on the other side. He chewed on them both, with some difficulty. He looked around as if checking to see who was nearby. Then he reached for another piece of melon and popped it in his mouth, with more difficulty than the first two. He tried to chew but wasn't so successful. Finally, he took the last piece of melon and stuffed it in his mouth which, by this time, was totally filled with dripping melon. He looked like he was holding a sack of potatoes in his mouth.

He was very anxious to get all of the food in his mouth as quickly as possible. He seemed concerned that, if he didn't, his elder, bigger, stronger brothers would take it all and he would be left with nothing. So, here we see a rather comic effect of having older siblings: a competition for food. Tiarnan really wants to make sure he gets all the good food he can - so when he sees good things on offer, he rushes to stuff it in his mouth, lest his brothers deprive him of it. It is both funny and sweet to see such a little boy behave in this way. I feel he thinks of himself as relatively powerless, compared to them - but just by the expedient of hiding all the food in his mouth, where he doubts his brothers will be able to get at it, he manages to adjust to the situation.

I don't know what has led him to understand things in this way - for, of course, there would always be food for him. Yet, it seems that he sees his own position as precarious when it comes to such resources as good food. He sees a need to compete in the best way that he can: the fastest grab and the biggest mouthful. This is not the first time he has done this: he has done it many times before - he absolutely fills his mouth with the food he likes, before he settles down to the task of absorbing it. His first priority is to ensure that he gets his share of it, before the others do. Perhaps this is the beginning of sibling rivalry, then: the competition over food. It all boils down to survival, then.

Isn't it a funny world? A mere toddler is already entrained to compete for resources.

I wonder if he will remain as competitive when he grows up - or if this is just his adaptation to relative powerlessness in a house filled with older siblings. I shall just have to wait and see.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eleven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and four months, and Tiarnan, twenty-one 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, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Tiarnan, the Defiant

Tiarnan is fourteen months old, with two elder siblings. It is that fact that I wish to consider. How does Tiarnan deal with having two, older, larger brothers?

I will look at the situation through the lens of a single behaviour. Sometimes, there is competition for toys - who plays with what when - between Fintan and Tiarnan, since they are quite close in age, Fintan being three. Occasionally this will mean that Fintan will snatch a toy off Tiarnan, if he is too impatient to wait, or perceives the toy as "his" and therefore rightfully owned (which may, indeed, be the case). So, what does Tiarnan do, if a toy is taken from him?

Well, recently, in the past few weeks, he has adopted quite an amusing response. After being snatched from, he will run off and get another toy. Then he will come back and brandish it in the face of the snatcher, as if to say: "Well, you can't get this one!" He stands there, diminutive and all defiant: it is both sweet and funny - but interesting for what it says of his developing character. He doesn't bemoan his loss. He doesn't cry. He doesn't kick up a fuss - he just goes off and gets another one - and then challenges the snatcher to do the same to his new toy. There is, in this the sense of an admirably robust and resilient personality developing - one that will not be easily thwarted by the actions of others. I think, from the evidence of his style of play, that Tiarnan will be the sort of person who has the persistence to overcome many challenges and always find a way to bounce back.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, fourteen months, or his gifted brothers, including Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and four months, or Fintan, three, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, baby genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Tiarnan arranges time with mummy

A couple of days ago, Tiarnan, fourteen months, was leaving the house in the arms of his mother, for a trip out when he turned back.

"Look!", he said, pointing at his brother, Fintan, three. Fintan was following them out the door.

Tiarnan assessed the situation and its likely effect on his trip with his mother.

"In!" he said, to his elder brother and pointed back through the door through which Fintan had come.

Uncannily, Fintan did as he was told and went back into the house. I rather feel this was a kindness on Fintan's part - but it was funny to see the elder brother obey the command of his baby sibling.

On seeing Fintan return home, Tiarnan burst out laughing in his michievous way: he had got his way, in what was perhaps an unexpected manner.

He had a good, personal time out, with his mother - just as he had commanded.

Tiarnan is growing into a little boy who asserts himself and his needs quite directly. He is also revealing a developed sense of humour which shows itself in the way he interacts with his brothers and in the things he laughs at. He is quite a cheeky little chap - in the most endearing of ways.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, fourteen months, or his gifted brothers, Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and four months, or Fintan, three, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted children and gifted adults in general. Thanks.)