The strangest toy in the world.

Children play with the strangest things: to them, a toy may be anything.

A week or two ago, I found Fintan and Tiarnan playing at sword fighting with a long, blue object. They were not being particularly rough, and were using the side of it to nudge each other. However, lest it be sharp I took a closer look.

It was part of a car. In fact, from its colour, it looked to be a piece of a taxi. It wasn't sharp, however, so I let them continue to play with it.

Fintan had found this relic of a car crash by the side of the road, and judged it worthy toy material and so had taken it home.

Thus, Singapore's road safety issues have the unusual side effect of creating free and abundant toys for children, and leaving them scattered by the side of the road for them to find. How enlightened of the car owners to be so generous to the children of Singapore. Or, how thoughtful of those whose duty it is to clear up after car crashes, to be sufficiently derelict in their duties to ensure that plentiful roadside toys are there to be found by young children.

Now, I know why the detritus of crashed cars is never cleared properly from the roads. They are just thinking of the children and their toys. How thoughtful of them. They are the unsung Santa Clauses of Singapore.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and six months, and Tiarnan, twenty-three 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, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Fintan knows his toys

Yesterday, Fintan, four, was in a toy shop with his grandmother and mother.

Syahidah, his mother, pointed out a particular toy to him, thinking he would like it. It was of an action hero type character, all in multi-coloured plastic, wearing some sort of exoskeleton. Since he is fond of superheroes and of Power Rangers and other programs of that ilk, she thought that he would like it.

He looked at and shook his head: "Don't get me that, it is made in China!"

They laughed at this, and didn't believe him.

"No it is not, it is made in Japan.", said Syahidah, for the writing was all in Japanese on the outside.

So, despite his initial protest, they bought it for him.

When they got home and opened the case and managed to have a close look at the toy, they found a little inscription on the bottom of its foot: "Made in China."

Funny.

What I thought was intriguing about this is that Fintan, four, was aware of the controversy over Chinese toys and their often dangerous lack of quality control. I don't know how he knew this, because we don't watch the news here, as a family (there is little actual news content, so we gave up a long time ago). Yet, he did understand the issue of dangerous Chinese toys.

It was amusing, too, to note that he was better at spotting them than either his mother or grandmother. Well done, Fintan.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen 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, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, 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.)