The way to a boy's heart.

"Who wants hugs?", asked Syahidah, of our three sons, a few days ago.

Fintan spoke first: "Me!", he said, hurrying forward.

It was I who actually gave him a hug - a warm embrace of appreciation. He snuggled into it for a moment then suddenly broke away: "Hugs and CHIPS!", he said, as if he felt, perhaps, that they might be mutually exclusive, for, at that very moment, chips were cooking in the oven.

Hugs and chips, indeed: how like Fintan, to be always thinking of his stomach, even as he is being hugged.

The old cliche says that the way to a man's heart lies through his stomach - and, if all men were like Fintan is, as a boy, then it would certainly be true. He is always either eating or thinking of eating. The funny thing is, he is not fat. He is slim, in the sense of having little fat, but chunky in the sense of having quite a lot of solid muscle on him. I can foresee, for him, quite a strong, muscular adolescence to come.

Anyway, Fintan wasn't disappointed: he got his chips, in the end - and his hugs, too. It was, for him, a good evening.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The toddler and the baby

How do toddlers see little babies? Tiarnan's reaction gives some insight.

On the 27th July, Tiarnan was visiting some friends with us. There was a newborn baby in the house (it was for a baby shower). Tiarnan was very taken by this baby. He peered into the cot, looking down on the resting baby.

He looked up at his mother, then and asked if Tiarnan could hold the baby. His mother picked up the baby, gently in answer and brought her over to the bed.

"Sit down." she said to Tiarnan, as she pointed at the edge of the bed. He did so. Then she placed the baby in his outstretched arms, continuing to hold it, herself.

Tiarnan wrapped his arms around the baby very carefully. There was a tenderness in him that was sweet to witness. He looked so pleased just to hold the baby in his arms. He looked down at her, with fascination in his eyes. It was almost, in a way, like witnessing a father holding his baby, such reverence was in his face. It seems that Tiarnan is a good daddy in the making!

It was interesting to note the care with which he approached the baby. Everything he did around her was gentle and careful in the extreme. His movements were slow and careful and he was careful not to squeeze her more than necessary to hold onto her. It was clear that he understood how delicate such a young baby is. It was endearing to watch him take care of her so - for, in our eyes, he is not, of course, much older himself, at just two. Yet, there he was, the Littlest "Daddy" in the world - or so it seemed in an emotional sense, with the sense of caring that he clearly embodied.

I look forward to the day that I am a grandfather and Tiarnan is a daddy. I fully expect to recognize his attitude towards his children from these early moments of Tiarnan the toddler, with a newborn baby.

(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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