One of the boys - Matthew (yellow), Kyle (red) and Jake (white). Note the cellphone on Jake's right hand on the second pic.
One thing common with my kids at a very young age is their penchant for electronic gadgets like cellpones, pdas, remote controls (of tv, cd/vcd player, aircon), keyboard (laptop or desktop computer), telephone, electric outlets, playstation, car steering wheel, car switches, etc...
Sometimes I fret when he insists on tinkering with these thingies rather than with his own plastic toys. I've tried buying him those regulation blue, red, yellow colored plastic toys that he could push, pull, twist, turn, or pound. However, these usually end up in a growing pile of thing-a-ma-gigs that he has practically outgrown fast. And he is soon back to the bigger boys' toys.
Whoever is tasked to keep watch over him must possess an athlete's alacrity and be fast enough to take out the batteries of the remote controls before Jake wrecks it by repeatedly pressing the power button. This person must have the limbs of a contortionist to catch a falling cellphone/pda that Jake might accidentally (he doesn't do it on purpose) drop. The designated yaya must be watchful and make sure the electric outlets are capped with rubber, or stop him from getting caught in the telephone cord.
It got me thinking, do I need to buy him more of the toys fit for his age to divert his attention? Or do I just enjoy the savings of not having to spend for toys that will just keep him interested for a short period?
Here's happy Jake playing with his brothers' playstation.
Stories like these give us a chance to reminisce...when we were kids we hardly had "real" toys...2 bikes/2 scooters which all 7 of us had to share (if we were all together), black & white tv which conks out if used more than 3 hrs., wooden guns which used "mansanitas" as pellets, playing cards...on the other hand we had the whole neighborhood as our playground, we had the whole sky to fly our kites in, we had the whole day to daydream about the future...
ReplyDeletekids these days are so lucky! i keep telling my son that we dont have gameboys or nintendos when we were kids... that we only have a few cartoon shows in the morning... and he would look at me with pity eyes "so what do you do all day? you must be bored all the time." :-)
ReplyDeletehmmm, reading jerry's comment made me nostalgic. jake is really growing up sooo fast!
ReplyDeleteme again, linnor...that coffee table/wooden trunk---i love that! been wanting to get one for ages, but can't find one here in korea. if you don't mind my asking, where did you get it? :)
ReplyDeleteKyut talaga ni Jake.
ReplyDeleteGive him a cardboard box haha!
I think I had "lata"(condensed milk can) to play with when I was young.:( Hehe.
HI JERRY!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have expensive toys back when we were kids. Being able to get my hands on a new paperdoll when I was little was already a special treat. There were no electronic toys then and the most expensive dream toy I always pined for but never got to own one was the video master, you know, those plastic thingies that allowed you to look at Disney slides. Hehe...
HI JO!
I could relate to that. When I hear Kyle or Matt complain that they're bored, I tell them to go out of the house and play ball, swim or go visit a friend in the neighborhood.
HI ANNABANANA!
I got that "baul" from one of the bazaars here in Cebu. I thought I got it cheap for P5,500, then I found out they cost way less than that in neighboring Bohol or in faraway Vigan.
HI THE OTHER JO!
Hahaha! Good idea! What I do instead of buying those expensive Fisher Price or Lamaze toys, I let him play with measuring cups for stacking, spoons and plastic bowls for pounding, or the toothpaste tube. But when he sees our cellphones or the telephone, he goes for these. :D
If Jake behaves the way he does, it ia because he is not a kid anymore. He is already a MINIATURE ADULT. Tingnan mo sobrang ma porma, akala mo kung sino!
ReplyDeleteSo bilang na ang mga oras ninyo ni Jerry to play with him. Make the most of what you yet may spend with Jake!! :) :) :)
And lest you forget, always impress upon him and to Matt & Kyle this early that success or failure in life could be traced to obeying or the breaking of one Command--Honor Your Father and Your Mother. Yes?
si jake, hindi pa-talo sa mga big brothers niya!
ReplyDeletehaha, tuwang tuwa si jake na he has the ps2 in his hands. did his kuya's freak out?! :p
ReplyDeletesuch a happy baby :)
HI PAPARAZZI!
ReplyDeleteI get heady at the thought that Jake is really growing up fast. Ang bilis ng panahon. That's why we enjoy every bit of chance we get to spend together with this little one because soon Jerry and I will have to let him soar on his own. *haay*
HI PAZ!
He can be persistent at times but the bigger boys are quick to distract him with other toys.
HI BEABEAR!
His kuyas usually trick him by giving him that playstation controller that is not connected to the console. He doesn't seem to mind. Hehehe
He is not a moody baby at all.
Jake will soon be a future computer geek too. Bill Gates watch out!
ReplyDeleteThe closest electronic toy we had was the Game and Watch, but that one was like when we were already 12, I think. It was always street games, patintero, tumbang preso, taguan, or syato. no need to electricity to enjoy the games. simpleng buhay lang....
Here's evidence of his future work!
ReplyDeleteand top view
HI JUNNIE!
ReplyDeleteGame and Watch na Octopus and Popeye for P400 each. Ang mahal na nun dati no? And we thought we were already hi-tech then. Hahahaha!
I meant to say ViewMaster pala on my earlier comment instead of Video Master. Jerry corrected me because he remembers it as one of his dream toys din. :)
Junnie, ganyan din itsura nya sa iBook ko. I'll post pala next time. :)
ReplyDeleteHow adorable! So... nagmana kanino? :) Kay Tito Junnie? :P
ReplyDeleteHI TONI!
ReplyDeleteHahaha, malamang nagmana sa Tito Junnie and sa akin opkors. Hehehe.
ang cute ni jake dito sa pic na'to. hehe. he is starting early with his penchance for tech gadgets. i wonder where he gets it from??? hehehe.
ReplyDeleteyup, mana kay tito junnie. pretty soon he won't be without a digicam, snapping away! :)
ReplyDeleteHI DENDEN & VANGIE!
ReplyDeleteMana sa Tito Junnie nya si Jake. Ako kasi copycat lang, not as techie as the bro. Si Jerry naman is not techie at all. Tama na sa kanya ang decent cellphone and computer. :)