Kids Do The Darndest Things 2

I was up this morning preparing for work when A.Y. trotted out of the room he shared with his little sister. He looked like a small sumo wrestler with his diapers, baby fat and small plaid shirt. I swooped him off his feet, balanced him in my arms and greeted him with a fatherly good morning.

A.Y. scooping at his finished plate of rice

He gave his usual shy smile in reply then indicated his wish to come down.

I put him down wondering what his mission was. He continued trotting further into the master bedroom, his diaper bouncing underneath his little butt. I eventually saw where he was headed – to the corner where we kept the Bobo drink packs for him and Timi to be taking to school daily. There was actually only one Bobo left in the pack which was reserved for Timi since she leaves earlier for school before her brother. We intended buying his later on the way to school.

A.Y. reached into the pack and drew out the last Bobo bottle.

Wifey came in and saw the drama. She gently took the drink from his hand and he instantly lost it. He bawled angrily and refused to be petted, carried or offered anything else except Bobo.

I was perturbed.

I had never seen A.Y. in this state. And I could see clearly that he was not just unhappy but plainly angry. It was an amusing sight; he sobbed like he had been robbed and denied his fundamental baby rights. He even refused to have his breakfast and frustrated his Mum in the effort. Looking at the fact that he was just a year and five months, he would never understand that the Bobo drink was meant for school or Creche and not for breakfast.

Timi who had just had her own bath and was only in her briefs and vest came to where he was feeling sorry for him and for a moment I thought she wanted to scold us for making her baby brother cry.

Eventually A.Y. calmed down and allowed wifey to feed him.

Later I was in the bath when I heard A.Y. scream again and start crying. When I finished up and came out, I asked Wifey what had happened again.

‘It was that Domo character that scared him on TV. I had to change the station.’

I laughed. Domo was actually a children’s stop-action animated series that showed in between broadcasts on Nickelodeon on DSTV. The character had this open-mouthed face with exposed dentition. Was that really a scary sight for kids? I mean take a look at the picture of Domo below:

Domo

  

I picked up my shirt, put it on and was buttoning up when Timi squealed.

‘Eeee! See Daddy’s shirt! Mummy! Daddy is wearing ah shirt!’

I looked at her in surprise.

How on earth did she know the shirt I was wearing was brand new? This was not the first time Timi had appreciated any new clothes I wore. I began to realize that she was a very observant child.

I looked at wifey who was shoving food into hungry A.Y.’s eager mouth.

‘Does this girl know all the clothes I have?’

‘You’ve forgotten the kind of daughter you have?’

Timi smiled and jumped about obviously aware and enjoying the fact that she was creating some level of amusement.

Timi amused at my new shirt.

‘Man, kids of nowadays…at her age, I never enter school oh. I was still pushing tyre and running about in my small pant’ I said.

‘Point of correction, sweetheart; in those days you ran and played about wearing ‘Pata’, not ‘Pant’. There’s a difference between the two.

I roared in laughter. Timi laugh join, A.Y. chuckled spitting bits of rice all over the place.

I looked at them and shook my head again in wonder.

Children of nowadays are sharper than we think!