Sunday, October 17, 2010

My Turbo

My blog is named after my eldest son, Turbo, now two and a half.
He is spirited.
See the link on the right to see what I'm talking about. He is just MORE of everything. He lives life going 100km per hour, non-stop, all day. It is exhausting sometimes, but I understand what he needs (most of the time) and can try to meet those needs. Expecting him to sit still is unrealistic, even for a few minutes.

He is very strong. He can throw a ball straight and far, and has been able to jump and climb since he was quite little.
He  has funny quirks like not liking the feel of sand. Just try and get him into a sandpit. He can't stand having food on his face or hands, and has to have things 'just so'. He puts things in perfect lines, like the fridge magnets or his toy cars.

When he interacts with other kids, he ROARS, bellows, kicks his legs in excitement, punches the air, jumps on top of them if he has the chance.

As you can imagine, this is sometimes met with a not so positive look. I do my best to tell him to be gentle, to tell him the other kids may not like that and to step in when things get too much. But there's also the wisdom of letting Turbo be Turbo.

At a mall's play area on Saturday morning, a father, observing Turbo, asked me if there was another boy in the stroller (Smiley was sleeping in there with the cover on). I said yes, and then with a smile said "Help!" He smiled and said how full on Turbo was. And when I left, wished me luck in parenting my two boys!!
It made me smile. If I had been having a bad day, it could have made me cry.

I never want to get to the point where I feel I need to excuse Turbo for being who he is. I've felt that way often enough. "He's just excited; he's not being mean; Turbo, stop that; gentle, please"...I could go on.

Because, you see, Turbo is also lovely. He listens well, is intelligent, warm-hearted,
shares his lunch with other kids, and always has a smile to give. He is very sociable and often runs off to join in a game with kids he doesn't even know.

At Mainly Music, which he attends with his daycare, he has two or three best friends, all four years old, who adore him right back. And not by chance. He persisted to hug and wrestle them every week until he was accepted into their gang.

His zeal for life is contagious and the other little girl at daycare (it's a home care with him and one other girl), once shy and withdrawn, has completely come out of her shell and talks constantly about Turbo. They are very close and dote on each other.

He brings Mr Samoa and I great joy, along with great challenges too, of course.
My spirited baby.
My Turbo.


 I love you Turbo. You're the best.

7 comments:

Nikkey said...

Thats beautiful Penny and so on the button. Turbo is a very warm hearted boy whose smile always lights up the room and always welcome in my world of roars and bellows too : )

Amy said...

Beautiful wise mummy :)

jaime said...

I want to meet him :)
jaime x

Penny said...

Hi Jaime
Didn't know you still read my blog! Nice to hear from you. Hope you're well x

Mands said...

Pen I don't mean this to be negative....I speak from experience... but the fact that he does not like the feel of sand/food on his face is he perhaps not tactile sensitive i.e My younger brother and I are both TS it makes life hard as we are more sensitive to the feel of certain things than other ppl and it can be very distressing.I cant wear certain clothes ect.... There are ways to overcome this if he is TS :-) Another thing is Ben not perhaps hyper active? My younger brother was the same...FULL ON all the time. My brother is hyper active with attention deficit disorder he battles to concentrate as well. My mom was forever running after my brother, ppl would often raise eyebrows but we knew why he was the way he was :-) ..... your son has a very high IQ so maybe have him tested, occupational therapy can help chanel his energy for positive even at his age.If he is any of the above.
DONT ever feel bad or cry all children are differant, Turbo is a special little boy and will do great things with his passion hehee.

Mands said...

Another thing Pen I heard the most amazing chat on the radio yesterday...Gifted children can also be misdiagnosed, teachers/caregivers often tell parents that their kids have AdhD but they are actually gifted! I have a sneaky suspicion that Ben is gifted, so he will get bored easily ect ect. They said parenting gifted kids is hard as they get easily fustrated, master things quickly and will need extra special attention because they are very busy hmmmm makes one think hey? x x x

Ariane said...

Turbo is amazing!! Has such passion for life and cares for others. Im so excited for you and Mr Samoa. He will change the world...hes already changed the lives of so many including mine. Watch this space...GOOOO TUUURBOOOO!!!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...