I just brought Tru to Toys R’ Us the other day to pick out a new toy just for fun (I can’t help it, I’m gonna spoil my kids rotten). The look of delight on his face every time he goes to a toy store is too much of a high for me. It’s like how I felt when I first stepped into Disneyland (the Anaheim one) during Christmastime. The feeling of awe doesn’t go away and till this day, stepping into Disneyland is still a special experience.
Notice the grimace on the husband's face
Which explains why I dragged the husband by the hair running around like maniacs in Disneyland for 3 days during our honeymoon. When the kids start to walk, I’m going to make it an annual pilgrimage to spend a week in the happiest place in the world. And I’ll be like the coolest mom ever.
So back to the toy store. We were making our rounds trying to find a toy he liked. It’s called the toy test.
1. I’ll hold up a whole bunch of toys and see which one he grabs.
2. He’ll hold it closer to inspect it for a while.
3. If he likes it, he’ll clap his hands.
4. If not, it gets flung away.
I’ve tried various methods to influence his decision, like shake it while making funny sounds, or shoving it closer so he’ll want to grab it, but I’m telling you, this boy is too smart for his own good. At 12 months, he seems to know exactly what he wants.
The difference is, as rational, informed adults, we choose stuff based on the functions, design, price, branding and reliability. Kids, on the other hand, have no basis for their selection of stuff and they can be drawn to seemingly lame and useless toys just because it’s in their favorite color, or because it belts out irritating rhymes. Bizarre, I know.
As a parent, I’m resisting the urge to tell him the tacky, pink, giant rubber ball that costs $12.99 is stupid, and that he should pick an Optimus Prime robot that can transform into a cool trailer truck.
Anyway, after discarding like a whole trolley-full of toys, Tru finally settles on a Playskool dump truck with a giant meat ball that wobbles. I was still trying to hard-sell the Transformers toy but he was intent on getting his twuck and he grabbed on to it for dear life. Optimus Prime got smashed to the floor in the process but I have a feeling he’ll do just fine.
*Autobots, transform and roll out*
Dumb twuck
Now that Tru is in his cars and trucks phase, I’m amassing enough vehicles at home to start an automobile shop. I’m just waiting for the day he starts pestering us for an Audi TT. That’ll be fun.
