The Promil Kid and the Hideous Word
I didn’t realize how obsessed my 3-year old nephew had become with Cartoon Network (particularly Dexter’s Laboratory) until I entered MY room one morning. And there he was, sitting on the floor, smashing a scientific calculator on the wall, thinking he could fix it afterwards. When I opened the door, he turned to me and angrily hollered: “Tito (uncle), get out of my laboratory!!!”
This is bad, I thought. He thinks he’s Dexter and this is his laboratory. I knew I had to do something about it.
So I looked at him and bellowed, “Excuse me, kid! This is MY laboratory! Get out of MY laboratory.”
Bloody kid. I am Dexter!!!
# # #
My nephew is the only pupil at his school (a community pre-school) who can speak English so fluently. That’s because we train him at home. We always encourage force the kid to answer in English when asked in English. And because when he’s with his playmates, he speaks Tagalog (our native language), we make sure that he talks in English at home.
So what happens when he fails to respond in English? I usually give him “the look” — you know, the kind of look that our parents used to give us when we were little to let us know that we were doing something bad and that we must stop it right at that moment. Whenever my nephew realizes he’s being given the look, he switches to English immediately.
Last week, I was shopping at a local mall with my nephew. He said he wanted a kiddie drum set. So we entered Toy Kingdom and began looking for one. A sales crew approached us and showed us two gorgeous sets: yellow and blue. The sales crew and I shared the same thought that the yellow one was better (but yeah, a little more expensive). But my nephew seemed to have made up his mind already.
“I like the blue one.”
But the sales crew was being persistent.
“I told you I like the blue one. I hate yellow!”
The sales crew was astonished by how my nephew speaks in English faultlessly. So he talked to the kid in English, “But this one is better.”
My nephew, being his usual self — stubborn and annoying — began shouting. “I said I don’t like yellow! It’s hideous!!!”
Even I was surprised to hear the word “hideous.” That’s a very big word for a 3-year old Filipino kid. So I asked my nephew, “Do you know what hideous means?”
“Yeah. Like him.” He pointed at the sales crew and turned to me again. “He’s hideous.” He said as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.
I felt embarrassed for the sales crew. So to tell my nephew he was doing something bad, I gave him the look.
His eyes narrowed. His brows met. Confused, he protested, “That was English!”
Pictures courtesy of mysimon.com, istockphoto.com and cartoon-secrets.com
ha3 how he speaks in English is really a great asset for himself later on but the attitude of shouting sarcasms to somebody is not tolerable.
that should be hampered. he might grow contemptuous.
just my opinion.
thanks for dropping by quincy. yeah, i understand that, thus THE LOOK. hehehe
oh yah, forgot the look. ha3
that’s the tactic when promil kid strikes back.
🙂
sorry wasn’t able to follow earlier.
nah. it’s ok. im just glad you dropped by again. 🙂
Heh, I loved watching the cartoon. And the look is very effective, keep it up!
lmao hideous, pretty cool, just keep him practicing he’ll be using these doctor words in years.
oh, you’re back. hehehehe. i thought you’d be busy… partying. hahaha.
honestly, i wish he wont use the word “hideous.” it’s too much. “ugly” will do. haha
hahaha, benta ang nephew mo.
yeah. he’s really funny. although sometimes i want to *ahem*smother*ahem* him. (kidding) nah, he’s lovely. tigas lang ng ulo. spoiled brat.
Hahaha ayus yang pamangkin mo ah. English speaking na, may attitude pa. May tawag diyan sa ingles eh… ano… b*tch ba yun? Hehehehe =P
bitch talaga. buti nga hindi ako ang sinabihan ng hideous eh, kasi iiwanan ko sya sa mall. mas bitch kaya ako sa kanya.
Hahaha go lang. Give it to the bitch kiddo. =P
you know i cant do that. hahahaha
i lurv your nephew!
as bitchy as you are. 😛
Haha! Darn, kids these days! 😀
May pamangkin din ako na ganyan eh. Kapag kausap niya mom and dad niya, nag-i-English siya. Pero kapag kinakausap ko siya, sinasabihan ko siya na mag-Filipino. 😀
hi ken, thanks for dropping by. I hope your pamangkin is not as bitchy as mine. Pain in the ass. Sheltered kid.
Wow, how cool that he speaks english that well! But it is after all a fact that kids learn languages much faster than adults. I have cousins who speak both swedish and finnish because they’ve been taught both languages from when they were born.
i’m having problems in posting a message in your tag board. anyway, thanks for visiting and leaving a comment in my blog. care to exchange links? god bless and tc!
exchange links? sure. 🙂
galing ng nephew mo nagiinglish na. well, most kids this days are english speaking 🙂 One reason maybe bat sila magaling sa english is the influence of Disney Channel, cartoon network, animax and nickolodeon. Some kids naman dahil sa gaming kaya natototo na rin magenglish hehehe… I salute your nephew pero I hope na maalis nya yong attitude na hehehe.. hangga’t bata ba
🙂
yep, cartoon channels really help!
Whew! You’re nephew’s a handful. At a young age, he knows what he wants. And I’m quite impressed how your nephew came up with that “hedious” word, though expressing haughtiness at that.
That last line made be burst to laughter. Witty kid!
BTW, thanks for the blog visit Yoshke!
im actually trying to remember if i was the one who taught him that word. and that i might have had forgotten about it.
Yey Promil! Haha. Na-iimagine ko pamangkin mo. Taena, laugh trip.
mana kay Tito nya… NOT!
Benta sa akin!!! I wanna meet that lot!
Heehee!!
o asta, ini-invite kita sa bahay namin sa Batangas para ma-meet ko sya.
if your nephew claims to be Dexter, you must be Mandark to him. LOL. j/k…
i’m having the same surprises with my nephew, too. it must be the tv and the online games. they’re encouraged to speak English in pre-school too. they’re sponges at their age. better be careful about what you do or say when they’re around. 😛
Here’s another promil kid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3kXBVOV614
This is the third Promil Kid entry I’ve read and I’m starting to like that kid. Maybe he’s got the “Artemis Fowl” factor in him? And I wonder if Promil will find him a good spokesperson for their product. Hahaha….
omg
hah! what a laughtrip!
i’m supposed to be studying for a recit exam tomorrow. but hey,.. err.. i dont what to hey about. haha! *procrastination mode*
anyways, i’d have to agree with everyone. it’s definitely the cable tv. at-least-3hrs/day of cable tv helped me with my english lessonsback in the days.
i’m also a promil kid, and I’d really be proud of myself if I was at least half as good as your nephew is when i was his age… well, the fluent-in-english part of him, that is. hahaha!
how i wish my niece can also speak that faultlessly
nga naman english naman po un hahaha..nice one!
Thanks Janice. 😀
Isang malaking havey! kakalurkey!
haha! i love your nephew! smart kid!