Ben and Jenny

One of the things I'm often conscious of about having two kids is trying to make sure the younger one gets the same attention and opportunities as the elder did at the same age. Ben is a bubbly personality and very demanding. Jenny is a quieter character and is often happy to play second fiddle to Ben. If Ben had his way he would happily push Jenny aside and do everything himself.

Research shows that the eldest child in the family usually has the highest IQ. This is generally put down to the eldest child having the undivided attention of the parents in his early years while the younger siblings have to share the attention.

So I often find myself trying to remember what Ben was doing at Jenny's age. When he was three he was already good on the computer. He could use the mouse and find his way around internet sites to play little games. These days, they still like to play on the computer but of course Ben does it all and Jenny watches so she is really getting nothing out of it. This week I forced Ben out of the seat and let Jenny have a go. In just a few minutes she picked it up and was happily clicking away with the mouse. I guess all that time watching Ben wasn't a total waste.

It is interesting to watch the way they develop. In one way Jenny has a disadvantage with Ben in that Ben had my undivided attention when he was a toddler and I just cannot give Jenny the same amount of time. On the other hand, Ben is actually a benefit to Jenny because she does learn from him. He is a little chatterbox so she is always picking up language from him. He also likes to lead her on little games. Ben says Jenny is rubbish at everything except playing - he says she is very good at playing.


In the meantime, the English football season has started. What a disaster! Spurs have lost their first two games and with away to Chelsea coming next week we are at the foot of the table. It is early days and plenty of time to turn it around but I think the notion we might be able to break into the top 4 has already been exploded as nonsense.

I have never really been down on football before. I have always thought football was the best game in the world and never really had any negative thoughts about it. However, I have to admit the way the game has developed over the last few seasons leaves me feeling cold. It is actually the sport's success that is working against it. The sport is now so popular and creating so much money that the game has become secondary. The big money men have come in and their only motivation is profit. The richest clubs have set up the game so that no one else even has a hope of competing with them and most of the players seem to have lost any sense of loyalty to anything except money.

Still I have to say the sport itself is miles better than any other sport in the world so I will still be watching next week.