31/365: Boys, Trains & Lego

If there's one thing that I feel sorry for my nephew, that's missing the joys of a childhood in the Philippines. Yes, he has his nifty toys -- his favorite choo choo train, the Lego blocks given by godparents, and countless other toys that he's adding to weekly. (His room is shaping up to be a mini Toys 'R' Us outlet.)

But he doesn't have the run of the neighborhood that we had as kids and which my other nephews and nieces in the Philippines are enjoying right now.

Back home, especially in subdivisions and barrios, a kid is literally raised by a community. There's the formal day care school where you bring your Pre-K...and then there's the informal day care center -- the neighbors. You can leave your kid with your neighbor -- who're usually your immediate relatives -- and be certain that they're well cared for.

It's not a perfect society but predators are rare. Everybody knows anybody who sneezes immediately. Your reputation will precede you so the adults know who to leave their kids to and who not to.

I grew up climbing 50-feet tamarind and mango trees, swimming in crystal clear streams, playing tag on rice paddies, and trekking -- on my own -- from my grandparents' home to my parents' (about five blocks away).

We had the run of the neighborhood, literally, and all the adults wherever we went were always on the lookout for our safety and security. I tell you, in a barrio where everybody's a distant relative, you don't get to play naughty. And every day's a play date with the neighborhood kids.

Since I work at home, Li'l Prince only has me as playmate. I frequently get sidetracked from my work and end up scrambling to meet deadlines, but my heart just goes out for the wee one so I end up entertaining him -- playing Lego, rebuilding his train tracks, and watching Mickey Mouse on YouTube (on my laptop, incidentally).

I wish he could go out more and play with kids his age but there are just no kids of Pre-K age in our neighborhood. And well, it's a busy street and our neighbors are adults and often at work.

He does go to nearby parks, but only on weekends and when his parents have free time. Me, I can't go far from my work station because new work orders trickle in throughout the day and I have to respond to them quickly, so I can't bring him myself.

Growing up in America isn't all the fun and games that we saw in all those movies when we were growing up. I'm discovering that the perspective from a 40something's vantage point is different from that of a tyke with tunnel vision.