The Hat Says it All

This young boy is older than his years and potentially a time bomb. He dabbled with Thomas the Tank Engine and CeeBeebies for a while but suddenly leapt from a cute 4 year old to a pre-teen.

Having a brother nine years older didn't help. Not prepared to play 'baby' games, he would sneak into his room and 'borrow' his XBox games - unknown to us until we heard the rapid fire of a COD machine gun blaring from his room. Many fights and tears later, we were forced to put a keypad lock on his brothers door.

A year or so later, a skateboard, scooter and BMX bike appeared. Trips to the local skatepark with his brother resulted in hanging out with teenagers who thought he was a 'cool kid' and taught him how to do tricks and gave him the nickname Little Dude.

Little Dude is very cute, has a charming smile and a wicked sense of humour - according to outsiders who know him well. He has dozens of friends constantly calling on him to pay out. It's nice to know he is popular and well behaved when he has to be. He still has lots of cuddly toys in his bed too.

He is now 8 and a half years old. Listens to Death Metal on his iTouch, plays age inappropriate XBox games - (as do most of his school friends), drops the bowl like a pro and will wear only black skinny jeans with Nike Hi Tops.

I love him dearly, but know he is going to cause me many years of worry as he gets older and wants more freedom. He already pushes the boundaries to their limits. This boy will need careful handling. I sense he would think nothing of packing a bag and taking off on an adventure without a backward glance.

They say having a son takes eight years off a mothers life. I reckon this one will be more like 16.