Stay-At-Home Dad: Got boys figured out?
BY HOWARD A. LUDWIG June 14, 2012 11:54AM
Updated: July 18, 2012 6:16AM
The days of gender-neutral toys are largely gone in the Ludwig household.
My 6- and 4-year-old boys still play with crayons and the play kitchen. But Bubba and Peter now exclusively color pictures of Star Wars characters, and the only kitchen utensils that get action are the knives.
Everything I’ve read and all of the experts I’ve spoken with told me this would happen. At a certain point, boys and girls become interested in different things.
That’s not to say some girls don’t love Star Wars and baseball. It’s simply that most girls of this age prefer Justin Bieber and dance recitals.
I know nothing about Bieber Fever, nor can I French-braid hair. However, I’ve become rather familiar with all of the things boys of this age tend to enjoy. So I put together a quick quiz.
Think you know boys and what they like? Here’s your chance to prove it:
1. There are two ninjas in G.I. Joe. One is named Snake Eyes. His blood brother is ...
A. Deadpool
B. Cobra Commander
C. Jackie Chan
D. Storm Shadow
2. A Wii controller has two parts. The remote and the ...
A. Joystick
B. Nunchuk
C. SD card
D. None of the above
3. Firemen, police officers and construction equipment fall under this category of Legos:
A. Lego City
B. Lego Public Works
C. Lego Blue
D. Working Legos
4. All of the following are Star Wars bounty hunters, except:
A. IG-88
B. Boba Fett
C. Cad Bane
D. Trapper Joe Lafont
5. N-Strike is:
A. A strike earned in bumper bowling
B. The kindergarten equivalent of an after-school detention
C. A line of dart guns made by Nerf
D. A swinging strike in T-ball
6. Hot Wheels are to Matchbox cars as:
A. A tyrannosaurus is to a crayon
B. A gummy bear is to a lawn mower
C. A hot rod is to a classic car
D. A DVD is to a temporary tattoo
7. When playing the field in T-ball, it’s common to see all of the following position players wearing helmets, except:
A. Catcher
B. Pitcher
C. First baseman
D. Third baseman
8. When taking a picture, a boy is likely to:
A. Make a silly face
B. Raise his fist in a symbol of defiance
C. Move abruptly, making the camera unable to focus
D. Any or all of the above
9. Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks wears jersey number:
A. 8
B. 88
C. 19
D. 23
10. All of the following are Spider-Man villains, except:
A. Rhino
B. Vulture
C. Two-Face
D. Venom
So how did you do? Check your answers in the key below. I quizzed several moms with boys, and they breezed through my quiz with perfect scores.
I also tested a couple of buddies — both with and without kids. They, too, aced the exam. I’m not surprised, as most men are still boys at heart.
Answer key
1. D. Storm Shadow
2. B. Nunchuk
3. A. Lego City
4. D. Trapper Joe Lafont
5. C. A line of dart guns made by Nerf
6. C. A hot rod is to a classic car
7. D. Third baseman
8. D. Any or all of the above
9. B. 88
10. C. Two-Face
Howard A. Ludwig is a former SouthtownStar business writer who traded his reporter’s notepad for a diaper bag, becoming a stay-at-home dad.
He can be reached at howardaludwig@yahoo.com.
