Two Year-Old Triplets, A Bunch Of Joy And Trouble

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Monday September 20, 2010 00:00

 

The three boys are named Marvin, Melvin and Mervin. They have grown considerably since then. They are up and running now. 

The triplets have turned the Bantom household into a beehive of activity.  At times, it just resembles a mad house. Gavin's wife, Michelle, says the three boys mean trouble.  'They are quite troublesome.  They can destroy everything in the house,' says their mother.  She says the trio can be nice but occasionally they go mad.

Michelle says when she goes to work, the triplets remain with their father.  But when he is with them, he has to keep a watchful eye. 

Gavin recalls one incident when he left the boys unattended for a while and they shattered the television set.  'You can see the TV now,' he says, pointing at the damage that has been inflicted by his sons.   

He shows me a picture on his cell phone in which one of the triplets is hanging on a window.  He says three boys like climbing the windows and doing other mischievous things.

'But Melvin is a tsotsi,' he says.  He says Melvin is always acting like a good boy and using the other two chaps to cause havoc. He notes that Melvin is the ring leader, always pushing others into misbehaving.

'Melvin knows he will get a hiding. He will get someone to commit the offence.  He knows what is right and wrong,' says Gavin. 

'Bra these kids give trouble,' Gavin continues. 'If you leave them alone and it becomes quite, you should know that they are up to something'.

Once in a while, the triplets fight amongst themselves. 'They like beating up Marvin.  Marvin is a soft guy,' says his father.

Gavin says although the three guys behave differently, they are copycats.  'Mervin is the worst copycat,' he says.

Marvin though looks set to follow in his father's footsteps. The little guy likes to sing. 

Melvin likes fighting and dancing. As for Mervin, his father says, is a bookworm. 'He likes reading'.

'If you give a book to the other two, it will be torn apart in no time.  But this guy will just be paging through the book,' he says. 

Marvin is also sickly. His mother says at one stage he suffered from a fits attack.

It is costly for a family to maintain just one baby.  But when there are three, the costs are enormous.  This is what the Bantoms have to cope with.

'It is very expensive to maintain them because they have started eating,' says their mother.

Michelle says it is also difficult to get the boys out of the nappies. 'When you teach one to use the toilet, the other two push him out,' she says. 

Michelle has also found it difficult to find helpers. She says they cannot cope with triplets. 

Fortunately for the family, the triplets have been admitted at a day care centre in Mogoditshane. Michelle says the owners of Thuto Kindergarten have offered the triplets space at her day centre for free.  'Imagine school fees for a day centre is more than P2,000 per term for one child and somebody has offered to take our triplets for free,' she says in a gratefully manner.

Michelle mentions her mother, Lorato Bagwasi, as one person who has been supportive to help them raise their children.  She says Bagwasi who works in Jwaneng, checks on the boys regularly. 

'If one of the boys is not well, she will be here in no time.  I don't know how I would be coping without her support,' says Michelle.