Three-year-old has passion for branding
May 17, 2018
Name a country and little Eric-Michael Jackman will produce its flag if it’s in his growing home collection.
The three-year-old allure started last December during a Caribbean cruise with his parents.
“Our first port of call was Puerto Rico and he asked for a flag of that country,” Erica Henry-Jackman, a destination marketing & brand development consultant, said. “It was the same when we got to St. Maarten and St. Kitts. We love to travel and everywhere we have gone, he asks for a flag of that country.”
In the last five months, the boy’s knowledge and familiarity have been enhanced by watching YouTube videos.
He can match nearly 130 flags with their countries.
“If he doesn’t have a flag, he makes one,” said his mother. “He draws flags. When doing the alphabet, he attaches a country to every letter. During March break, we bought a set of mini flags for him and he was ecstatic. Anytime a visitor comes to the home, he goes to his collection and start asking them to name the country associated with the flag.”
The United Kingdom’s Union Jack is Jackman’s favourite.
Flags aren’t his only captivation.
When Jackman goes to a mall, he easily identifies car brands.
“He knows every logo of every car,” said Henry-Jackman, a former Antigua & Barbuda director of tourism in Toronto. “He just has a very keen sense of branding and symbols.”
Turning four in July, the Montessori student who sings the Canadian anthem in English and French and the American anthem in English, has other interests.
Close to his flag collection is a judge chambers with his chair, robe, gavel and Legos which he lines up as the defence and prosecution when his court is in session.
Outfitted as a judge last Halloween, he enjoys watching Judges Mathis and Judy.
“When I asked him recently what he wants to be when he grows up, he said the Canadian ambassador to the United States,” Henry-Jackman, who has a Master of Public Policy, Administration & Law from York University, said. “Who knows? Maybe, he may become a United Nations Tribunal judge because of his passion for countries.”
