Maegan always had a fascination with kiddie rides, and it wasn't something we started her on. One day when she was about 10 months old, she saw a child on a Barney ride in United Square and since then, she has been hooked on them.

It all started pretty innocently because we decided to let her try it one day, after seeing how she was so taken by them. So on the Barney ride she went, while her parents plonked in the $1 coin and as the ride started moving, with the Barney music playing along, Maegan's hands automatically took to the steering wheel of the ride, and she started turning it like a Formula One driver.

Round and round the wheel went, as Maegan's hands took control, and she even managed to bop along to the music, while coordinating her turning skills. My husband and I had quite separate reactions then. "Wow, she drives like me," my husband commented with his face all lighted up.

I was holding onto every bit of Maegan hoping she wouldn't fall due to her eager movements, and thinking to myself: "How do we pull her out of the ride later, if she's enjoying it so much now?"

True enough, even when the ride stopped moving, Maegan still took control of the wheel and was quite happy to sit in a stationery kiddie ride, enjoying being able to turn a steering wheel that fits her palms.

We were rather frantic, looking at the number of kids that were keen to get onto the ride, waiting their turn patiently by the side.

Well, we had to wrench Maegan off the Barney ride that day, and came away from it all unscarred, minus a bout of loud protesting from her, and several attempts to run back to the other rides that were placed in a row.

From that day on, we struck a bargain with her and told her: "Daddy and Mummy only have one coin, so you have to choose the ride you want, and when it's all done, we have to leave."

It worked for a while and she understood the concept. Sometimes when the rides were empty, we let her sit on it for a while longer and she understood that extra time too.

Over the weekend, we headed to Great World City and my helper tried to position Maegan such that she couldn't catch a sight of the rides all huddled in one corner. Unfortunately the sound of the music from the rides did nothing to help and she very quickly turned towards them.

"Ooooo, more," she shouted and pointed straight towards the ride. We knew what that meant and walked towards it. She chose the Bob the builder ride, all bright cheery yellow and because she sits on the rides so often, her father taught her the skill of placing the $1 coin into the slot.

After the ride ended, she wanted more and because there were five other machines in that area, she hopped from one to the other. She even managed to share a ride (dual-seating) with another Caucasian toddler whose father was happy for her to sit in with his daughter.

As for her parents, we had plonked ourselves for some cheesecake next to these rides, and were content to let the rides take her time and ours. After all, how often do we get a quiet moment enjoying our desserts, in full view of our happy child being entertained, without having to spend more than a dollar?