eight-year-old son -- but this Sunday will be very special because it will be the first he celebrates since the arrival of their quintuplets, Raziya, Makiri, Dakarai, Makesi and Marjani.

To be catapulted from a family of three to a family of eight takes a lot of getting used to, and Mr. Smith is the first to admit that it hasn't been easy for many reasons -- not least the loss of privacy, stretching a paycheque eight ways instead of three, and adverse public opinion.

Like all good parents, however, Troy Smith wouldn't swop fatherhood for anything. In fact, he delights in all of his children.

"It's beautiful to have them,'' he said. "The babies are developing their own personalities now. Each day you see something new, that's the fun part.'' And the hardest part? Ensuring that each child grows up not only aware of its siblings but also genuinely caring for them, and having a strong a sense of family.

"We want the babies to understand that there will always be five of them and they must look out for one another and help each other in life. For now, we put one next to another and say, `See, that is your brother', or, `That is your sister'. Later on, when they are in school for example, if one is good at mathematics and another is better at English, we want them to help each other.'' Sharing is another quality he and his wife will develop in their children, along with patience.

"We are not rich and they are not going to have everything their way in life, so they must learn to share,'' Mr. Smith said. "And they are going to have to learn patience because Robin and I cannot give 100 percent attention to one child. We have to divide our attention between six, so they will have to be understanding.'' With the understandable fuss and commotion over the quintuplets, the Smiths also take special care to see that their oldest son, Ayinde, doesn't feel left out.

"You have to find time for him, hard though it may be sometimes, because you never how an eight-year-old feels. Robin and I also try to involve him with the babies. For instance, when we each hold one, he holds one too. We make him feel like the big brother.

"In addition, he has loving grandparents who do a lot for him and make sure that he gets special care.'' Knowing that their lives would change dramatically once the quints arrived, Mr. Smith explained the significance of the impending changes to Ayinde, and took extra care to see that a special fuss was made of his last Christmas before they arrived.

Like all fathers with families, Troy Smith knows only too well the full measure of his responsibilities, yet he doesn't shrink from them.

"It is good being a father,'' he said "I always wanted a big family, but not at one time! It's hard, but it's also going to be a beautiful experience for my wife and me. Life is a gift.'' In today's world, where so many children lack discipline and moral values, Mr.

Smith intends to provide a strong guiding hand.

"Babies come into the world knowing nothing. It is up to parents to teach them a good way of life. I believe in God, so I want them to believe in God, and to know that there is a God. Once you get them to know that, life will be better,'' he said.

The Smith children will also be taught respect for their parents and elders, how to value whatever they have, and to be obedient.

"You have to realise in this life that you have got to take orders,'' Mr.

Smith said. "If you can't take orders from your mamma and daddy, how can you take orders from a boss? If you are being paid to do a job you have to do what the boss asks. To make anything in life work, you must have patience. There will be good times and bad times.

"As they grow, the babies will learn, just as Ayinde is learning, to take responsibility for their actions. If you do something wrong you have to be corrected. That's life. If you don't correct children as they grow, the next correction is Casemates and we certainly don't want that.'' Though the Smiths (who were childhood sweethearts) have often asked themselves, since the quints' birth, `Why us?' they feel that the children are a gift from God, who will answer their question in time. Meanwhile, they take each day at a time, and young though the couple are, they try to do their best by the children.

"But because we are young we don't pretend to know everything,'' Mr. Smith admitted. "We still take advice from our parents because they are older and have been through what we are going through.'' He admits that, as a groundsman at Devonshire Recreation Club who works on his own, he benefits from the "luxury'' of being alone with his thoughts for most of the day, whereas there is little relief -- or privacy -- for his wife, who shares the daily care of the quints with three shifts of nannies. So he tries to set aside a little cash from his wages so that she can "buy the little things that women like to buy''.

When it comes to cooking, there is harmony. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith and their oldest son are vegetarians. In time, the quintuplets will be raised the same way. A moot point will be whether the children follow the mother, who eats fish and eggs, or the father, who does not.

Their lifestyle is compatible with Mr. Smith's beliefs as a Rastafarian, which he describes not as a religion but a way of life.

"Rastas are naturalists, and that is what I try to be -- as close to the earth as possible,'' he explained.

Shunning all junk food, including sodas and candies, as well as pastas ("they are man-made, not natural''), Mr. Smith's diet consists of vegetables, fruit, brown rice, tofu, nuts and beans. And if that sounds boring, he assures that it isn't -- thanks to vegetarian cookbooks, a range of spices, and imagination.

"In any case, I eat to live, not live to eat,'' he noted.

CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION -- Mr. Troy Smith (centre) is looking forward to celebrating his first Father's Day with the quintuplets on Sunday as well as his son Ayinde (left). At right is his wife Robin.