SIDON, Lebanon: As the school year draws to a close, parents are starting to make good on the promises they made to their children in exchange for academic achievement.

Over the years, gifts given by parents to their children to reward them for success in school have evolved from simple trifles to big-ticket items.

In the past, a student who passed his exams would dream of receiving a football or a hunting trip with his father as a gift, but in the age of globalization and technology, video games, computer and other electronics are the go-to gifts.

Issam Hakim holds his son Mohammad’s hand as they wander in and out of electronic stores, in search of a computer, his reward for receiving a certificate of high distinction in first grade.

“Everything has changed. In the past, we used to dream of buying a football to play with outside the house or in the orchard, but today everything is done on computers,” Hakim said.

Ahmad Jammal was spared the difficulty of choosing a gift as his son had already decided his reward would be a membership in a leisure club that features a variety of games and trips, as well as activities like swimming and horseback riding.

“We are living in a time that’s very different from our time,” Jammal said, lamenting the days when his gift for succeeding in school required kissing his grandmother’s hand to get money and sweets.

But not everything has changed. Bicycles still attract children’s attention and remain a popular gift for students to enjoy during the summer vacation.

Dozens of shops in the southern coastal city Sidon decorate their entrances with bicycles. According to one shop owner, Youssef Ghamloush, bicycles are fashionable gifts and students enjoy riding them now more than ever, as bicycles have become more complex and there are more choices.

According to Ghamloush, parents prefer buying bicycles for their children as they range in price from LL40,000 to LL300,000, making them affordable for all segments of society.

There is also a sense of nostalgia that seems to push parents toward bicycles. Hussein Khatib stands bewildered in front of hundreds of kinds and sizes of bicycles on display, trying to choose three for his sons. “Of course there are electronic games at home and a computer as well, but a bicycle has a beautiful meaning and it reminds me of the past,” he said.

Samer Zibawi also strongly supports buying a bicycle for children for their success in school. “Let them have fun like we used to in the past,” Zibawi said, adding that although his three children have a computer, their gifts for academic excellence were bicycles.

Another popular gift are pets. Yehia Hbeish, the owner of a petshop, says that many parents pick out dogs, cats or even parrots and hamsters for their children.

“These hamsters … are brought in from abroad, and they play and exercise on wheels,” Hbeish said.