« Learning body parts | Main | There's more to Mandy than just trouble »
September 17, 2008
It's time to step up the parenting game
Everyone made a big deal out of Mandy learning to walk a few months ago & warned me "this is when it really starts." I didn't think so before she could walk, and I was proven right after she learned. Nothing changed for us. She could crawl so well, and did it so frequently that the only issue was one of speed. We kept the floors cleared of choking hazards, covered the electrical plugs, put rubber bands on the cabinet knobs (yeah, we're fanatics about child-proofing like that) and let her crawl or walk pretty much where ever she wanted. But this week, she's learned how to get on furniture and I think this is where it gets serious. I was on the phone for maybe a minute this morning - it was not a pleasure chat, just a really quick business call - and I was in the room with her. When I turned around, she was sitting on top of the kitchen table, and of all the objects up there, she chose the scissors to play with. She also wants to stand, well bounce, in the kitchen chairs - on top of my ceramic tile floor. She has shown no concern whatsoever for mommy's nerves. The good news is that she learned how to get down from chairs pretty simultaneously. At least I'm not having to rescue her from one chair right after another all day long.
More good news is that she mastered the big tree slide at the toddler play area in Northgate mall. She's been fascinated with it for months, and could climb the stairs easily, but would get to the top & not be able to get down. If you're familiar with it, the shape of it makes it pretty impossible to lean over & help her. I usually just left in frustration after 6 or so tries because nothing else in the area attracted her like that giant tree. But today, I guess from all our "we don't stand in chairs, we only sit in chairs" discussions, I was able to talk her through it - told her "sit" & kept saying "come on" & the next thing I knew, she was sliding down it like a big girl. Even though she proved she could get down it by herself several times, she decided she at least wanted to hold my hand while she slid down for the rest of the morning. Now, if that doesn't pull your heart strings, you're not a mother.
And I decided today was the day we would try self-feeding with a spoon. I strapped on her largest bib - with a pocket at the end - and chose a light colored food (plain applesauce) and let her go at it.
Despite the hundreds of lessons on gravity she received while learning to sit and walk, she was not able to apply those to food on a spoon. She would get some food on the spoon, but turned the spoon upside down right before she got to her mouth. And of course, she had to see what it would feel like if she stuck her whole hand in the applesauce cup, and what would happen if she turned the applesauce cup upside down on the tray. Finally, her desire for a few bites overrode her interest in playing and she handed the spoon to me so I could feed her. I think it was a good first lesson.
| By Wifeepoo | 12:55 PM
