Rascal is 16 months old now. About 16 and a half if you want to be finicky. She has always been extremely cautious about everything, but lately this seems to have gone out the window as far as going 'up' is concerned. She has just discovered climbing. Now I know that many children discover this very early on, but remember that Rascal has always been extremely cautious. Just recently, she decided that the footstool of my rocking chair, which also rocks, was an interesting place to climb. She climbs up on it and rocks dangerously, and Mummy, who isn't used to such stunts of daredevil level, holds her breath most of the time! One time, she rocked a bit to ferociously and off she came, head-first into the cot, which is a lovely soft landing spot, NOT! There were tears and Mummy admits to saying "I told you so." She still goes on it though, so apparently not fazed!
This morning, Daddy was sitting on the bed, tying his shoelaces. Rascal was sitting in an empty suitcase that has been there since I returned from a trip over a month ago. She loves this thing and sits in there to read her books. Anyway, the next second he knows, Rascal is sitting on the bed next to him. She now climbs onto the bed.
All this climbing is great and I am gradually adjusting to it, but the problem is, no matter how hard and how long I have been trying to teach her to turn around to go down, it just doesn't seem to be getting through. For months I have been reminding her to turn around, turning her around physically and helping her to learn how to do it. She was on the bed a few weeks ago and refused to turn around when Daddy was telling her to, so I said 'just let her go so she knows what happens when she doesn't turn around.' (Note that our bed isn't high, but a lower design). So he let her go. She dove off head-first. And kept crawling in the direction she wanted to go. No hesitation. No injury. Great lesson learning! So whereas climbing is one thing, I am waiting for the day that she head-dives off something too tall and seriously injures herself.... though I hope it never happens.
It's funny how, as a mother, you have to readjust your mindset every few weeks or months. Once they start rolling, you can't leave them somewhere they could roll off. Once they crawl, you have to move everything dangerous away on the floor. Then they stand and you have to move everything the next level up and so on. It is a constant readjustment of attitude and thought. But I guess that's the challenge! And most of us rise to it with very little injury to ourselves. And, amazingly, very little injury to the babies!
Libby :)
This morning, Daddy was sitting on the bed, tying his shoelaces. Rascal was sitting in an empty suitcase that has been there since I returned from a trip over a month ago. She loves this thing and sits in there to read her books. Anyway, the next second he knows, Rascal is sitting on the bed next to him. She now climbs onto the bed.
All this climbing is great and I am gradually adjusting to it, but the problem is, no matter how hard and how long I have been trying to teach her to turn around to go down, it just doesn't seem to be getting through. For months I have been reminding her to turn around, turning her around physically and helping her to learn how to do it. She was on the bed a few weeks ago and refused to turn around when Daddy was telling her to, so I said 'just let her go so she knows what happens when she doesn't turn around.' (Note that our bed isn't high, but a lower design). So he let her go. She dove off head-first. And kept crawling in the direction she wanted to go. No hesitation. No injury. Great lesson learning! So whereas climbing is one thing, I am waiting for the day that she head-dives off something too tall and seriously injures herself.... though I hope it never happens.
It's funny how, as a mother, you have to readjust your mindset every few weeks or months. Once they start rolling, you can't leave them somewhere they could roll off. Once they crawl, you have to move everything dangerous away on the floor. Then they stand and you have to move everything the next level up and so on. It is a constant readjustment of attitude and thought. But I guess that's the challenge! And most of us rise to it with very little injury to ourselves. And, amazingly, very little injury to the babies!
Libby :)
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