My little bubs is becoming quite the adventurer these days, grabbing hold of anything he can get his paws on. While he is having lots of fun satisfying his curiosity, it can be rather nerve wrecking for us as, at times, as he puts himself or the object of his affection, in danger.
It is at these times that we try to get him interested in something else, the so called “re-direct” response. “I know you want to play with Mommy’s books but Mommy’s books are not for playing with. Here, you can play with your book.” I learnt this from the play therapy course I did: Acknowledge the feeling, Communicate the limit and Target an alternative (ACT).
Standing in pursuit of Mommy’s books
On the surface this seems like a good idea, but there are all sorts of contributing factors to make the scenario more complicated. For instance he did his first unassisted stand trying to get to my books. Now, that is praise worthy.
Also, some of his books are so chewed on now it is getting to the point where he gets cardboard in his mouth (another danger) so we have to re-direct again (to another book that is less chewed). He also loves the tissue box and has chewed a hole in that. But last night we let him play with it because he was straining so insistently and crying. And then the look of joy while he explored it (without chewing) was just priceless.
And what do you do about TV? Nicky is normally quite good at playing with his toys while it is on, but there are times when he just stares. So what’s a mom to do? Re- direct him to another screen, I am ashamed to say. Thank you MomAgain@40 for this app of animals that change shape as you touch them, he squeals with delight! The only problem is that doesn’t last long before he wants to eat my IPad. And so the re-direct begins again.
There are times when re -direct is not going to work and you just have to say a firm quick “No!” before disaster occurs. That’s like this morning when I am trying to make coffee with Nicky on my hip and he is trying to put his hands in the sugar. I used to wait till he was sleeping to do this, but these days I need my caffeine fix earlier.
Nicky still loves bottles but these days his old ones are boring and he prefers our ones that are new with cold liquids in them. This was fine till he figured out how to open them and we had ice tea all over the bed.
In conclusion I think you have to be pretty flexible as a parent, balancing safety and allowing your little one the exploration he needs. It’s all just part of the joys and challenges of watching him grow up.
I just love that he has that interest in books already! So sweet! Even if it is just chewing on them! Hahaha!
Ja I know…. I’m hoping for a reader…
When my daughter was little, we bought a few books for her that were for bathtub use. The great thing was that they were waterproof, so she could chew on them to her heart’s content without any issues.
It is impossible not to be excited about the first unassisted stand – no matter what off limits thing is being reached for at the time.
Hi from ICLW! I saw the picture of your little one and thought, “Hey, he looks close to G’s age” and realized you also commented on my blog 🙂 G is almost 13 months; he was born the end of March.
Redirecting! I am trying to consciously do this as my first reaction is to say “No” which I know isn’t a great thing to hear all the time. Sometimes it works and sometimes I just have to actually carry him away from whatever it is G really, really, REALLY wants.
g likes to chew on my iphone. And throw it. Right now, when he is content to just sit quitely with it, he is interested in swiping between screens. I have a feeling I’m going to need to look into some kid friendly apps soon 🙂
Hi from ICLW. Oh how I love acronyms. ACT – got it! The other acronym I’ve picked up is EASY: Eat, Activity, Sleep, You. It helps to have these things broken down into short form for my sleep deprived brain. (My 9 mo daughter is a great eater, not so much for the sleeping.) Love the pic of your boy. I totally echo what you said about flexibility for safety and curiosity both. It is all about balance!
Well done on the unassisted stand and I completely agree with you about finding that balance between safety and exploration. I think it’s different for every child and every parent.
I Know! Nice Article! Thanks for sharing!