It’s been interesting watching my son develop skills in his own way, and learning to slide has shown me again a glimpse into his distinctive personality.
Nicky and I were both late walkers. I only walked at 19 months, while Nicky beat me at 17 months. I think we are both the kind of people who like to be very sure of ourselves first before launching into some endeavor requiring balance.
Slides have, up until now, been a bit of a challenge. I have been able to put him on, hold him and let him slide down, and then make sure I am there at the bottom to catch him. We don’t go to playgrounds a lot, so I guess he hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to practice.
Anyway, my mother’s visit seems to have prompted a bit of a growth spurt in Nicky. We all trooped off to the park on Monday (the public holiday) and he ran around between the equipment having fun. Last time we went he enjoyed going up and down the stairs. This time he tackled the slide.
He sat at the top rather cautiously. We all shouted our encouragement, and low and behold, he slid down. Happy with his success, he did it again and again.
He even slid down on his tummy!
He went sideways too!
He later attempted a slide for older children. He climbed all the way up but decide this was a bit too much for one day and climbed down again. I guess he knows when to cut his losses and pace himself.
Here is a video of Nicky sliding:
These are my tips if you want your toddler to slide:
1) Get the grandparents to visit.
2) Offer up lots of encouragement at relevant moments.
3) Make sure you are at the bottom just in case.
4) Be patient: they will slide when they are ready.
Nicky also loves the rocking horse which I remember being one of my favorites at preschool. Here he is having fun with DH right before he hit his head!
Due to a few past failures on the swings he cried a bit when we tried again but then loved it when we got going. I guess past bad experiences do make you cautious.
In the afternoon he showed off his kicking skills with grandpa.
I can only be extremely proud of my little boy and the way he is learning and growing into such a capable little human.
How much fun! Those firsts are great to treasure as they grow up so fast!
What a sweet parallel you made between his personality and yours. I like to be sure of things too. 🙂 Congrats to your cute little man on this sweet milestone!
YAY!!! He is growing and it looks like he will be one very cautious gentleman
Isn’t it fantastic, watching toddlers develop! You can almost see those brain connections being made. So cool.