I’m always amazed at milestone markers and how kids meet them. While not all kids are the same, it’s still amazing to me that the vast majority have been doing the same things at the same times for hundreds of years to the point where our doctors, or articles we read sound like they’re talking about our own child.
This weekend, my Mom and I went for a walk with Kieran in the stroller. After about 15 minutes, he announced, “Me do it”! I asked him if he wanted to get out and walk and he answered, “yeah, okay”. We ever so slooooowwwly meandered about checking out every rock, leaf and spot on the ground. We stopped at every puddle while he seemed to ponder if I could get to him fast enough before he jumped in – luckily, he thought better of it, and we escaped each puddle with nary a wet cuff. As I was walk/standing, I kept telling myself that this walk was for him and to not worry about the pace. My Mom was 10 paces ahead saying, “come on Kieran, let’s see what’s over here” which was actually good because I fear we would still be looking at the same rock right now if we hadn’t diverted his attention to new and exciting things. A water fountain required a stare down for a good 10 minutes and if it weren’t for it being behind a locked gate, I’m sure I would have needed a towel for him at the end of the walk.
Not just a journey. As a parent, we are ever aware of finding a lesson in even the fun things (how boring!) and it gave us a chance to talk about holding hands and looking both ways before crossing the street. A task that he thought meant I would be picking up and swinging him, thus making the walk across the street a bit of a circus act, but we survived.
This morning, I received my email from Babycenter.com announcing a 21 month old milestone and was again amazed at what can only be described as their clarevoyance, check it out:
“Have an hour to kill? Ditch the stroller and let your toddler lead you on a walk around the block. You’ll be amazed at how many times your curious explorer will stop to check out small objects such as an interesting rock, a dead leaf, or a parade of ants. Your toddler isn’t trying to drive you crazy by dawdling. To her, the journey is as exciting as the destination, and the small details of the world are irresistible.”
Now, does anyone else think they might be following me around, per chance stalking us on the weekend? We would love to hear how your child is meeting his/her milestones and what you have found to be funny, amazing, cool (other than everything of course)…
p.s., can you imagine if we received milestone marker emails as adults? Sheesh, that would be a whole new spin on mid-life crisis eh?
lifevents
