Let's be honest, just because Junia started crawling this week doesn't mean we went from having a baby who never moved to having a world traveller. She was scooting, rolling, shimmy-ing all over the place before she figured out the crawling thing. But it's true we are now at a new level. It's a fine balance, I think, between protection and freedom. I think that kids need to be able to explore their surroundings, figure out how gravity works, make mistakes, and be all over the place. I also think taht things very quickly into a bookshelf overturned, broken pieces of glass, or even choking on that tag in the corner. So now there is a new kind of assessment going on in my mind, "how much will it hurt if it lands on her head, or how likely is she to suddenly turn her head and wack herself on that corner etc. THis is basically how I am proceeding. We were at church today and Junia was not happy in our arms. Were were the only people in our phew. And basically pews, kneelers, and hymnal holders are a giant corner, head wack mess. Except that none of them were super sharp, super hard, or any worse than any of the other furniture she is pretty much around all the time. And, she wasn't moving around a lot, or very fast, and was pretty content. So I figured it was worth the risk. The movie? Here we have Junia exploring Maggie's water and food bowl. Now we cannot deprive Maggie of food and water because Junia can crawl. And, Junia LOVES water, bowls, and cups and stuff. So then the question...with supervision what is worth fighting?
I am there with you! This has been our conundrum lately and I get a LOT of dirty lots and comments for letting T do things like eat dirt and crawl/cruise everywhere with some supervision. He's learned how to fall though (on his solid, padded diaper butt) and so he rarely ends up hurt)...but playing in the dogs' water bowls and food bowls (as well as trying to eat some kibble) is a bit gross, not to mention not so pleasant for the dogs.
ReplyDeleteIt's a whole new world though--and so exciting to have a child that partially entertains themselves :D Next time you guys are in IL, maybe we could get the kids together for a play date if you have time?