Surviving Exploration

We just ended a wonderful but exhausting month with my grandson Tyler.  

We were blessed because he spent the month of August with us in New York. 

 I also learned a whole lot about little people - I guess I forgot what my four were like! 

Driving the rig!

Climbing the mountains!

Chilling on the anchor.

What happens when toilet paper meets water

The woods are full of moss and sticks.

Granbee Time

At the zoo.

Tyler is creation on feet.  He is also building, experimenting and learning and with that comes a testing of just how far will Gran let him go.  I quickly came to a realization that parenting is quite stressful.  After working a day job I would come home to an overjoyed child who just wanted to "DO".  I learned to see the joy and happiness in his antics instead of frustration, and I learned the terrible twos are really terrific twos.

Tunnels are for crawling in - again and again and again.........

Learning to share and play with others.

A balancing act.

We all fall down - into soft ground up rubber shreds.

One big robot. 

Tyler is 2 1/2 yrs. old.  He, like other children, started this exploration phase about 1 1/2 yrs. ago.  We survived the toys in the mouth pretty easily but once he began to walk things got different.  If you think about it, much of their day is surrounded by learning just what they can and can't do.  Learning to walk, feed themselves, touching things, climbing on and climbing under.  This is all very very natural and is how our children learn and grow.

Is your house set up to provide safety as well as letting your little one explore?

Children are at risk for poisoning, falling down steps, and off furniture or getting an electric shock.  When we see them in danger we react - yelling, grabbing, or even just removing him from the danger.  BUT has he learned not to do what he was not supposed to be doing?  Not always so when he goes back to what he was doing he appears to be defiant when he is actually not aware of the danger.

Sometimes (as what happened when Tyler was here) a child will be so well behaved when with others only to have a melt down when alone with us. I'd look at Doug and say --"why?" the honeymoon period is over... He was comfortable with us and two weeks into his stay he let us know.  At first it looked like he was being naughty and deliberately disobeying me.  But I knew that wasn't true - well most of the time anyway.

SO, what can you do .....
1. Make you home safe
2. Have a special area not as a punishment place but somewhere she or the two of you can go to if a melt down is eminent.
3. Have containers of "exploring" toys that she doesn't see or use often.
4. Provide a safe environment that will allow climbing, jumping, throwing.
5. Have different activities that allow her to learn new behaviors or skills.
6. Note how a preschool is set up.  A dress up corner, a block corner, a craft area.
7. Make time for yourself
8.  Know you limits - tired, hungry, stressed
9.  Call a friend.

10. and something I learned during my time with Tyler. Teach a positive behavior before the negative one arrises. We talked about his loud voice when he was being quite and we were playing, we talked about the dangers of running ahead of me in the parking lot, and we learned to sit still.  Not easy but doable.  By the time he left he was actually able to sit for an entire story.