Your Toddler This Week

When I was pregnant with boy boys, I subscribed to a weekly newsletter that would update me on how my pregnancy was progressing.  “Your baby is the size of a lemon/head of cabbage/soccer ball,” it would advise me.  “Now, your baby can sense light,” would be an exciting read.  These pregnancy updates would then turn into baby updates, toddler updates, and for Jacob, preschool updates.  It’s still fun to get these weekly emailed to me to compare my children’s development to what I should expect or help push along. 

Last week was an interesting laugh when I read the “Toddler This Week” email:

By now your toddler may be able to climb up stairs, turn around and sit at the top, then scoot her way back down. Some more cautious toddlers may climb the stairs but call for help to get back down. Sign up your child for a toddler tumbling class where she can climb and balance on soft play structures without getting hurt. Or make your own play area at home: Stack pillows on top of a mattress or futon on the floor to make a pint-size climbing course.

Ok, so…all that time my toddler was climbing on the air purifier, the kitchen tables, etc…did that really happen? And now I’m being advised to sign up for a toddler tumbling class so he won’t get hurt…Interesting.  So, we are a little off the mark on this. 

Then, I receive this week’s email entitled, “Why all the bonks and bruises?”  Fitting that I just received one last week urging me to sign him up for a tumbling class, eh?  Then, I read it:

Bruises, scrapes, and even broken bones happen — especially to 4-year-olds, for some very good reasons. For one thing, preschoolers spend a lot of time being active and working on new skills. At the same time, their judgment and memory are not fully developed. Your child winds up taking risks — cycling too fast downhill, attempting to jump off something that's too high — without even realizing it.

I had to reread it a few more times, pausing at the “especially to 4-year-old” part – this was for my Preschooler, NOT my Toddler?!  Interesting…again, we are a little off the mark on this since it’s my Toddler walking around sporting the Black Eye and not my Preschooler. It's my Toddler that runs right into the corner of an opened door, puts his hand to his head, and keeps on running.  It's my Toddler that tackles his brother, knocking both of them from the couch to the floor, and arises as the only one laughing. He only has one speed:  FAST FORWARD...and nothing or no one is going to stop him.