Wired

From about four months to four years of age, children are wiring in competency. Through exploring their environment, they learn the valuable lesson of cause and effect, er, the natural consequences of their actions. Miles knows that when he presses the big red plastic button, a cow sound comes out or that dog hair is a tasty treat. The more difficult experiences for a parent to patiently observe are the teetering falls, bumps to the head, and frustration that is created when he is trying hard to figure something out but it isn't happening. When a baby is interrupted from doing something that a parent deems unsafe (or inconvenient?), he wires in that mommy must know that he isn't capable of doing that particular thing right. When mommy or daddy regularly pull baby back off of activities for whatever reason, he understands that what he wants to do isn't what he should be doing. His body begins to try to work for someone else's mind-no easy feat. (Have you ever tried to tailor your actions in order to get a favorable response from someone?) This is a sensitive lesson that has caused us to put away everything that is unsafe for Miles so that we don't have to pull him away from anything at all. We want him to feel competent at everything he tries and accomplishes. There is a very wise woman who I will soon link to who has said that if you are afraid that your hardwood floors could be dangerous for your little one, MOVE. As an adult, the person who was controlled or hovered about often has a fragmented way of going about tasks. Moving from A to B proves most difficult. Now, what did I come into the office for?