Baby Steps

Talk about being first time parent.

My 21/2 year old boy, like any other toddler in his age, is on full-throttle discovery mode – reaching, grabbing, pinching, tossing, throwing, rolling, dropping, pushing and pulling anything his hand can grab hold.

So imagine my absolute horror when he started to squeeze between me and the kitchen sink while I was mundanely washing our dishes with ceramic plates and knives. Not to be overly concerned about breaking the ceramic plate, I was more worried at the thought of him getting hurt by falling dishes or sharp edges of knives.

“Washy,” his small voice went.

“No, Zek. This is not safe for you. We will play after I finish, OK?”.

He went away and came back after a while.

“Washy,” he eagerly repeated.

“Sorry, Zek. When you grow older then you can do this,” I assured him.

And he sadly moved away.

Pondering at his intention, I recall the times whenever my son will pull me by the hand to anywhere he is playing. Afterwards, he will give me one of his toys on hand or show me his new gimmicks with his toy.

“Thank you,” this he always says when you accept anything he shares to you.
“Cheers…,” this he says when he wants his toy on hand to touch his given toy to you (as in bottle toasting). Then he proceeds to play with you.

That is his routine invitation to me.Now, it seems he just wants me to invite him while I am busy at “play”.My wife noticed my trivial look at our son and she further explained to me that our growing son now wants to play, learn and do things together.“He feels safe and confident doing things under our supervision,” she affirmed.

I couldn’t have agreed more.

Nowadays, if my son comes squeezing again while I do the dishes, then I let him wash the dishes with me (mind you, I still remove the sharp and easily breakable objects). I also scrub the table with him whenever he wants too. This also means additional minutes to my chores and less time for my rest but it is nary a concern for me now. My son wants these moments to be with me and have fun.

No amount of rest can replace seeing his sparkling eyes beam with enjoyment while playing with his father.

Fear or Fun?
With our Zek, I learned that the wiser choice is cautious fun.

This is one of my baby-step parenthood experiences.