With Baby D being fully mobile and crawling or cruising to wherever his fancy takes him (inside the house), we are no longer able to simply carry him away from wherever he shouldn't be. Of late it seemed like we were saying "No" a lot to him. Mommy D thought it might be nice to tell him the "why" for the "no".
So we ended up saying three words a lot - "bad" - when it was bad to do something, like stealing Daddy D's spectacles. "Dirty" - for when he was putting in his mouth something he shouldn't like slippers or shoes. "Dangerous" for things that might hurt him or that he might hurt. With Mommy D having recently unearthed her living room decoration pieces, a lot of them glass or ceramic, or pottery, Baby D heard "dangerous" no matter where he crawled.
At first he thought it was all a good joke. Whenever he grabbed a slipper, Mommy D would say "a - a, no, dirty dirty". This would make Baby D laugh, but he would drop the offending slipper anyway and course correct.
"Dangerous" has had some unexpected ramifications. There's this earthenware brightly coloured vase with a lot of artificial flowers in it that wave around under the ceiling fan. Naturally Baby D wants to find out what makes them tick. Mommy D, concerned he would tip the vase on him told him firmly "dangerous". Baby D paid heed. For a few days he just stopped short of the vase and tried talking to it. By and by, his curiosity got the better of him. But every advance he made was met with "dangerous". Baby D rebelled and cried but didn't go against instructions. Mommy D thought to put the vase away altogether.
When Mommy D and Baby D went for their usual evening walk they came across these pretty white flowers that normally Baby D wouldn't have had hesitated to pluck right away. This time though he reached his hand out, then stopped short, then reached out again, trying to make up his mind. This wrenched at Mommy D's heart. She doesn't want a tentative baby who second guesses his decisions.
Mommy D has decided to let Baby D explore as he pleases. The vase stays, but when Baby D decides to investigate, Mommy D holds it steady to avoid accidents. It does mean that the half withered artificial flowers would probably be gone earlier than they would have if Baby D hadn't taken a fancy to them. But we have a happier baby who wreaks havoc in the living room. The photo frame of the engagement pic is likely to meet an early demise. The books are likely going to be "read" cover from cover and the Scrabble letters have had to be hidden, being clearly a choking hazard.
Baby D still isn't allowed to eat slippers though. He doesn't really pay attention to "bad" and steals spectacles whenever he can. Mommy D is amazed she has had to take sophisticated parenting decisions this early in life.
So we ended up saying three words a lot - "bad" - when it was bad to do something, like stealing Daddy D's spectacles. "Dirty" - for when he was putting in his mouth something he shouldn't like slippers or shoes. "Dangerous" for things that might hurt him or that he might hurt. With Mommy D having recently unearthed her living room decoration pieces, a lot of them glass or ceramic, or pottery, Baby D heard "dangerous" no matter where he crawled.
At first he thought it was all a good joke. Whenever he grabbed a slipper, Mommy D would say "a - a, no, dirty dirty". This would make Baby D laugh, but he would drop the offending slipper anyway and course correct.
"Dangerous" has had some unexpected ramifications. There's this earthenware brightly coloured vase with a lot of artificial flowers in it that wave around under the ceiling fan. Naturally Baby D wants to find out what makes them tick. Mommy D, concerned he would tip the vase on him told him firmly "dangerous". Baby D paid heed. For a few days he just stopped short of the vase and tried talking to it. By and by, his curiosity got the better of him. But every advance he made was met with "dangerous". Baby D rebelled and cried but didn't go against instructions. Mommy D thought to put the vase away altogether.
When Mommy D and Baby D went for their usual evening walk they came across these pretty white flowers that normally Baby D wouldn't have had hesitated to pluck right away. This time though he reached his hand out, then stopped short, then reached out again, trying to make up his mind. This wrenched at Mommy D's heart. She doesn't want a tentative baby who second guesses his decisions.
Mommy D has decided to let Baby D explore as he pleases. The vase stays, but when Baby D decides to investigate, Mommy D holds it steady to avoid accidents. It does mean that the half withered artificial flowers would probably be gone earlier than they would have if Baby D hadn't taken a fancy to them. But we have a happier baby who wreaks havoc in the living room. The photo frame of the engagement pic is likely to meet an early demise. The books are likely going to be "read" cover from cover and the Scrabble letters have had to be hidden, being clearly a choking hazard.
Baby D still isn't allowed to eat slippers though. He doesn't really pay attention to "bad" and steals spectacles whenever he can. Mommy D is amazed she has had to take sophisticated parenting decisions this early in life.
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