child development
DAD, CAN PEOPLE FLY?
04/05/16 09:18 Filed in: children | developmental stages
Conor and I were lying in bed before school. “Dad, can any people fly without things to help them?” No, Conor, only birds can fly. All people need a machine to help them fly. “Like an airplane, helicopter, or a kite?” he quizzed. “That’s right, son,” I said, knowing I was letting him down. “Well, I want to fly,” he squeeked out. “Many, many people want to fly really bad. And that’s why two brothers named Orville and Wilber Wright invented the airplane.” I informed him.Then Conor stood up on the bed. “Dad, you stand over there.” And so I stood, bracing myself. And he jumped! “See dad, I can fly.” Conor always has to have the last word. And that’s when we got him dressed for school and stuffed him into his car seat. We drove. We didn’t fly.
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THESE SHOES WERE MADE FOR WALKING
04/09/12 15:27 Filed in: child development
If you keep up with my blog, then you'll notice 3 months ago to the day, I saw Conor stand up for the first time. And I wondered how long until he would actually walk. Through a little research, I discovered it would take 1000 hours of practice before he would be ready to take his first steps on his own. As I visited my dad in Texas, he asked if Conor was walking yet. I told him, 'no'. He was watching Conor standing and swore he was on the cusp of the first steps. He asked where Conor's shoes were and I laughed and said he didn't really own any shoes yet. My dad bet that if Conor had a pair of walking shoes that he could walk. So off to Wal-Mart we went. And my dad bought Conor his first pair of "walking shoes." We came home and strapped him on Conor's feet hoping to see a miracle. Conor hated those things on his feet. But when the shoes were off, they became his favorite toy because of the shoe strings.
I did the math just now and realized that Conor has logged about 810 hours of practicing so far. And if my calculations are right, Conor has 18 more days before my #1 son takes a giant step and makes history. I'll keep y'all posted.
WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE TO DISCIPLINE A CHILD
12/09/12 15:12 Filed in: child development | discipline
Conor is now 11 months old and as he gets into more stuff, I started wondering if it's okay to start disciplining him. Studies seem to point to just baby proofing the home for now - covering up the electrical outlets, putting the breakable stuff out of reach, blocking 'off limits' places with baby gates and the like. It's okay to give your baby some boundaries but redirection is key and not correction at this tender age. Experts favor just enjoying and appreciating Conor's fascination with the world.
I like that idea but with a dog in the mix, there's some rules that Conor's just going to have to learn. And the dog's crate being off limits is one of them. So we set out to teach Conor to leave things alone that aren't his. It's as simple as saying in a different tone of voice that gets his attention, "That's not yours," when he tries to go into the dog's bed. It's actually fun as you can see in the video. He doesn't take the rule as a correction. He sees it as fun but knows the rule is to stay away from the crate.
I learned this technique when training dogs for the handicapped years ago. We were actually told not to say, "No" to our dogs because there was too much negative baggage wrapped up in this word and it came out in the way we said it to our dogs. Instead, we told our dogs, "Don't" because it wasn't as emotionally charged. The idea is that you give your dog a command. It's not telling the dog he's done something wrong, it just tells the dog to do something you want. If he doesn't do it, then he gets corrected. I took this idea to Conor's training and when we tell him to do something or not do something, it's always fun. By being consistent, he knows we mean what we say. Now I have to remind myself that he's only 11 months old and while it works right now, it might not always work. But it's working right now and that's what matters.
CONOR'S NOT CONTENT WITH JUST LEARNING TO WALK
26/11/12 14:13
I didn't see anything in the parenting handbook that says he should get a timeout for this. But at the same time, something just doesn't seem right about it, either. Hmmm…
CONOR IS READY FOR HOOPS
15/04/14 21:40 Filed in: sports | child development
At the beginning of the year, we joined the YMCA as a family. We started swimming lessons and soccer lessons. And this is where Conor was introduced to basketball as he'd walk to soccer class. He seemed especially connected to this so we stopped in the other day (during a birthday party at the Y) and he got to watch and even shoot a few baskets. I'm making a note to myself to get him a basketball hoop for the backyard as summer approaches.