My son has finally figured out crawling. He’s figured it out in a big way and my wife and I are starting to see what a massive change that actually is for our small family. Our son has the ability not only to move but to move quickly and decisively. I’m sure that all of the veteran parents are kindly laughing at me but it truly is quite a shock. Somehow I had thought that we’d seen the worst with his inaccurate wiggling from place to place. Boy was I wrong.
Now our son doesn’t just not stay were we set him down but he can immediately move himself from an elevated position (like a sofa or a bed) to a hard floor in less than a heartbeat. He can also move himself from his nice play mats and his large collection of toys (compliments of grandparents, uncles, and aunts) all the way to a friendly electrical socket or a wonderful power cord to chew on. Now that he can move himself confidently and effectively around the house there’s nothing to stop him from pulling down any number of heavy objects right on top of his little body or big head. Let the “child-proofing” begin!
Well, maybe not quite yet. Once it begins, though, I’ll be happy to report on all of the trials and tribulations of that inevitable mess too. Let it suffice for me to say that the fact that I’m recognizing the inevitable child-proofing as a necessity is a big step for Dad. I’m not really fond of creating boundaries for my son but I now recognize that the visual boundary of a play space will not suffice; a healthy row of toys won’t distract him from that interesting piece of paper on the floor; a stern “no” is almost completely meaningless at this point in his world. Dad and Mom will have to create physical boundaries at least until verbal ones can be established and understood. Phew! What’s next!?