One of the most fun things that I have been doing with Dylan lately is helping him learn how to ride his bike. It is a little red bike with training wheels and pedals that are connected to the front wheel. Up until about a week ago, he was content to move it around by sitting on the seat and walking his feet along the ground. Then, he discovered the pedals. At first, he needed me to push him along. I encouraged him to pedal as I was pushing him, but each time I stopped pushing he would stop pedaling and get upset because the bike stopped moving.
Eventually, I got him to understand that if he could keep pedaling after I stopped pushing, the bike would keep moving. He was so excited, and I was proud of him. After a few times doing that, I suggested that he could try starting the bike himself without a push. He tried and tried, and he was getting frustrated. I encouraged him to keep trying and one time he just started moving forwards. He kept going for a minute or so, and the look on his face was priceless. He had done it all by himself. I told him how proud I was and he smiled even bigger.
All of this happened over the course of a few hours. Now as I watch him pedal in circles in the driveway I smile a huge smile. He can do it by himself. I am proud of him, and he is proud of himself. My little guy is gaining independence and I could not be happier. Perhaps the sense of accomplishment that he feels from riding his bike will soon carry into other areas of his life. Perhaps it will be a while still before he decides to use the potty or stop playing with his baby brother’s toys and trying to squeeze into his baby brother’s clothes. Either way, I am celebrating his budding sense of pride in doing things himself. I can tell right now that I am not one of those parents that will insist on doing everything for their child long after the child is capable of doing things for themselves. Perhaps it is because I am fiercely independent and hope to encourage that in my children, or maybe it is because being needed for everything all the time by not just one but now two little guys has become rather tiring. Either way, I am happy to encourage Dylan to do things for himself when he can.