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February 25, 2005
Gus isn't just walking...
He's WALKING. He started with his arms straight up in the air. Then they were parallel to the ground. Now they're wherever he needs them to be. He can walk up to something, bend down to pick it up, and stand back up again without falling. Gus now does his little stomping dance (which John calls crazy feet) whenever possible.
Gus is becoming more complex, which makes parenting Gus more complex, but I'm enjoying it even more, if that's possible. Gus was making these really stern, almost pouty, facial expressions for a while (I think I had a glimpse of it in his walking video). At first we laughed...then he started doing it more and more. I found out he was doing it at daycare, as well. Once we started consistently reacting in a neutral way, he started decreasing it. I didn't really freak out about it, but I did realize that this is just one of a gazillion phases that Gus will go through in his childhood, and I will somehow have to manuever my way through it all.
Since I've started taking the parenting class at Unity, I feel like I've become much more aware of my actions when I'm with Gus, and that I'm really trying to get down to his level more than I was. The class doesn't really talk about any of that stuff at all, but I think having this two-hour block of time each week devoted to me thinking about how I want to parent has been really precious. It's really easy to get caught up in work all day and then come home and spend time with Gus without really being ALL there. Now I am consciously using the train ride as the time I synthesize my work day thoughts and turn them off until the next day, if possible. When I get to Gus, Gus has me completely.
I also started reading this book called "Smart Love," about using this concept of loving regulation rather than traditional forms of discipline. This has also been great to read and consider. Basically, for a child Gustav's age, the book says it's really the parents' job to create a safe, explorable environment for the child, rather than the child trying to figure out (or learning by loud, stern NOs) that something shoudn't be touched or explored. It really makes sense to me.... Gus doesn't truly know what hot means. It's his job to explore and learn. If I don't want him exploring the oven, I should make it difficult for him to do so rather than expect him to remember and understand why I don't want him to be touching the oven. I don't need a kid with a burnt hand right now, and I'd waiger that Gus could do without it, a well...
Posted by janna at February 25, 2005 10:45 PM