Andrew and I took Oliver to the creek behind out house today. Part of the outing involved us working on being firm and teaching him to walk in public. Oliver frequently refuses to walk when we're outside of our home and will do whatever it takes (tantrums, screaming, whatever) to get us to pick him up and carry him. This outing was no different. When we were about 20 yards from the creek, we set him down and started to walk. Oliver stood and said, "Up!" I told him that he was going to walk. He tried saying, "Up," a few more times. We told him no, that he was going to walk with us.
Oliver had a tantrum in the middle of the trail. We were consistent and even stern at times. Other times, we were loving and sat and held him. We didn't give in and carry him. It took at least twenty minutes, but he finally walked on his own. OK, so he crawled most of the way, but then he walked. I thought for sure we'd end up caving before he did, but we managed to stay strong. I felt very good as a parent, knowing that consistency won out. Our little guy really needs to learn to walk in public, and I want to teach him to do so before he's a big brother.
Once he made it to the creek, I think he decided it was worth it. Here he is with Andrew checking out the creek:
Oliver had a tantrum in the middle of the trail. We were consistent and even stern at times. Other times, we were loving and sat and held him. We didn't give in and carry him. It took at least twenty minutes, but he finally walked on his own. OK, so he crawled most of the way, but then he walked. I thought for sure we'd end up caving before he did, but we managed to stay strong. I felt very good as a parent, knowing that consistency won out. Our little guy really needs to learn to walk in public, and I want to teach him to do so before he's a big brother.
Once he made it to the creek, I think he decided it was worth it. Here he is with Andrew checking out the creek:
Enough with watching the water. Oliver decided it was time to throw rocks into it!
Oliver asked his daddy to take him "in." Andrew confirmed with Oliver that he wanted to go into the creek. Oliver answered emphatically, "Yeah!" And that's how my two favorite guys ended up in the creek:
Andrew and Oliver came back to shore. After a minute on land, Oliver decided he wanted to go back into the creek. He had no fear and didn't wait for Dad, who had to scurry to catch him:
In the end, Oliver had so much fun. Andrew had just as much fun, and I think he's excited to take Oliver again soon. Sometimes, we get a little jealous when we see little kids out walking around and even doing easy hikes with their parents. Today was a small victory that will (hopefully) lead to being able to do those things with him.
No comments:
Post a Comment