These days I spend my time trying to outsmart my toddler. I could not have predicted this in my wildest dreams, but alas it is my reality. I'm trying to teach Gardner things like, "Don't put your feet on the table while we're eating dinner," and "Don't slam doors while baby sister is sleeping," and "We color on the paper, not on the couch." It can be exhausting. However, the proudest thing I ever taught a toddler was when I was one myself.
When I was about three and a half years old my baby brother Scott was about one or so. I loved my brother dearly. I loved when he was awake so I could play with him. Even though he wasn't exactly playful. My mom would try to keep me out of his room while he was napping. I obeyed in the beginning, but after awhile I would sneak in when it was time for him to wake up.
He was still in the crib at this age, but I wanted him to climb out so we could play. Lucky for me there was a slide next to his crib (pictured below). I managed to climb up the slide and get into the crib with him, and we would play. It wasn't long before I taught him to climb out of the crib and onto the slide. Success!
Now my partner in crime could climb out of the crib himself and run free! We could play together all day. My mom caught onto this fairly quickly. She realized that my brother was not napping, but instead climbing out of the crib and sliding down the slide to play. Her solution? Remove the slide from beside the crib. Brilliant!... Or maybe not.
I was at preschool one afternoon, my mom was home in the basement doing laundry, and my brother was supposed to be asleep in his crib. He was not.
All of a sudden my mom heard a loud thud followed by the cries of my brother wailing. He had climbed out of the crib. But, instead of landing on the platform of the slide he landed on the floor. I definitely heard about it when my mom picked me up from preschool that afternoon. I was in big trouble.
So, suffice to say that while I'm trying to teach my son not to pull on the blinds or jump on his bed, I think the best thing I ever taught a toddler was to climb out of the crib.