Toddler Dance - I've Got The Beat!

I got told off today, by proxy.  How rubbish is that?!  Mummy went out for lunch while I was at nursery and was harangued on my behalf by Grandma and Auntie B because I’ve not been writing so much recently.  It’s true, I haven’t been as prolific as late so I guess I owe you all an apology.

I am sorry, loyal readers and beloved family.  It’s no excuse, but things have been pretty hectic around here recently.  Mummy’s been hogging the computer a bit because she’s trying to set up a business so I haven’t had much of a sniff to write.  And it’s been so long since I’ve been on Twitter, I’m not sure I can even remember my password!

Anyway, the good news is, Mummy’s almost ready to go and she’s going to buy her own laptop which means Daddy and I can have the old one back.

So while I’m here, I’ll tell you about my dancing.  Have you seen Chuggington?  It’s a fab little programme on CBeebies about trains, always with a nice little moral tale.  It’s ok, but it’s the titles that are worth waiting for.  The beat just takes me, every time!

I think I must ‘feel’ music differently from The Olds – they’re so stiff and boring!  I like to use every part of my body to express myself.  Just let the music do its thing.  Sometimes I even get close to a rhythm!  (Otherwise, I’m dancing like Mummy!)

I groove in the car when Daddy plays his Rock, although I find the straps a bit restrictive.  At least you can do justice to Daddy’s music by nodding your head backwards and forwards forcefully.  I get to hear other stuff, too – sometimes classical, sometimes kiddy songs, sometimes mainstream pop.  Mummy was a Britpop fan, so I’m getting into that now but it’s not that easy to dance to. 

My friend and I have also recently discovered that we can dance together, too, so we row our boats together, or do Ring O’ Roses.  I like falling down!  And now I can wind a bobbin with the best of them, there’s no stopping me.

So what gets your toddlers’ feet tapping?

CB x

Playing With Baby Dolls

I mentioned earlier this week that I have a great fondness for baby dolls.  It’s got Mummy very excited that her toddler is playing with dolls and engaging with role play.  Apparently another milestone, or something.

It doesn’t seem like make-believe to me, but at least my baby neither cries when she’s hungry not objects if I toss her aside when something more interesting comes up. I take my duties very seriously, shoving the bottle in the general direction of a plastic mouth that doesn’t open and wrapping them up in a towel if I can’t find a blanket when I need one.

The ‘developmental leap’ is that I, or any other toddler pretending when they play, is that I’ve learned to imagine something is something else.  Like the box is a bed, or my bib is a face-cloth.  I’m learning empathy and how it feels to be a mummy (it’s actually quite hard work!) and also that I can be anything I want; when I’ve had enough of being a mummy, I can go and get a hat and be a fireman or a builder.  I don’t really know what either of them does yet, other than they wear cool hats!

I’ve been demanding my two babies every night for a while now, and I won’t sleep without them.  They come everywhere with me, if I remember, including nursery.  Imagine then my surprise and delight in seeing a room full of babies (dolls) when I arrived at ‘school’ this week, along with all the paraphernalia that goes with them; high chair, bed, blankies, nappies and clothes.  I love clothes!  I ditched my piddly little dolls over my shoulder without a second glance.

I was still busy caring for the plastic babies when Mummy collected me at the end of the day.

CB x

Baby Talk - Learning To Communicate

We were talking earlier this week (well, technically the mummies were talking while we babies had lunch) about speech and words and language, and our capabilities.  One yummy mummy had read that by 18 months, we should have at least discernable six words that we can use in context.

I’m getting there with my speaking, but whilst I think I’m pretty good, it seems that not all my words are technically English, so I thought it would be quite fun to record them now.  Well, Mummy thought. Some might well be absorbed into our family lexicon, but Mummy didn’t want to risk losing the others with her forgetfulness.

So, everyone have a laugh at the baby:

Bit – loosely, a biscuit but can be used for any other treaty-type thing

Dildo – next door’s cat (he’s registered at the vet as Dylan)

Knob-knob – a man.  Something I heard Daddy say and repeated; Mummy laughed so I’ve said it again

Muck – a white drink, preferably served warm

Peace – good manners, as in, “Muck. Peace,” rather than, “Muck” on its own, or, “Muck. Now!”

Poo – a universal word for any nappy bi-products

Sick – banging tunes on Daddy’s iPod, sometimes on the radio – for dancing to

Tattoo – conveys gratitude on receipt of a bit, muck, or anything else I’ve asked for

Tit – this is the command I give Hairy Dog when I’d like him to put his bottom on the ground

I have more conventional words like Mummy and Daddy, cat, bat, bird, car, all the regular animal sounds etc, but as they actually sound like the English word they’re supposed to, I guess they’re not at all funny.

CB x

Helping Toddlers Make Friends

I don’t have brothers or sisters yet, so Mummy and Daddy are keen for me to socialise with people my own age and make my own friends.  They think it’ll help my confidence and self-esteem, and improve my overall well-being.  Mummy is well aware how beneficial fulfilling friendships are so she wants me to have nice friends, too.

As with adult relationships though, toddler friendships can’t be forced.  Children learn from watching, so we need to spend time with other children to build our social skills. Mummy’s well aware of me learning from seeing  – I carry a handbag over my arm like she does, I dunk my bread in my soup like Daddy does.  I’m also copying what I hear now, so Daddy has to mind his language!

Now, the point of this story is about toddler friendships and an incident at the soft play place last week.  For a long time, babies play side by side, alone, rather than with each other, but now that we’ve become toddlers, my friends and I are starting to play together.  I love chasing and being chased, and the shrieks of laughter as we do laps around the sofa at a friend’s house is testimony to that.

I’m sure it’s really tempting for mummies to jump in and do things for us, but it’s important that you let us start to sort things out for ourselves.  How else will we learn, and find our own two feet to stand on?

So, there we were at the soft play.  I can be quite stand-offish to start with.  I like to survey the scene before I get stuck in, check out the lay of the land.  By the time I’d warmed up, I’d spotted a little girl I thought I might like to play with, or at least show some affection to.  She was roughly the same age as me, perhaps a little younger.  I followed her around for a bit, after all, no-one appreciates someone being too forward!  When the time was right, I launched my cuddle.  So far, so good.  She didn’t cry, she didn’t wriggle, I thought it was ok.  I gave her another one.  Same thing.  By the third time, I was hoping for a little reciprocation, but instead I was prised off her by her over-protective mother who came charging across the room to her daughter’s ‘rescue.’

Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut!  Now, I’ll admit, if I were a hulking great rugby player charging down the wing at high speed, you might accuse me of a high tackle, but there was certainly not that reaction from the tackle-ee.  She was sitting inside a car, I was standing beside it, so I could only wrap my arms around her neck.  I promise I was gentle!

In my opinion, the mother totally over-reacted; the child was not struggling, not crying, not seeming the least bit distressed.  Better surely to have let the girl sort it out for herself, if she needed to?  Teach her to have a voice, stand up for herself.  I hadn’t done anything aggressive, but if I had, it might just have been that I was trying to communicate – we toddlers are just learning, so don’t always realise that hitting or pushing might not be the best way to get someone to play a game. That’s where it might be appropriate for you grown-ups to step in, but to channel that ‘energy’ towards a more positive interaction.  That way, we learn what’s wrong, but also how to do it right next time. 

CB x