In a Single Bound

We've really got to stop reading those parenting books that tell you "what to expect" from your child at different ages. I remember back when he was ten months old and he was trying to climb up onto the sofa, but couldn't quite make it. He'd try for a couple of minutes and then get very frustrated. It was very clear how he felt; he had annoyance written all over his cute little face. Whenever I mentioned it to my wife she kept telling that he couldn't be frustrated, that "all the books" said he was too young. Then he tried his climbing act in front of her one night. When he finally gave up trying, he slid to the floor, screwed up his face, and picked up one of his smaller toys and threw it. Apparently he was frustrated after all. We should have thrown all the books out then and there.

His most recent escapade? We found him in his playpen. Only we hadn't put him there. He had been playing with a toy and we turned our backs for a minute (yeah, yeah, I know). We turned back, and there he was happily sitting inside his playpen. (The other odd thing is that whenever we put him in there, he howls so loudly you'd swear we were torturing the poor child).

A few days earlier, we had had another one of those "he can't do that" conversations. One morning, when I went in to get him out of his crib, I found him jumping up and down on the mattress. My wife was adamant in her assertion that he was too young to have the coordination to jump. I gave the universal male response of "Yes dear," and went on my merry way.

Then came the playpen incident. We've known for a while how good a climber he is (he was climbing long before he was walking), but we were still left wondering exactly how he had managed it. A playpen is pretty high compared to a sixteen month old and doesn't really have any natural handholds or footholds. That's pretty much the point of having a playpen.

The next day, we found out. He was about eight feet away from the playpen when he began to trot towards it. He built up speed and took a flying leap at the side of the playpen. He jumped high enough that his hands actually reached the top. This time, he wasn't able to find enough purchase for his feet and ended up sliding down the side a minute later. But we were pretty darn sure how he had managed to get in the last time.

The safety instructions that came with the playpen had said it could be used up until twenty four to thirty months. Apparently we should throw out the age guidelines to equipment along with the books.

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