Please don’t read too much into this post title. When I first saw it in my email I was horrified and had to read it to see what would make a person write something like that. I’m very glad I did.
oday, taking a walk in my neighborhood, I passed a little one and her mom out for a stroll.
Mom was pushing an empty stroller, as her daughter, who probably was not yet 2 years old, was proudly braving the walk herself.
She was doing so well making her way down the block, without even holding her mother’s hand. And then, she fell. Flat on her pudgy, little face.
I so love that moment.
Now, before you accuse me of taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others, let me be more specific.
After falling flat on their faces, generally speaking, what do toddlers do next? We’ve all seen it. They look up and they wait. They consider the situation. They take just a brief moment to decide, ‘How am I going to react?’ Am I going to cry? Am I hurt? Am I just frightened? Was this a bit funny? Is a safe and loving face still here with me? If I cry, will someone help me? What have I learned here?
How brilliant is that? At what age did we lose that skill?
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