Silence Is Golden, Unless You Have A Toddler

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Silence is golden, unless you have a toddler.

10 Month Old A

We discovered that A could climb stairs because we couldn't find her - until we spotted her sitting proudly at the top of the stairs kicking her leg off the top step. She learned pretty quickly that if she did things silently, she'd get to do it a bit longer. 

Many people long for silence. 

Parents of toddlers may find themselves relaxing for a moment before the realization crashes down that we can't hear the little one. Then we sprint.

Note the pen on her legs, and the holes cut into her favorite shirt.

"Helping" feed the cat.

One of my husband's mentors, Chaplain Nutt relates a story from when one of his kids was little. He came down in the morning to find all the cups out on the table and orange juice covering everything, some in cups, plenty on the table, lots on the floor, and his kid carefully pouring.

The child looked up, beamed with pride and declared "I helping!"

We all want to contribute, to be useful. We all, even adults, sometimes find ourselves, in spite of our intentions, in situations where we can declare "I helping." 

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