Thursday 10 November 2011

The 5 Things I Let Finn Do Even Though I Probably Shouldn't (but I think he is all the better for it)

Wow long tittle. There are a few things that I allow Finn to do that most parents probably don't. This being said,, I think he is better toddler and will be a better person because of them.

1. Let the dog eat food from inside his mouth.
     I know this one grosses me out to no end. And well I don't actually ''let'' him do this he does it anyway. What I do let him do is be around his dog. He plays with his dog and pets his dog and has been since he was big enough to chase after her on all fours. He loves his dog and all dogs for that matter.  In fact his first word besides mama and dada was dog dog. Miley has mixed feelings on the whole thing. I am glad my son will not be one of those children who are afraid of dogs or other animals. In my experience it is the children who are afraid of dogs and don't know how to act around them who get bitten, not those that love dogs. Not to mention, that odds are, since he has been around his dog dog since he was born he will probably not be allergic to them later on. So while most parents may keep their newborns and babies away from dogs I embrace man's best friends (even if I don't approve of the eating out of the mouth thing which Finn finds great fun).

2. I let Finn play on the stairs.
      Now before you call children's aid I do supervise (usually). Finn loves the stairs, if we leave the gate unlocked he would climb up and down those suckers all day. And there is the key. Finn could climb stairs before he could walk and has recently mastered the art of descending stairs. At a restaurant recently Finn was playing on the stairs leading to the washrooms where we met another mother who had a child about the same age as Finn. She was amazed that Finn could go up and down the stairs without help. Now let me tell you why this comes in handy. If we are at someone else's house or out somewhere that doesn't have gated stairs I don't have to constantly keep an eye on Finn thinking he will fall down said stairs. I know he knows how to handle himself on stairs and won't require more than the normal level of surveillance. Of course he has had a few minor mishaps, but I mean who doesn't fall down the stairs occasionally? (or is that just me?)

3. I let him wander the house without a diaper.
       We do have the benefit of not having carpet in the house, so that helps. But when dad is not home (cause dad doesn't approve), I let him do some strip tease and prance around naked. Can you imagine having a diaper on 24/7? Must feel great to get some breathing room now and again. And you know what? He very rarely has an accident when I take his diaper off. So while I know it is a little early for potty training, I do have my sites, perhaps optimistically, set on next summer and I think this can only help. No diapers at all at home next summer and hopefully be ready to be rid of them for good when fall comes!

4. I let him play on our un-railed deck and the kitchen table.
        This is kind of along the same lines as the stairs thing. I allow Finn to learn about heights. I am not gonna lie, he has taken a couple spills off the deck but for the most part knows where the edge is and how not to fall off. So like with the stairs, I can have confidence in knowing Finn (probably) won't go off the edge of something. (Luckily he has never fallen off the table, I don't really like him up there but I can't keep him off sometimes. He is kinda stubborn like his mama).

5. I let Finn play with his books.
      I know most parents would keep books away from uber destructive babies but Finn has full access to most of his. A few of them have been destroyed, a few of them have seen better days, but for the most part they aren't bad. And the upside, Finn loves to be read to. He will bring us book after book to read to him (over and over and over again). He settles in our lap and listens intently and even loves to flip the pages. I really hope that Finn grows up to be a reader like me. There really aren't enough readers in this internet/smart phone age. I do think that Finn is well on his way to becoming one by constantly being surrounded by his books, the fact that we don't have TV probably helps to. PS. If you are looking for a christmas present for Finn books, especially board books are a great choice, because honestly if I have to read Goodnight Moon or Mortimer one more time I may have to kill myself!!

What about you? What do you allow your kids to do that they probably shouldn't be doing??

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