I was reminded this past week about how much attention an infant or toddler demands. My California grandchildren were staying with me for a week. My 11 month-old granddaughter is a study in perpetual motion. She doesn’t stop unless she is asleep. She has been walking for a month so she is unstoppable. Even holding her takes a lot of energy as she is constantly moving. Having just spent three months working on infant and toddler developmental guidelines, it was a reality check to actually participate in those developmental milestones that I wrote on paper. I constantly gain additional respect for parents and caregivers who spend every day caring for the young. Wow! is it a full-time job!
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Mr. Funk,I sadly heard, this week, of a flight attendant who wanted a mother to drug her 19 month old for talking “too much.” Their flight had been delayed ten or eleven hours. The flight attendant had the plane return to origin so the disruptive child (who persisted in saying “Bye, bye, plane” as they took off) and his mother could be removed from the short flight. Reading about your perpetual motion granddaughter and your respect for those who care for them was a welcome counterpoint.Not allowing that needed activity often leads to such negative behavior as tantrums. My sister and I just posted on this very subject with tips for caregivers at http://www.sarah-hester.com/23/ toddlers-tantrums-and-solutions.Thanks for making the effort to stay directly involved in what you study, write about and teach.