When you have toddlers, ordinary things become tools for extraordinary purposes. Take crayons for example. When I was a toddler I enjoyed dropping them down the heating vents where they would melt and ooze into a rainbow blob. I’m sure my mother really appreciated my artistic experimentation.
I don’t, however, recall shoving them up my nose or in my ears as I have seen some of my children do.
Scribbles on the wall? That’s the work of novices. But eating crayons? Now we’re talking sophistication! There’s nothing like a toddler with purple teeth.
Do you remember a craft from elementary school where you placed shavings from crayons between two pieces of wax paper that were then ironed together? It’s the same premise as dropping crayons down the heating vents, but easier to preserve and a lot less messy.
Finger painting has to be the all time best activity there ever was to introduce to your children. It’s funny to watch the expressions on your toddler’s face as you ENCOURAGE her to get messy. It’s just as fun as showing them how to play in the mud.
The first time my twins did this (when they were toddlers) they wanted to wash their hands every three minutes — this from the kids that dreaded mom cleaning them with a washcloth. Soon, though, they were creating endless mud pies with great enthusiasm.
Now I have two more toddlers (ages four and two). My four-year-old is mentally at the same level as her younger brother, if not a bit behind. So it is much like having twins all over again. It’s wonderful to walk with them and discover every sidewalk crack, every bug, feather, leaf, rock, and scoop of sand. Everything much be touched (with fingers and toes), smelled, and tasted.
But every toddler is different. One wants to explore electrical outlets while another finds microscopic crumbs in the carpet. One wants to take apart everything he can get his hands on while another wants to fit every block into a small box.
It’s the wonder they have for everything that draws parents to their hands and knee —and turns us into adult-sized pre-schoolers. THIS is why we end up speaking in the third person and end up sounding like Barney or dancing like The Wiggles or set out to explore the world like Dora.
Sometimes parents are chagrined to find they cannot switch gears when they are FINALLY in the presence of other adults. I say, don’t worry too much about it. You only have a few years to melt crayons, squish mud, and poke about the world with your little ones. Live it up.
(Jelly Mom is written by Lisa Barker, a busy mom of five, and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent to Parent. To read more, visit www.JellyMom.com.)
