Whose kids are these? Where IS the parent?

In a house full of kids, life is never dull. This can be really fun ... always something going on, kids entertaining themselves and each other and me, rarely do I hear "I'm bored". And it can be not so fun... for the same reasons. But even when they do "the darndest things", sometimes you have to chuckle...

Like when they shove their heads through a training potty...

which I wrote about here.

Or decide to take a crap in a cupboard...

which was detailed in this post.

Or dress up in funny costumes...

like being a junior executive... or drug-dealer lookalike.

I have been witness to these sorts of things for 16 years... remember I have all those stepkids. I really enjoy the energy of a large family and the antics of the kids, but I have found that sometimes I am kind of jaded or detached ... and that freaks out other parents. 

When we are out in public and my kids start doing their thing, other adults get nervous. And I understand why. 

My kids have all been climbers, runners and jumpers as little ones. They have all experimented with the top of the playground climbing structure before they could walk. They climbed six-foot ladders by the age of 6 months. Walking along the back of the free-standing sofa has been a favorite activity (the sofa needed to be pulled into the center of the room because there was a picture-window that was being pounded on not just with fists but hard toys).

There is a sixth sense a parent can develop about his or her children. You really get to know their abilities, when they will probably be fine and when they might run into difficulty. I tend to hang back a bit, and let the kids find the point of "failure" on their own terms. This does NOT mean that I let them ride their bikes on the highway or try jumping off the roof with a towel-cape safety-pinned to their shoulders. 

It means that after spotting several trips up the slide-ladder, I know my little one can do it... most of the time... and I will walk away and let him or her do it on his or her own. It is when my 18-month old is at the top of the ladder and I am not obviously standing right there, another mom (usually) will be looking all around with that "who is the parent? where is this child's parent?" look of desperation/exasperation on her face. This sort of situation happened yesterday.

We were at swimming lessons. Miss C is impossible to contain in this setting. The parking lot and access road are of concern. The stairs are a concern. The cyclone fencing separating the viewing area from the pool is a concern. The 2-foot retaining wall is a concern. Not anymore.

I showed you her jumping skills a while back... in this post.  That was her practicing jumping off the back of the sofa down into the cushions. Well, lately, I have caught her jumping from a dining room chair down onto the floor... and sticking the landing! This kid is 2!

So when she started jumping off the 2-foot retaining wall, I just sat and watched. She had it ...

She did this 3 or 4 times and then fell. That woman sitting right there flipped out! Fortunately, I was able to smooth her ruffled feathers and CPS was not called. And Miss C was totally fine... got up, brushed herself off and tried again.

At home, however, safety is a major concern. 

She is no longer contained. Not really sure what to do about this.

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I have been told that you can get boob shoes to go with the boob scarves... thanks for the heads up, Jill ;-)

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And the voting is really heating up in this blog contest!  I have pulled up even with 12th place! So help keep the momentum... ride the wave.... they won't know what hit them... we're going to take this race like a tsunami.... is that a bad choice of metaphor?  You can pop the pink button at the upper right... or you can just click right HERE!