A simple playground trick for independence

Sometimes, the best option is... doing nothing

Here’s a memory I look back on and chuckle at :)

I’m pregnant, in my third trimester with our oldest daughter. My extended family is in town, including my first niece, who is one years old. Newly aware of kid-centric activities, we eagerly drive 30 minutes to spend the morning at an outdoor life and science museum. We pay six not-inexpensive adult admission fees to get in. (My niece was so young her ticket was free — clearly they knew something we did not.)

For the next few hours, the six of us — John and me, my sisters, my parents — followed (or carried) T around, exploring the exhibits and playing alongside her.

T had a blast. We all did. But it was also glaringly obvious, even at the time, how — in our eagerness to gift her this cool experience — we rushed her into a space that she wasn’t quite physically ready for, or sized to appreciate. In our eagerness to give her good things and out of our desire for her to engage in what we deemed the fullness of the experience, we skipped a few steps on the staircase.

This story, I think, is the origin point for a small but impactful decision John and I made when our kids were very small.