It's been quite a while since Tara learnt to discard the soiled diapers, and put the dirty clothes into the laundry pail. But she usually does one task first, walked back to me, and I would give her the other task to do.
A few days back, I wonder if I gave her both tasks to do at the same time, will she get confused? So that day, I gave her both soiled diaper and dirty clothes. It's the first time I've done that, so I wasn't expecting my kid to be so smart and knew what to do immediately. She decided to throw the diaper first, into the sink, yes, into the sink but she did managed to put the clothes into the pail.
The 2nd time I gave her the task was this morning. She walked to the rubbish bag but wasn't able to put it in cos the bag was hung a little higher than usual. She called for my help. After she had discard the diaper, she walked over to the laundry pail and threw in 2 pieces of the dirty clothes. I was half expecting her to throw 1 piece of it into the rubbish bag. But she didn't.
Boy, am I surprised!
Last night, we were at Bob's aunt's place for dinner. I changed Tara's diapers and got her to discard as usual. We don't go there often and I'm not sure if she will know where to throw. But she once again, surprised all of us, and threw the diaper into the rubbish bin inside the kitchen.
Aunt and MIL were nodding their heads, and commenting how smart the gal is. I think all the kids nowadays are just as smart. They were only prevented from stretching to their full "potential" by parents or the old folks, who always have the they-are-too-young-and-don't-know-how kind of thinking. Or they felt that it will be faster or less messier for them to do the things instead. I beg to differ. Even if the kid is too young, it doesn't hurt to try. Let them mess up and let them do it at their own pace. They have to learn, and they will learn if they are given the chance. If only they have the chance.
Every now and then, I will ask Tara to do this and that. Yup, I ask, I don't command and I don't force, I ask nicely. Not that she can do it everytime, but I never stop asking. And always thank her and praise her when she complete a task. I'm always surprised at the things my 17 month old can do.
She's learning to wear her own socks now. But she can only hold the socks open, but couldn't get her foot in. I hope, with more encouragement, she will do it sooner or later. I'm not rushing, I will let her learn at her own pace. I'm just glad she's willing to learn.
No comments:
Post a Comment