Tag: training

Racing with Babies

On By Susan St.PierreIn Sideshows, Susan's Family Day Care6 Comments

Think you’re fast? I once held the Jr. High girls record for the 50 yard dash. I am 55 years old now but inside, I haven’t aged. My outside, doesn’t care though.

Toddlers are faster than racehorses out of the starting gate. A hard thing  for we adults, with an athletic inner self, to believe. Try this experiment before you supervise toddlers. In the middle of a playground, kick a ball away from a 20 month old and then try to get your hands on him as he pursues the ball. Of course, allow them two steps for the normal delay when distracted.  Repeat this experiment until you can grab them in under one second.

Ha! It’s impossible!

I wouldn’t have bet against myself. How hard could that be?

Yikes!  Several seconds too many to save them in a parking lot or driveway. Yup, don’t ever underestimate a toddler’s power to evade capture especially in a “high octane” situation.

You want to know a pet peeve of mine? Parents who think the “I’m gonna get you game.” is funny.

Some of my day care toddlers think that diaper changing is an invitation to a foot race. Even in the house, it takes a long time to corner them.
THAT is something I won’t allow. Voice control can save a child’s life. My “racers” are given no second chance to come. I pick them up in an unfriendly manner and make them mind when I ask them to come. I offer no tolerance and always enforce that one rule. Their life may likely depend on it.

So take this as a warning. Especially Dads and Grandparents who are more likely to underestimate toddlers, try my experiment and pretend that you are in a parking lot. It just may scare the “bejeezus” out of you!

(I believe that my experiment should be a MUST for teens in babysitting training!)

There are No Limits

On By Susan St.PierreIn Kid Story Ideas, Memories of the Farm, Sideshows6 Comments

I touched the sky once…

I’d been trying to since I was three. Felt as though I almost did it the time I jumped from the top step and scraped my knees. It didn’t hurt…I almost touched the sky, after all.

The pine tree with its elbow in just the right place, offered a perch. As I grew older, I reached closer to the top. Ahhh, but the sky knew I was there and backed away a bit. Clever is the sky. It is not supposed to be touched and you must catch it off guard.

I used to practice my reach by walking ’round my house with a mirror turned up beneath my nose. Walking through the house with your “up” being your “down” can be a bit treacherous if you haven’t cleared the way but touching the sky is a worthy challenge. Training is a part of every hard earned skill.

Once I learned that jumping would be no part of it, my knees healed and my mind worked on a plan to trick the sky. She often comes close and tickles us on foggy mornings but she, the sky, is doing the touching.

It would be unsafe to stand up while riding in the back of a pick-up truck. The sky knows you are closer there but dances out of reach again to keep a child from trying.

One glorious day, I rode among the hay bales in the hay wagon. The sky was not aware that I sat in between the bales. I could tell because she was playing with the wind in the tree tops along the road. The fingers of the trees connected in an arbor above and were giggling unaware that I was watching. As I climbed the hay steps to the top, I entered a place I had searched for. The sun winked at me through the leaves as I lifted my head above the rails. Suddenly, the tree limbs erupted in applause and the sky hugged me. She knew I’d touch her one day! She tousled my hair in a “job well done” fashion and I raised my arms offering “high fives” to the elms and clouds.

That moment lives in my heart. Once you touch the sky, there is no limit to what a person can do. The sky is NOT the limit you know, it’s the beginning of living on top of your world.

A kind word

On By Susan St.PierreIn Kid Story Ideas, Sideshows, Susan's Family Day Care3 Comments

There’s no substitute for the feeling one gets from being generous. Even though it is hard for little kids to share, they catch on to that feeling. We want kids to develop this generous nature but I do not think we should reward them with gifts.  I award my day care friends with a kind word and a hug. By giving kids rewards of tangible objects, we are sending the message that they get some thing for all their kindness. Isn’t what we want them to learn that kindness is its own reward?

I’ve had fun through the years training my pet dogs. I am no expert but I have read and studied about dog training. At the risk of sounding weird, I think toddler training and puppy training are very similar. I’ve noticed that the commands that I use are the same. Sit,stay,wait,come,good boy, are applicable to kids.

Kids and dogs both want the same thing. Positive attention is their favorite reward. They just really want to please their care giver more than anything.

My Jack Russell Terrier can be a stubborn little cus. I’ll let him out,once in awhile, in the middle of one of these balmy nights to do his business. I can tell he would prefer to linger. On occasion, I have lost my cool and growled at him to hurry up! I finally found the key. I start praising him in a gentle voice. “Come on my good boy.” “That’s MY good boy”. Works every time. I follow it with a few warm pats. (offering him a piece of ham never worked.) The essence is to make him want to come in. I use our friendship as the prize and he deems that a great trade.

My favorite prize for my children is a comment, “You made me smile!” or “I can tell that that made you feel good. Way to go!” A kind word and a hug  is a very powerful tool when it is sincere. Certainly, it is rewarding to all!