We had the pitter patter of little feet in our house yesterday. My daughter's friend and her husband asked us to look after their two girls whilst they went out for the afternoon. We eagerly agreed.
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| Barbies, puzzles and pencils moved in and made themselves at home. |
What a joy it was too! I've missed having little ones in the house. Don't get me wrong; I've relished every single moment of my children growing up and I simply love the amazing relationship we all have now they're adults...but there's just something about little children that awakens the sense of exploration and discovery in all of us.
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| Bubbles are a source of joy for everyone. |
Little ones are full on. I forgot about that. Maybe they seem more full on than I remember because it feels so long ago. I found myself sayingm "I can't remember you guys ever..." several times over the course of yesterday.
Then again, there were things my lot weren't able to do at the ages of five and 18 months either. It is not unusual for short statured babies and children to be delayed with their gross motor skills so by the time they were physically up and running around my children were also old enough to understand that pulling a cup of milk off the kitchen bench and emptying it over the floor just for the fun of it wasn't something you should do. As a young mother I can't remember having to baby/toddler proof my house. Ever. People would always commend us on how well behaved our children were. And they were, but there was also another aspect to it. They learned the patience to wait until they could do things for themselves.
Yesterday though, I realised how much more vigilant I would had to have been if we had've had an average-statured child - especially since my kitchen is scaled down to my specifications. I was in the kitchen boiling something on the stove when little M came into the kitchen to see what I was doing. I noticed how accessible everything was to her - especially the gas flames being at eye level. Naturally I directed her to another activity and she happily went off and played, but it was a real eye-opener to me as to how dangerous my scaled-down house could be to little ones who have amazing mobility but not the maturity to ascertain danger.
Luckily we have other cool things little ones can safely play with - like light switches you can create your own disco with, cold taps you can easily turn on and walking frames that you can use and pretend you have a broken leg!
I've toyed with the idea of doing Family Day Care as I do have the appropriate qualifications to be able to do so...but I don't think it's a good idea anymore, and besides, my passion for the field of Child Care has waned over the years. I kind of blame this on a hellish six months as Co-Ordinator of Out of School Hours Care a number of years ago. My heart is with the under-six age group. I love their innocence, their wonder, their fearlessness and brutal honesty.
But I would be on constant tenterhooks. Our house is a labyrinth of interesting wonders for little ones and to make it kiddy-proof would mean that it would be "Us-proof" as well. Looking after the children of family members and friends is a source of joy for all of us, but to do it as a career and be subject to OH&S rigors would take the joy out of it.
I prefer the joy. We had so much fun yesterday and at the end of the day, two tired and happy little girls went home to their parents.
That's the most important thing.
