well, personally, for a long time, i couldn't imagine how me getting down on the ground with Aria would change anything and until recently i didn't even really try it. the past couple weeks, we've spent lots of quality time on the ground. yes, on the ground. Aria's a mover, for those who hadn't figured that out, and spending lots of time in her play saucer just doesn't cut it anymore. she wants to be crawling around, exploring the house and figuring out where josh and i go when we're not in the living room with her. and until this week, she had stayed in her nice little square of carpet in the living room. not so anymore. she's going everywhere. the other day she decided to visit me in the kitchen. yesterday, she took a trip to the bathroom while i blinked. she's now getting increasingly irritated at her inability to crawl through things i.e. the couch and tv cabinet. with all this increased movement, there needs to be increased supervision. and what better way to do that then crawl with her?
now sure, i probably look ridiculous, but my daughter thinks its the greatest thing ever, and that's what counts right? we use positive reinforcement when she does something new (i.e. get up on her knees) to encourage her and by being so close to the ground with her, there's a lot of face-time going on, as well as a lot of face-grabbing lol. when we let Aria play on her own, it takes about 5-7 toys to keep her entertained. but when we get down and play with her, she basically forgets about her toys - she's content to play with our fingers, toes and noses. listening to her little giggle when we make a silly face and watching her get a huge smile when we get on our bellies to crawl just like her makes the absolute exhaustion we inevitably experience later absolutely worth it.
She has great parents. :)
ReplyDelete