Team Schuurman: Preparation for the Toddler Years

I'm reading this book called, "Preparation for the Toddler Years" and it's by the author of the BabyWise series. So far, it makes so much sense. In the first book, "Preparation for Parenting" it gave tips on how to train your baby to sleep through the night, specific instructions on healthy eating habits, and great ideas on what to do with your newborn during what they call, "waketime." Well, now that we're past the first 6 months, Marcus, like all babies, is developing a personality of his own and testing the waters of freedom a bit. He's learning how to eat new foods on his own, how to get from Point A to Point B without rolling (he's actually trying to crawl to get there now, and not just giving up), and he loves getting into trouble. Our TV sits on a small stand that holds the cable box, DVD player, and other random DVDs. Marcus loves to pull out all the DVDs and make a mess with them. Last night, he was playing on the floor in the living room while I was cleaning up the kitchen. He started that way and I said, "Marcus - NO," in a stern voice, but not yelling. He looked up at me with the most pathetic little face, tears welled up in his eyes as he began to breath hard, then he erupted in the highest pitched, screaming cry I've ever heard. He just laid there on his stomach, head down, and cried his little heart out. It was funny and pitiful all at the same time! I went over and picked him up, gave him a kiss, and told him he was okay, and sure enough, he was. No more tears, he calmed right down, and was his normal precious self again.
So why do I say all this? Because we are now in the midst of training Marcus to make wise choices and know his limits. "Leah, the kid is 8 months old...gimme a break!" Yeah yeah, I hear you griping already. But the most impressionable and developmental times in a child's life are the first 3 years (and that includes being an 8 month old). No, we don't expect him to be perfect and no, he doesn't understand how to "obey" yet, but we are setting up, "moral fences" now for him in an effort to point in him the right direction. As he grows, we want to teach him that there are consequences for disobedience, just like when we disobey God. These consequences are small now, compared to what they'll be for bigger offenses when he gets older. One of our favorite quotes in this house is from James MacDonald. He said,

"When God says don't, He means don't hurt yourself."

Our Heavenly Father puts up boundaries for our own good. He's not a God of "do's and don'ts" but one of mercy and grace. So as we try to train Marcus in the way he should go, we're not only trying to help him avoid hurting himself, but more importantly, we're trying to point him to Jesus.

I put this one of Mark in here so you could remember how handsome he is. The place where we workout also has a 9-hold golf course, so on Monday, we dropped Marcus off at the nursery & I watched my amazing husband show off his talents.