Ten endearingly weird habits of a typical toddler
Toddlers are fascinatingly funny little creatures, aren’t they? I could observe mine in her natural habitat for hours, going about her busy way, climbing on everything and having a whole load of fun making a mess of all the things I’ve just tidied away. It must be brilliant to suddenly become much more mobile, and have all these opportunities to find new things to meddle with that aren’t your boring toys.
And of course, once they’ve found something they like doing, they do it again and again…and again. So from my ongoing observations of her actions, here’s ten toddler habits that I’ve spotted (all very sweet, but ever-so-slightly strange):
- Wanting to wear shoes with everything, especially pyjamas. She’ll bring them to us to put on, saying ‘shaaaooes!’
- Having endless conversations with Siri (thanks Apple! It seems it is useful for something after all). It’s a bit of a one-way chat street though, poor Siri: ‘I do not understand. Shall I search the web for dada mama aah shaaaoes?’
- Dancing along joyfully on the spot to music and clapping
- Alerting us to the fact that it’s been about twenty minutes since her last meal by dragging her high chair towards us
- Unselfconsciously sticking her hand down my top and rummaging around for a boob, in public
- As well as calling the man himself Daddy, she’ll use the word to refer to a whole host of other things including pigeons, the park and most recently, a goat on TV
- Bringing the iPad over and nudging us until we put on videos and pictures…of herself
- Emptying cupboards and drawers in seconds, then innocently saying ‘oh dear!’ if she’s caught
- I’ve finally figured out one of the mysteries of life; the odd socks have been squirrelled away by my little stealth sock thief (she pretends to help hang out the washing, just so she can look for opportunities to run off with them)
- Never wanting to sit down in the bath
I just want to say to an older version of my daughter who may potentially be reading this – sorry if any of this is deeply embarrassing, it’s not meant to be. But remember you are only one and a bit (and I only had about that many hours of sleep last night!).
From talking to people with babies of a similar age, these all seem to be pretty universal…right?! So are there any more I’ve missed? What’s the oddest thing yours does?
4 Comments
Caroline
May 21, 2013 at 4:12 pm
I can tick off numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8! Shelves are also subject to emptying on a regular basis. And if he wants to go out, he will find both his shoes and jacket, bring them to us and then run to the front door where he proceeds to bang the letterbox. He often does this as soon as we bring him down in the morning (often at 5am!) Sometimes he even tries to put his own shoes on by pressing them on to his feet. And the phone is subject to lots of attention. If we hide it, he will press the paging button on the base and run to where it rings from shouting “tone tone!”
Ahhh… They are so cute at this stage!
Amy
May 21, 2013 at 7:55 pm
My son John does all these too. But his latest habit is alerting the world of a dog or bird within any short distance of him but shouting “ooooo!!” and pointing profusely! And he will carry on doing so until you acknowledge his discovery. But I have to agree (& laugh a little) at the hand down the top scenario – I’m all to familiar with that one.
Shirley
May 22, 2013 at 2:31 pm
Just wait till she is clumping along in your treasured Jimmy Choos,wearing her fairy wings with everything. taking her shoes off outdoors in all weathers but its when she finds your makeup, you will wish to turn the clock back.
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