by Claire Willmer
Being a grown up, especially at the moment, is exhausting! Not only are you responsible for feeding and watering little people, you also have to make sure they’re at school/pre-school on time, with their bags and their trousers on the right way! There’s shopping to do, food to cook, cleaning to do, Sooooooo many snacks to make! Washing to do, beds to make, and then when the kids are in bed, if you’re very lucky, and all the stars align, you might actually get to watch something other than Andy’s Dino Toy Box! Chuck a Pandemic in the mix and it’s no wonder this parenting malarchy can feel a little overwhelming at times!
Watching my little man (Sidney who is 18 months) tearing around the playground or excitedly splashing in puddles. I’ve vowed to ‘Be. More. Toddler’!
Read on to discover why!
1. Toddlers don’t take no for an answer!
If Sidney wants something, he is absolutely determined that it will be his! No amount of bribery or distraction will stop him reaching his goal. In fact, it only seems to make him more determined. If we’re walking along and he spots something he wants, you might as well accept defeat. That small stone or that particular blade of grass is infinitely more exciting that what you had planned, and trying to wrestle a toddler back into their pram is like wrestling an octopus! It only gets worse when they decide to pull the ‘Banana Move’ out the bag and go completely rigid (especially effective in car seat situations!) Imagine if, as adults, we were more like this! Maybe not literally, although this would be pretty funny to witness! But how many times have we wanted to do something, only to be told, it’s not possible, and then given up. Or maybe it’s what we’ve told ourselves in the past about what we can and can’t do by our self-limiting beliefs. ‘Be more toddler’. Have the tenacity of a dog with a bone and do not give up on your dreams!
2. Toddlers physically shake with excitement!
Imagine!, being so excited that you feel it all bubbling up inside of you, like a fizzy bottle of pop! That pure joy that toddlers experience, is truly magical to watch. Sidney was enjoying playing in the puddles when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one, that to an 18 month old, probably looked like the size of a swimming pool! I kid you not, he started to shake and then shrieked with excitement before making a bee line straight for the middle of the puddle. Even a faceplant in dirty water wasn’t enough to take the smile off his face! When I was younger, I remember being so excited that I was unable to sleep, normally the night before my birthday or the school disco! We need more experiences in our life that are that exciting!
3. Toddlers live life in the moment
The look of concentration and awe on a toddlers’ face when they see something that catches their eye, is the look, I imagine a NASA scientist would give an image from the space satellite that has just confirmed that alien life exists. I am in awe of Sidney as he goes about his day, completely focused on being in the moment. Even doing yoga, I was unable to do that. As soon as the relaxation part of the class came around, my head was suddenly full of to do lists, thoughts jumping around my head like ping pong balls! What it must be like to purely focus on one thing at a time. Playing with Sidney, and really getting down to his level, gives me a new perspective of the world. It turns out finding an unopened conker, still in its prickly case, is actually pretty amazing when you do really look!
4. You can wear whatever you want!
Clashing colours, yep – a pink tutu, yep- a superhero cape, all good! Toddlers have the best sense of style and fashion because they don’t care what people think and they gravitate towards clothes that fill them with joy. I think that about all my boys. They are way cooler than me! Maxi who is 3, is obsessed with the colour of sunshine. He often leaves the house wearing head to toe in yellow, in fact, that’s pretty much his aim, every day! Whilst out with Sidney, I was amazed at how brightly coloured he looked in his rainbow wellies, stripy leggings and pillar box red jumper. I on the other hand was dressed head to toe in black or navy. Standard mum colours! I am definitely going to wear brighter clothes and use my kids colour palette for inspiration!
So there you have it, I’m sure you’ll agree, we should all ‘Be. More. Toddler!’ So, if you see me out and about dressed head to toe in yellow, be sure to give me a wave!
