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December 10, 2009

It Begins In The High Chair

Believe it or not a lot of training can be done in the high chair.
Lessons of self control abound here.

In our family, we like to use high chair time as a training time.
Here are some examples:
We don't put plastic under the baby's chair to catch the food they throw off...instead we teach them not to through their food on the floor.
We don't let them whine and  cry for their food.....instead we teach them simple signs like 'please' 'more' 'all done'
And with Josiah we have taken it a step further and chosen not to keep his bowl far away from him....but instead keep it in front of him, right on his tray and train him not to touch it.

Every time we have another baby we are again amazed at how young they understand things and how little we give them credit for. We also realize how much easier it is to curb bad habits while they are young. Catch it now and you will have less issues to deal with later.
Take self-control for example. How many times in life do you need self-control? And how much better is it to learn it earlier on in life. Babies can and will learn self-control.
Of course parenting is a process and you will not have a perfect baby overnight, and there will be issues that you will feel like you deal with over and over again. But the earlier you start to train the easier it will be later on. We know, we have experienced it, we have done it both ways, and found that one way works better than the other.

But everytime, I struggle with the 'how much does he really understand' conflict. And when I test the waters I realize it's always way more than I give them credit for.

Take the game pat-a-cake-pat-a-cake. Have you ever done that with your child? I think I have with all of ours and it takes no time at all for them to repeat the actions....even as early as 6 months...so why then do I think they are not capable of learning sign language? Is there a difference?
I think not!

So today look at your child in a different light. Figure out how much they really can understand and start your training there. And as your child grows...you will be glad you did!

Here is a glimpse of what Josiah does when he really wants to do something but knows that he shouldn't.
Sometimes he will crawl along the floor and see something he shouldn't have and shakes his head and crawls on. Of course he is still in training.....so he doesn't always resist the temptation.
But this morning he did well as you will see!



7 comments:

Amanda said...

I LOVE how well behaved your kids are. I've always noticed that. He's so cute how he is tapping his fingers like, "C'mon..."
:)

Cinnamon said...

Oh wow! Was he waiting for you to tell him that he could have his food? That is awesome. I love when he shakes his head "no" when he goes to touch it~ Do you have a way to help 16 months from being LOUD? Our guy seems to be loud about everything lately. You'd think after 9 children I'd learn how to keep them quiet but alas I have not :-/

Love your blog and adorable family~ Cinnamon

Anonymous said...

Could you share with us how you taught him that self-control?

Cinnamon said...

Oh one more comment :-) I love your post~ We have trained all our kiddos to sign too. It cuts down on much noise. But as I said mine seem to have an age they reach where they are extra loud. But you've encouraged me to work on it knowing they understand so much more than I realize :-) They are smart little fellas aren't they~

I'd love to hear the progression of how you trained Josiah not to touch his bowl. Did you start from the beginning or along the way decided to begin?

~Cinnamon

Laura said...

Precious Boy!!!! and so smart! can't wait to see him in a few months.

Love you!!!
Laura

Marcy said...

Thanks for commenting on my blog! I LOVE finding new blogs to look at, especially ones of moms with lots of children! I love getting new ideas! Can't wait until tonight when I can sit back and read! :>)

Regan Family Farm said...

I am right there with Cinnamon...finding the more I have the less on top of my game I am. Do tell more!!!
Kathy