Figuring it out

Near the top of my list of the thousands of things I love about

being a dad is being able to watching Finley discover. I love seeing her thought process as she figures out how to work a toy or maneuver around or over something. I like that, for the most part, she likes to take her time to figure things out.

Sure, she can get frustrated easily and can start to cry if she’s impatient, but we usually encourage her to fix the situation or ask nicely for help if she needs to. Most of the time she’ll figure it out and when she does you can see the look of satisfaction in her eyes and a sense that she’s storing that newly-found process away for later.

Sometimes it amazes me how much of our day-to-day activities we take for granted. Watching a toddler try to figure out how to zip up a coat or navigate stairs really brings home how much we really learn in our lives.

Take a look at everything you do in a day and think about how many of those actions would either be impossible or very difficult to a toddler. I’m talking about writing your name, tying a shoelace, or even putting on clothes. The mundane is a bit of work when you’re two.

This past weekend – in between rain showers – we went to the park to let her ride her trike and to climb on some of the toys. Some of the steps and ladders they have nowadays for slides and other playground toys are designed to be challenging. One of the toys had what was basically netting for her to climb. She had to figure out where to place her feet AND her hands as she navigated her way up. At one point she had gone a little off course but was able to correct her direction just by evaluating what it would take to get to where she needed to go. Again, pretty simple stuff for us big kids… something to learn for the little ones.

But there’s one other factor in learning one’s way in the world that I watched her figure out at that playground. It’s one thing to understand what it takes physically to get from point a to point b, but it’s another to have the courage to do it.

This particular playground had what was basically a balance bar with steps on it. You have to put your feet on each step to make your way across the bar that was less than a foot off the ground. One misstep and you fall.

At first she didn’t want to do it without holding on to me. But once she learned that if she took her time and concentrated on each step, she didn’t need my help. It wasn’t much of a fall, but it was enough that she was a little scared. But her desire to get across was stronger than her fear of falling and after a few slow and steady steps, she made it to the end.

The look of pride that she had was priceless. And I was proud of her for taking the time to figure it out. Of course, after that first trip, she wasn’t afraid and was ready to try again. In a few months or years, I’m guessing she’ll be able to run across it without really thinking.

It just makes me think about everything we do. About how much of a hurry we think we need to be in and how that can affect how well we perform or create. Patience is a hard thing to teach – especially to a toddler. But if she can learn now to work through problems and challenges, there’s no stopping her.

I just have to remember when I’m faced with something a bit daunting, that if I take one step at a time, I can make it across safely. Pretty simple stuff we all know, but don’t always remember or stop to do. Looks like the toddler isn’t the only one learning.