It’s kind of like herding cattle…No! Those are dog toys!
The pairing of these two phrases, uttered in succession, is parenting a toddler in a nutshell. One second they are holding your hand, and then they catch a glimpse of something bright in the aisle of the grocery story and you find them gnawing on a piece of plastic, or removing all the price tags from the shelves.
What’s a parent to do? Toddlers’ intense desire need for independence makes going anywhere with them an adventure; they don’t want to be carried for longer than 5 seconds, but putting them down is very, very risky. Corralling them is a recipe for a meltdown, but giving them too long of a leash is a recipe for a disaster.
Toddlers require more nimbleness, patience, and creativity than I ever knew I had (and quite frankly, sometimes don’t have). My daughter is growing faster than either Mama or I can believe, learning new ways to express herself, and recreating both her, and our boundaries. We may never be able to truly herd her, and that’s fine, but I’m pretty confident we’ll be able to keep her safe from potentially dangerous pet toys.
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