Testing the Limits

Micah has always been a "conservative" kid. A little more cautious. A little tentative. A little bit of "testing the waters" first. Always wanting to fully check out a situation or a new environment before he decides if he is comfortable. Checking people out before he runs right up to strangers. He listened to "no" very good as a baby, didn't require us to get a gate to block stairways, and usually asks for help before trying something that could be dangerous or even questionable.

But he has been starting to test the limits a good bit lately. Both on the things he is willing to do and on the things we are saying. When we tell him to stop doing something "or else" he is testing more to see if we really mean the "or else." When we tell him not to step on something that he shouldn't be walking on (like a DVD), he gets his foot as close as possible without stepping on it to see how we respond. Or sometimes I think he believes we are not looking (when we really can still see him) and then he steps on it just a little, just enough so he knows he is breaking the rule, but just enough to test and see if we stick to our word. And we do. That is one thing we know we have to do in our parenting: stick to our word, whether it's good or bad. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

 

Getting more brave as he stands on his bike (with wheels!).

Loving going down the big slides by himself.

 And wanting to go backwards up the slides too...