Thursday, October 22, 2009

7 Kid Milestones Rarely Mentioned

All the parenting books and magazines talk about the kid milestones of rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking , and talking. But I hardly ever hear about these 7 milestones that are really quite life-changing from the mom perspective:

1. They can be in a forward facing carseat
When: 1 year old and 20 lbs
Why it's golden: much easier snack or toy hand-offs, and for long car trips the baby can now face the DVD movie his older sibs are watching
2. They stop putting everything in their mouths
When: depends on the kid and teething, usually between 12 and 24 months
Why it's golden: a little less worry about all the small pieces to older sibling's toys lying around and all the germs swapped during playdates
3. They can buckle themselves into their car booster seat
When: around 4 years old
Why it's golden: one less kid to buckle and unbuckle
4. They can buckle their younger siblings into their car seats
When: 5 or 6 years old
Why it's golden: less kids to buckle and unbuckle
5. They can shower themselves
When: 5 years old
Why it's golden: less labor intensive bedtime routine

6. They can get the keys from you and unlock the back door
When: 6 years old
Why it's golden: No more fumbling to unlock the door while juggling bags, cups, and a toddler
7. They use a napkin instead of wiping their mouths on their shirts
When: not sure, my 6 year old is still not there
Why it's golden: less scrubbing of clothes with the stain stick and a toothbrush!
**Please note: The age estimations on these milestones are not at all scientific, unless you call my observation of my own kids and some friends' kids scientific, so please don't quote my statistics to your pediatrician!

You know what I really love about these milestones? They are not likely to make you feel all weepy about your babies growing up too quickly. I mean who ever looks back and says, "Remember when the kids used to use their shirts for napkins? I really miss that!"

And seriously, you people with kids in college or beyond, don't comment and tell me you miss that! Your sweet, cuddly non-crawling, non-walking, non-talking babies? Yes, absolutely you miss all that! But the shirt napkin? No way!

Find more Friday Funnies at Homesteader's Heart, Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life, Hooked on Fridays at Hooked on Houses, 7 Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary.

11 comments:

  1. Oh girl! I love these milestones trust me!! LOL
    I'm still waiting for my 7 year old not to use his shirt as a napkin. My 4 year old doesn't but then again he can't buckle his own seat belt yet so I guess you take the good with the bad! LOL
    Loved this.
    Happy Friday to you!
    Kim

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  2. My daughter's almost 18 months old, so I'm looking forward to most of these milestones (she's already front-facing in her car seat). Cool post!

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  3. For me, another was when they stopped using MY shirt to wipe their mouth.

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  4. Oh, yeah, I remember all those milestones with my son and granddaughters...FREEDOM!!! The best is when they drive..away! Kidding, kidding! When kids reach the milestone of being out of the car carrier, I think all moms should pack it up, and take it to the genius that invented those backbreaking, cumbersome, difficult to clasp, HEAVY things, and dump it on his lawn! When my kids were little, we didn't have those, but when the grands came along, brother, I thought the bones in my back and arms would snap right off!

    Great post!
    God bless,
    mary

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  5. I also loved the Getting their own drink of water trick.
    I am still waitng for the Mommy is not your kleenex stage

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  6. I'm very much looking forward to #2-not putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. I can't stay outside with him too long because of him constantly putting all the dropped acorns in his mouth! Someday we'll play outside again! :)

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  7. Cute post! I have a 4 mo old...and, while she's not wiping her face on her shirt...I do see what you mean! I am at the "cherishing EVERY stage" stage of Mamahood...and loving it. I've had my share of exposure to toddlers and I'll agree...those are very nice milestones!

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  8. Excellent list. I would just like to add the milestone of wiping their own bum after going number 2. I'm sure I heard a choir of angels singing.

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  9. My 6yo is still in a 5-point harness, and I plan to keep her there as long as humanly possible. ;-) But... she can buckle and unbuckle. She even buckled her 2yo sister in for me a few weeks ago. So nice to have big helpers!

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  10. Ahhh, I have enjoyed every single one of these milestones. Your disclaimer made me laugh!

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  11. I can't wait for all of those milestones!! I'm the mom who rarely gets sad about milestones anyway...they have such fun discovering new tricks and learning new things and the baby stage is not the easiest for me. I really look forward to the car seat buckling/unbuckling :)

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I'd love to hear what you think!