I had hoped that now Zephy is walking this small bug bear of mine might become a thing of the past but it still happens quite regularly and that is mums and dads of typically developing babies telling them to ‘watch out for the baby’ ‘look out for the baby’ or even ‘watch out for the little baby’ when their child approaches Zephy, tries to go past him, tries to interact with him in any way. The majority of the time these are babies/toddlers significantly younger than Zephy.
Now I completely get it. Before I had Zephy I was almost certainly guilty of it. You want to teach your babies/ young toddlers to be careful of other children in the playground, and soft play. You likely also want to show me that you see my son and can see that he is different to your child, that he might need more protection and that you are being responsible which is great but my son is not a baby. He’s a 2 1/2 years old toddler, with an attitude to match. He also has an older sibling and is at nursery almost full time so is used to rough and tumble. He understands exactly what is being said. His receptive language is very good. He may be slightly smaller than average or look smaller to you because he often will sit down on the play apparatus instead of barrelling around it. He’s learning, and observing and taking things in. He may be a bit slower to climb things because he hasn’t been walking that long. But he’s certainly no baby!
Whilst your child may speak a few words and my son doesn’t, my son can string 2 or 3 different makaton signs together to communicate. He will regularly tell me what he wants and doesn’t want. He will observe what other are doing and point it out such as seeing someone sleeping etc. He’s an extremely communicative child. He can also be rough himself and push and pull children that are in his way!
If you are a parent of a typically developing child and reading this. Here are some tips that Zephy and I would like to share
1. Just refer to him as a little boy instead of a baby.
2. Ask his name! I promise we are friendly and I love talking about my son to anyone who will listen. You can ask his age and I will tell you and explain how hard he has worked to get where he is today and how proud I am that he can climb and navigate the playground.
3. Teach yourself and your child some makaton signs. They aren’t hard to learn and there are plenty of resources online. Zephy would be over the moon for you to sign to him or respond to him signing to you.
Does anyone else get annoyed by this, I know in the big scheme of things it’s a small thing but sometimes the small things matter. Anyone have any tips on how to handle this situation!?
chromosomes and curls 