A Baby can Teach us Somthing VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!

Babies are cute….aren’t they?  Ever spend time watching a baby?   I mean REALLY watching a baby?  They do incredibly fascinating things.  I find one move, and almost all babies do it, absolutely fascinating.

Once babies get the idea of crawling……they will start to crawl away from their mom and suddenly turn around and look.  Sometimes they will giggle when they do it.  Sometimes they will just stop dead in their tracks, lean back on their butt, give a half turn and look, and then continue on.  Sometimes they will continue quickly, sometimes they will smile, sometimes they will continue-on while giggling.

When mom (or dad, or the relatives) see the baby turn around they always will do something silly, and say something very positive to the baby; and always with a huge smile in their voice.
“Who is the big boy looking at mommy?”
“Look how pretty you look.”
“Whaaaat?”
“Hiiiii there beautiful.”

You get the picture.

Here is the thing.  This action, is by no means an accident or your child is just trying to be cute (even though we all admit they are).  This is a very important part of your child’s development.  ‘That turn’ is your child making sure that they have not wandered away too far from their safe haven……you.  Until such time that they have all the confidence in themselves that they can crawl or walk where they want, and know they can find you again, they are making sure that all they know to be safe, is not too far away.

When we speak to them at that very cute moment in silly voices; we are letting them know that they can continue, we are encouraging them—we are here—-we are with them.  There are certainly phrases or terminology that professionals will share with you but the bottom line; if the child knows that there is a safe haven, they will continue to go forth.  Little-by-little they extend their reach.  They grow.

There is an important lesson {and a reminder for those of us who know everything already 🙂 } that if our children know that their safe haven is near by, let them crawl a little bit with their diabetes….and a little further also.  We do not crawl for the baby, they crawl on their own.  We do not overpower the baby when they crawl, they learn on their own.  As we all know, crawl, leads to walk, leads to run.

Start to allow your child to do little things on their own with their diabetes as soon as they are old enough.  Even at two, they can hold something in their hand ‘to help’.  As they grow, give them more and more to handle.  The more they can handle when they are young, when they know it ‘is safe’, the more they will do as they older.

There are those who feel that their child will have to do all of the managing details their entire life, so they take on everything for them for as long as they can.  We don’t do all of their crawling or walking for them, we should think long and hard what we do and when do we allow them to take part in their own care/management of diabetes.  The more they do, the earlier they do it, the better they will be in the future.

Each parent must make that decision on their own and surely you will know when that timing is right.  But while there is time for THAT SAFE haven still to be there to nurture and help grow, the more opportunity each child will have to learn how to run as fast as they can knowing that you are there, close by.  And when it comes to that time you are not around to help day-to-day; your child will have the confidence, and you will know that you taught them well, to grow from that crawl to the all out marathon diabetes is known to be.

Because that cute baby turning and looking at you, will grow up faster than you think.

I am a diabetes dad.

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