Re: Portable heater for home use... updated
I knew there would be at least one bonehead weighing in on my post in the way Tim did. Why does there always have to be some know-it-all who thinks they should dictate how everyone should raise their kids? They ASSume all kids/people are the same and that age dictates everything. News for you Tim, all kids are different and progress at different rates.
Just so you know, while my boy is only 22 months old, he; knows his ABCs, can count to 10, knows all the basic animals and their sounds, can run and kick a ball better than some 4 year olds, hits T-ball, can start and run a gas powered RC car (put gas in, attach glow plug battery, pull start it and control it with the radio) as just some examples. He appears to have a leg up on you.
We have never pushed him but do let him progress at his own rate. We EDUCATE him as best possible so he can decide on his own if it makes sense or not. Obviously, as I stated before, we constantly supervise and protect him from danger as best we can. But we also realize he can and will get into trouble occassionally because no one can be 100% diligent. So we teach him about things that can hurt him. How would you EXPLAIN to a 2 year old what hot means Tim? They don't understand things they have no experience in. You might as well try to teach him what money is, he has no basis for understanding. So when he feels something that does not burn him but he doesn't want to keep his hand on he can relate to what hot means. Now, when I say HOT!, he knows not to touch it. He has already told Dad that something might be hot and be careful so I know he now understands. And this may save him from pulling a hot kettle off the stove or grab a hot exhaust pipe someday that will result in severe consequences. But you seem to know best...
BTW- we taught him as soon as he could crawl (that lasted ONE WEEK, he was walking around after that at about 7 months) how to handle the stairs. He's been going up and down the stairs for well over a year now upright taking a step up/dn with each step forward. We still have gates but he knows how to open them. We supervise him most of the time but he is so good at it, it really is not necessary. Rather then protecting/sheltering him from the stairs, we decided early on it would be better to TEACH him how to go up/down safely. He has a good sense of self, knows he can accomplish things and takes great pride in those accomplishments.
BTW2- funny thing, we had people talking about how we were raising a "bubble boy" during his first year. They had the opposite extreme as you Tim, they felt we were being over protective.