toddler

An August Walk - Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Squirm started walking shortly before his first birthday. He was wobbly at first, with plenty of spectacular falls. But the more he practices, the more his confidence grows, the better his walking has become.

One of the things we do a lot is walking at our local shops. On week days, during school time, our shops tend to be pretty quiet. So there’s plenty of space for Squirm to get in a good distance of walking without getting overwhelmed. He starts at the top of the ramp, slowly adjusting his balance to the gentle slope. Then we head through a short corridor and into the shops themselves.

We don’t see a lot of other children around his age walking. I can understand why. It can be excruciatingly slow to get from one place to another. It’s not always the most direct way of getting around the shops. And it can be down right overwhelming. But when we’re having a good day, with no rushing, it can be the absolute highlight of our day.

Squirm likes to walk closest to the shops. This helps him feel safer – he’s not the biggest fan of lots of legs coming towards him. It also means he can check out what’s in each of the store. Since he’s still learning how to hold onto my hand (it’s harder for him to balance) sometimes he heads off in an unexpected direction, checking out the local book shop (every single time we go past!) or making a quick detour into a jeans shop. Sometimes the shop windows hold little surprises, like the manicure shop which had a moving fountain in its window, so low that most people would walk past without noticing it. We stood and watched it and enjoyed the ways it moved water around.

Then there’s the toy cars and vehicles all around the shop, which draw his attention even if they’re not moving. We did get to see one moving a few days ago, and it was fascinating to Squirm (though I don’t think he quite realises that they’re fun to ride yet. Thank goodness!)

Of course, there are falls every now and then, sometimes quite spectacular. Most of the time Squirm pulls himself back up without comment, but it definitely worries some of the passerbys who don’t realise how durable he is 🙂 Having a toddler walking around the shops opens up conversations – with other shoppers, with shop assistants. My favourites are the ones who talk to him, like the guy at the newsagent who told Squirm that he liked his shoes the other day.

I’m so grateful we live near a shops where this is possible. I’m grateful to have the time in my day to take a quiet, meandering walk, to really see the shops in a different way than I do in my usual adult mode. I love the way Squirm opens my eyes to the world if I only let him.

So, believe it or not, Squirm is turning one next week. Of course, this means we’ve had to think about presents – both from Mr Pilot and myself and from the rest of his family. And since we want to buy things Squirm will really enjoy, we’ve spent some time looking the toys which are already his favourites.

Favourite Toys of a (Nearly) 1 Year Old: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Books

Squirm adores books. We have a selection of good sturdy board books which are always available for him. He’s constantly taking them from the baskets and boxes where we keep them, and spends ages opening them, turning pages, looking at them and moving them around. His all time favourites are the That’s Not My . . . sensory books, which we were very kindly introduced to by a good friend of mine. So more good sturdy board books wouldn’t go astray, nor would other picture books which we read to him in the morning and before bed.

Music

I can confidently say that Squirm has enjoyed music since he was in the womb – in fact some of his most energetic kicking was during Boogie Shoes on Glee. We have a small selection of kids music, as well as some good albums which are brilliant for people of any age. Squirm is a massive Justine Clarke fan, but also enjoys Frances England and Paul Simon. As well as music to listen to, we’ve bought some really nice percussion instruments for him to experiment and play with.

Blocks

A couple of months ago, I bought a set of wooden blocks for Squirm, thinking that he might be interested in them, but not expecting much. Turns out he absolutely loves them, but not for building (the only thing he builds with at the moment is corn on the cob . . .). He picks them up, moves them around, rolls them, twists them, puts them in places . . . and knocks down structures when we make them.

When we were at the Mitchelton Library unveiling, he (and Mr Pilot) fell in love with the Duplo board. We have a few pieces, but it would be great to add to that.

Mitchelton Library Refurbished: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Toy Animals

This is a strange one. For Christmas, Squirm was given a small toy train which had three little carriages which toy animals sat on top of. Squirm doesn’t have massive affection for the train or the carriages, but he adores the animals – carrying them around the house everywhere. I’m going to be on the lookout for some other animals, but I have to be super aware of things he might put in his mouth (he puts everything in his mouth)

Anything which rolls

You know how I said he wasn’t enthralled by the toy train? Well part of the reason for that is that it only moves well when you press the button, and then it moves on its own. Squirm likes things he can manipulate 🙂 I often see soft balls rolling across the floor, as well as anything which Squirm has scavenged from the bottom drawers in the kitchen (the ‘safe’ drawers for him). His favourite rolling things are cups and bottles, as well as egg cups and bowls. He loves putting things in them and checking out how they roll as well . . .

I really love seeing how engaged Squirm is with his toys, and that they’re toys which he needs to move and manipulate and experiment with. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he interacts with his birthday toys.