I haven’t spent a lot of time with toddlers other than my son, so it can be a little bit difficult to make sweeping generalizations.
Here is one that I am pretty sure resonates with most parents, however: When toddlers wake up, they want out of their cribs. When they want out of their cribs, they alert every adult within a mile radius of this by crying at the highest decibel levels humans were meant to tolerate.
I know that Jamie can access that decibel range, because he has used it for other reasons. It used to be the only method he had to tell us he was hungry.
When it comes to the crib, my son has defied every toddler rule there is. Jamie would not need to celebrate made up holidays such as 4/20 in order to relax. He can do this on his own. He has been very calm and laid back. He could stay in there for hours making up games with his stuffed animals, having conversations with no one but himself, if we let him.
Like many toddlers, Jamie is easily entertained. If you buy him a $20 toy, he might be just as happy tossing the packaging in the air and yelling “Whoa!” He can make a game out of playing with just about any inanimate object.
Most toddlers willfully give this trait up in the crib, however. When they wake up, they have a singular focus on getting out. When most toddlers want out, they will make sure anything with ears within that mile radius will have to immediately stop what they are doing to let them out – or go deaf from the overwhelming noise.
Jamie has yet to make an escape attempt, though it’s probably coming at some point. He remains easily entertained, despite his surroundings.
When Jamie wakes up from a nap, there isn’t a strong sense of urgency, requiring us to stop whatever we are doing immediately so we can get our son out of his crib. We try to be conscious of it, and not let him sit too long, but he’s also not reminding us to do so on full volume.
All of this comes with one caveat, however. He is an early morning person. On a weekend when we are hoping for sleep, he can wake up around 5:30 or 6, so we may still end up still a bit tired–par for the course with a toddler.
Jamie has proven to be very good natured in situations where you could fully expect him to act like a toddler. He is full of smiles, laid back and easily entertained. Some days I’m not sure where he got it, but I always appreciate it.
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