You Can Only Hope To Contain

The empty bottom compartment of the China cabinet. The entertainment center. The kitchen drawer with dish towels that he loves to empty.

No matter where we place our son, this 16-month old has a radar for exactly what we were hoping he doesn’t find. We are constantly picking him up, and returning him to the center of the room. We are constantly bringing him back to the toy that we hoped would hold a shred of his attention.

This is usually only a temporary fix. He’s got a remarkable memory for missing exactly what you last took away from him.

As a general disclaimer, I should state that we do have our home 99 percent baby-proofed and we do keep a close eye on our son. But here is a bit of insight. A newsflash. Toddlers are work. Watching him from morning to evening is mentally and physically exhausting. No matter the level of baby proofing, he’ll find his way into something.

I’m not the most physically fit guy in the world, but the little running I’ve done (however slowly) has given me some endurance in the matter. It helps to be able to go a couple miles without dying. It is clear that the energy level on this kid won’t take an overall dip until sometime during his teenage years.

He doesn’t even come to a complete stop during diaper changes anymore. It’s difficult to put a diaper on anything that’s running away. And God help you if you took him away from something enticing for that diaper change.

We are going to be putting a fence up in our backyard soon. Since he’s been walking, his range is quickly growing. You cannot stop. You can only hope to contain.