What Does a Baby Think? Celebrating Grandparent Day
Another Way for week of September 1, 2023
What Does a Baby Think? Celebrating Grandparent Day
So … I’m watching the daycare webcam where my young granddaughter has been recently enrolled. It is early. A nursery worker is busily changing all the sheets on the cribs in the nursery as a young father walks in, sets his seven-month-old child (guessing age) down on a lovely patterned rug showing children of various hues, and walks out. The little tyke sits there, looking around, not crying or anything, but obviously eagerly waiting for some interaction. A worker hands a toy to him and he happily starts crawling across a device that looks like a safe slide for the ”under one-year-old” crowd.
I’m in Gramma heaven, wishing of course I could be hands on but just as happy for the workers who have good jobs at the daycare center which focuses on teaching the little ones things, and not just babysitting them.
And I wonder, what does that little fellow think? How is he doing? The busy worker glances his way at various times, checks her watch, more little ones will soon be arriving. Another baby crawls on the floor and she soon joins the first boy, crawling herself. The worker bounces a ball for him, waiting for the others to arrive. I know from reading the center’s goals for youngsters that these workers definitely have an agenda as they spend 7-8 hours with very small persons. (Of course grandparents and parents are not allowed to take home photos of anyone, and I’m a fan of that policy.)
Ever since our granddaughter has been born, I’ve been studying her early connections to the world—a little over six months old.
She is enjoying the newly opened world of real foods: first a quarter of a banana, then a piece of lightly steamed broccoli, next one-sixth of a peeled apple. She eagerly explores each. At the center, she mostly gets bottles filled with her mother’s milk and pureed food, such as what I first introduced to our daughters.
I well remember the mother’s six-month-old birthday (our youngest daughter). Our niece had accompanied us to Virginia from her home in Indiana, and she was about 10 or 11-years-old at the time. She went by “Krissy” then. As time went on, her love of babies and well-disciplined children was obvious as she raised her own crew, now five strong and a grandmother herself. For Doreen’s “sixth-month” birthday, we even had a little cake and ice cream as Krissy helped to entertain our three daughters, ages just-turned 5, just-turned 3, and the six-month-old, messily slurping up some ice cream. We had our hands full those days. I wouldn’t trade them for the world, of course.
What a marvelous gift it is to be Grandma and Grandpa and my heart goes out to any and all who wished their hardest for grandkids but were not as lucky. Now I’m bawling. This youngest granddaughter (our only granddaughter amid five eager grandsons, her boy cousins) will surely have a romping good time in years to come keeping up with those boys who are now ages almost-five, through almost-ten.
While I’ve been writing this, I see my granddaughter has now arrived at daycare. So curious, so engaged, so eager to explore the whole world which is pretty small right now but grows with each passing day. She’s playing rolly ball with the other little boy who arrived early, and with the grammy caretaker. She holds the ball, studies the half ring around her that she balances in, and pats the ball. Not quite ready for sitting all by herself or crawling. Now the ball rolls away from her. Caretaker rolls it back to my granddaughter. What busy beavers they all are.
Granddaughter loves to babble, sing with her mother (kind of), smile, laugh, and be lifted up in the air by her father. She loves to look at herself in mirrors or cell phones. She grabs at things, so there is definitely “thinking” going on in that busy little head and body.
Oh how very grateful we are to have this granddaughter trailing on behind the five grandsons. We love them all!
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If you are a grandma or grandpa, what is your favorite thing to do with a grandchild?
If you are a new mom or dad, what has surprised you?
What have you learned about parenting or grandparenting?
If you haven’t done so, you may want to check out this book on grandparenting by Shirley Showalter, and Marilyn McEntyre .
Comment here or contact me at Another Way, P.O. Box 363, Singers Glen, VA 22834, or email anotherwaymedia@yahoo.com.
Another Way is a column by Melodie Davis, in syndication since 1987. She is the author of ten books, most recently Memoir of an Unimagined Career. Another Way columns are posted at FindingHarmonyBlog.com a week after newspaper publication.
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How well I remember our four grandchildren when they were ages 5-10. I had loads of fun documenting those ages (and beyond) on my blog. We had fun exploring corn mazes, visiting museums, and baking in my kitchen. Even though I knew at the time that these days are fleeting, I didn’t realize HOW fleeting they are. The grands are now 15-19 and they are becoming way, way more independent. Their mothers are practically empty nesters. In fact, just today I sent my daughter this message from an anonymous author: “A mother’s job is to teach her children not to need her anymore. The hardest part of that job is accepting success.” She is having a hard time adjusting to two children away at college.
You also asked what I have learned. Working in our church nursery for fifteen years, one thing I am certain about is that two-years-old thrive with structure. These tiny tots had plenty of time for free play, but when we said, “Time for Bible story,” they raced to the corner wall and sat down. When we said, “Time for snack,” they raced to the table for water or juice and crackers. Constant repetition of a set schedule made for happy children.
Mazes, museums, baking: should keep a few kids interested, entertained, educated, loved.
Regarding when children leave the nests: I remember how hard the first one was, and how it got easier, but how we miss them not living nearby.
Having repetition in their days is a good format with little ones. I was kind of surprised to peek in on my almost 7-month-old granddaughter’s daycare, to see them all encircled around one of the teachers there, listening as the teacher read the book. That pleased me. Her mother sings with her, babbles with her, and papa speaks French to her and baby babbles back. She’s getting a nice little education already!