Parenting tip from Ed #1

Now that Connor is a year old, I think Ed and I are both becoming more confident in our parenting skills. Not that we don’t mess up regularly (something that makes us grateful that many qualified therapists exist), but we’ve sort of got a groove going and Connor seems to be a pretty happy kid on most days.

In the beginning of this adventure, I think Ed tended to ask me questions about what he should do as in “Do you think this diaper is too tight?” and “When do you think he’ll learn how to sleep?” and “Do you think he likes me?”. I tried to pretend like I knew what was coming and what was best, confidently answering each of Ed’s queries while secretly trying to stay one chapter ahead of both Ed and Connor in the book “The Complete and Authoritative Guide: Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, Birth to Age 5”, a book approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics. When I would tell Ed “I think you should [insert random thing I wanted done]”, Ed would generally hop to it.

Yesterday, it was clear things had changed. After lunch, I asked Ed why he hadn’t bothered to clean off Connor’s face when he washed Connor's hands, pointing out that it was much harder to clean it once it had dried up. Ed replied confidently “No it’s not. Eventually it [the food on Connor’s face] dries up enough that it crusts off. It’s not worth the hassle of trying to wipe his face.” So there! (For those wondering, I went and washed his face myself.) I await with baited breath the next parenting tidbits Ed has to offer.