Curiosity

Do you see my toddler looking at the snail? How cute is he? All crouched down and inspecting the little wonders of the earth. He calls it a “nay”. Everyday we walk my daughter to her bus stop. When he sees one, he starts to trot along eager to reach it.

I try to allow plenty of time to wander in the morning so he can explore some of his favorite things, including snails. Just the other day he crouched down and blew on one. The snail’s head retracted into its shell. He was thrilled! He’s similarly fascinated with light switches. Off. On. Off. On. He’ll poke me and says “Liiii!” he’s so excited to share his discoveries!

I have to admit that I spend a lot of my time squelching and redirecting my child’s curiosity. “What are you doing? Don’t touch that! Get down!” When I ask my older kids just what do they think they are doing they often say, “But I wanted to see what would happen!” I can’t argue with that. I just need to keep them safe while they are exploring!

I know that curiosity is key to their learning. Right now blowing on little snails and playing with light switches are pretty harmless, but the other day I turned around the corner and saw my toddler teetering at the edge of the dining room table. I carefully led him down to safety…kids!

Sheila Cason, MD