Pranks bring back fond memories (04/02/07)

She walks. She talks. She steals her mommy's phone when mommy is sick and calls her grandparents then refuses to speak to them. She takes off her own diaper and distributes its contents all over the living room rug. Yes, it's the amazing one year old and no, those aren't Tootsie Rolls on the floor. Be careful where you step.

I get such a kick out of it when I hear my kid talk about her kid. It seems that it was just yesterday that we were celebrating my daughter's first words and now it is my granddaughter I'm talking about. Of course, my daughter never phoned anybody when she was a toddler. We had - dare I say it - dials on our phones, not preprogrammed push buttons. She may have tried, but dialing seven or more numbers in the right order is more difficult than pushing a single button.

She complains about many of the same problems and brags about the same accomplishments as I did with her. She worries about the same things. Any day now I expect her to tell me that baby Emma likes to dip her green beans in ketchup. There was a time that everything was dipped in ketchup. Thankfully, it was a short-lived phase.

A co-worker has a daughter just a few months older than Emma so I have a preview of the problems that are on the horizon. It seems that the co-worker's baby, Lilly, has taken to temper tantrums. There are two schools of thought on how to resolve them. One involves a switch and one involves ignoring the screaming child. Both are harder on the parents than on the kid.

I used the ignore it method and it worked for us. It may not work for someone else. We spent many a time in restaurant bathrooms waiting for the tantrum to subside. I took her in there so she wouldn't disturb the other customers and also to deprive her of an audience. I would just tell her to get all her screaming and crying over with because when we went back to the table she was going to behave. Then I let her holler and bawl as much as she wanted. She always behaved perfectly when we went back out in public and everybody swore I hit her but I never did.

Actually I only hit her twice as she was growing up; once for tracing Walter Cronkite on the television screen and once for squishing blue frosting through her toes. There was no other way to break her concentration.

I'm wondering how baby Emma will react to whatever means her mommy chooses to use. So far, Emma seems to respond to the "evil eye." It is probably the most effective disciplinary tool a parent has.

I am not a big fan of time-outs but they do work for some children. It is better than beating them or belittling them. It doesn't seem to me to be an effective means of changing behavior but it does give mom or dad a chance to calm down.

Another co-worker has a new grandson. We passed him around the other day and marveled at how tiny he was. He seemed so fragile and so perfect. And so very little, not to mention wet. He was so cuddly that none of us wanted to give him up long enough to get a dry diaper but eventually his grandmother reclaimed him and took care of business.

Babies are so precious. Sometime I think if we had a "baby break" every day it would be a good thing. All we need is five minutes of cuddle time with an infant and it puts everything in perspective. It would be good for the babies, too, as all babies need cuddling.

The worst thing about babies is not that they scream uncontrollably at inopportune times but that they grow up so fast. One minute they are totally helpless and the next they are making prank calls to grandparents. Then before you know it they are heading off to school and life away from family. Blink, and they are grown and having babies of their own.

Watching them change and become someone you can be proud of is amazing. All of a sudden they have distinct personalities. They are a part of you but they are also separate, with their own hopes and dreams. Their possibilities are endless.[[In-content Ad]]