Our peculiar kids
TODDLERS are strange creatures — for many parents they fall somewhere between an imp and the apple of their eyes. They’re still learning about life, still learning about what’s acceptable and what’s not, and so they will mount a challenge, test their parents’ nerves, and you can’t even get mad at them most times, because they’re so delightfully adorable.
What are some of the questionable and downright weird things your toddler has done?
Mary, mom to three-year-old Abbigale:
She licks everywhere — my elbows, knees, her tablet… Most times this is the kind of expression you’ll hear coming from my house, “Abbi, you cannot lick my armpit!” And she finds it so hilarious when I protest.
Candy, mom to three-year-old Ky:
He is really good at keeping himself entertained. The little weirdo tickles himself and laughs, and counts to ten then runs to hide, then walks around asking ‘Where’s Ky?’ These days he likes to shout, ‘I’m the big bad wolf!’ and blow, then fall back as if he is being blown away.
Latoya, mom to two-year-old Dani:
One time we were all at the dining table — me on my computer, hubby on his phone, and big sis reading her book. It was after dinner, and we were all just chilling before we cleared the plates. Dani walks up to me, hands me what I thought was chocolate candy, and clapped herself, as she often does when she does something she’s proud of. I go to put the ‘candy’ in my mouth, before good sense chipped in and I wondered where she got candy, then I looked closer, and it was a nice round bit of poop. I guess that was her way of telling me that she needed a diaper change.
Paul, dad to 19-month-old Maryssa:
We just put her in her own room, in a big girl bed. She will sleep through most of the night, then around 5:00 am she will come into our room, come on my side of the bed (never her mother’s), then start to moan. It’s never a cry, just a moan, with a deadpan expression on her face, like a little Chucky. And if I don’t get up fast enough to pick her up, she will slap me in my face to wake me up.
Tashauna, mom to 22-month-old Levi:
He has taken quite a liking to our old dog, who, to be honest, is getting up in age and just wants to sleep and be left alone. I found Levi the other day trying to give his paci to the dog, and telling him, “hush, hush”. I also found him out there one day, crouched down by the dog food bowl, eating the food like a puppy. I haven’t even told my husband any of this.
Campbell, dad to two-year-old Alaina:
Luckily we live in a gated, safe community, because my daughter is a nudist and an escape artist. We have done everything to cage her inside the house, but she always finds a way to escape, and no matter what we put on her, within minutes she takes the clothes off. The other day we were all inside, when my neighbour casually walked up and returned the baby. She was naked, and had reached onto my neighbour’s street. We all thought she was still napping, but she had woken up, stripped, opened the baby gate, and went exploring.
