Can a One-Year-Old have Resolve?

Resolve (Critical Thinking) of a One-Year-Old

For centuries, before the advent of a plethora of baby books, old “wives’ tales” and comparables, the idea that babies and toddlers are sponges of learning and have an uncanny resolve to figure things out is spot on correct.

No manual needed, just good eyesight on the child and their antics of figuring things out.

Although our grandson, Big Baby Bodie, is not walking yet, he can crawl and move with the best of them. Every day, he gains strength in his cute legs to make that one final step (and let go of the sofa and chairs he uses to keep the balance), and a leap of faith that he can indeed…walk!

The most interesting thing this past Easter weekend was watching Bodie’s critical thinking

skills about navigating simple physics and how things work. For example, after all the toys in the basket were strewn over the hardwood floors, I brought in a ride-along John Deere green and yellow colored truck/tractor thingy from the garage. I placed it down and watched Bodie's eyes light up. He was immediately drawn to it, playing with the tailgate like a pickup truck has, opening and closing it with glee. Of course, we all admired his play. But that’s not all. I scooped him up and placed him on the seat. He is not tall enough, and only one leg reached the ground (also due to his positioning), so he couldn’t actually advance it by himself. We then pushed him forwards and backwards, where I suspect he finally got that “feel” of driving with his hand on the wheel, too. He didn't miss a beat.

Since he couldn’t navigate (yet) climbing off the little truck, I took him off the seat and sat him on the floor next to the truck. After a few moments, he crawled over to the tailgate, stood up, and put the tailgate in the upright position. He then navigated the truck while holding on, walking behind it, and pushed it several feet, right into the sofa. This is where Bodie’s aha moment crystallized. Some may call that critical thinking, and it came out like sunshine, just saying.

Since he figured out the truck was stopped at the sofa and not going anywhere, he had to think about getting back into a crawl while moving to the front of the truck that was still smashed against that "pesky" sofa. Without missing a beat, he rolled the truck back a bit, then positioned himself between the front and the sofa to push it back in the opposite direction. With fierce determination on his face, he probably played this back-and-forth game a half dozen times, repeating the same process.

I was gobsmacked! I don't recall my kids doing that when they were that age. As my friend, Kymberly Dakin, says, "This is the beauty of grandmothering— you have time to slow down and really tune in to what the child is doing! Parents are so busy keeping them alive - grandparents get to truly observe!

I'll bet all my marbles and pickleballs that one-year-olds have resolve!

bSoleille!

Terri

The Green Gator Truck