“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.” Rachel Carson

Challenge and Toddlers.  Like most young tots, our daughter Georgia asserts her opinion and pushes the boundaries.  Of course packed in with all that frustrating behavior are moments of pure joy, great accomplishment, and immense pride.   However,  when we’re in the thick of it, it can be hard to remember that, “this too shall pass”.

Especially in the last couple of months, I’ve lovingly and intentionally tried to challenge Georgia right back.  Not by throwing tantrums, whining or making demands, though sometimes I feel like doing that, but by posing small achievable goals.  As we adventure about, making sure I’ve built in ways to set-up success, I push her to be more independent, brave, and engaged in our environment.

Presently, Georgia has just two speeds on the hiking trail:

1. Run.  Usually with abandon and no regard to instructions. 
2. Whine, lollygag, and ask to be picked up.

Unfortunately, I never know which speed she’ll choose from day to day!  For example, on one of our recent hikes, she took off at the trail head, and her big brother and I had to corral her back in the right direction.  Just a couple of days after that incident, as soon as her feet hit the trail at the start of our forest outing, she was upset and refused to move.

Along with patience, frequent practice, and incentives, one of the things that’s helping us on our adventures is a soft-structured carrier, specifically the Pure carrier from Onya Baby.

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