Bumps and bruises: with walking comes falling!

Henry's been walking for about six weeks now and is getting better at it every day. It's amazed me how quickly he's gone from one or two tumbling steps to a scamper across the room. He's not running yet, but is getting close to that.

Of course, with walking comes falling. Over the past few weeks, Henry has had more falls, bumps, and bruises than in his entire life. He is definitely more steady on his feet than when he started, but he does not have the coordination to watch where he steps. He is looking up, not down, and trips easily over his toys and even furniture. And, from time to time he still just loses his balance or footing and comes toppling down. He's a tough boy and usually gets right back up. A number of his boo-boos showed up as a surprise to me because he never cried or complained after a tumble, even if he earned a bruise to show for it. There have been a time or two, though, where he falls hard, and needs us to kiss away the boo-boo. One even resulted in a big nasty black eye!

Henry with Uncle Mike - check out that shiner!

In the spirit of making every opportunity a learning experience, I'm working on teaching Henry a new word: "ouch." I am using these falls and resulting boo-boos to help him learn what it means when something hurts. I think it's an important concept because it can help me to communicate to him better if he's about to do something that will result in injury - to himself or others. If he's pulling a playmate's hair, I can say, "no, Henry, that's ouchy." If he's about to climb up on something unsteady, or touch something hot, I can warn him with a "Henry - no! Ouch!"

For a young toddler, a simple word-concept is a lot easier to teach and use than a more complicated one. It is also easier at this age to have an universal warning I can use in any potentially dangerous situation rather than attempting to show a 13-month old every possible place in the home they could get hurt. Chances are, they still won't understand even if you try. Once Henry understands "ouch" he'll be able to apply that idea to any situation - ones we're prepared for, and those we're not.