One little monkey jumping on the bed!

I've always said that I never want to be one of those uptight mothers that never lets her child(ren) experience anything, so this morning, I showed 'Lil Bit how to jump on the bed. No, she can't walk or jump by herself, but if I hold on to her hands and lift up as she does her little half-bounces, the result is an almost jump. Oh man, it was adorbale, and she loved flying up off the bed and then landing back on the bed on her little booty.

People at work have said I'm going to regret these types of teachings later. Last night, The Hunk, our parent educator with the Parents as Teacher's program and I all encouraged her to bang on things. Oh no! Not the furniture! Relax, take a deep breath. It's an old scratched up table that we plan on not replacing until we're old, gray, and done having kids, so go on, bang away.

While it might be true that I'll think twice later about these things, I say to them, "Lighten up!" She's not large enough to damage the bed. She's not by herself, so the chances of her hurting herself are small, and if she did hurt herself, so? Kids fall. It's how they learn. She needs to learn how to manipulate things...to learn cause and effect...how's she going to do that if I don't give her the freedom to do so?

Maybe I'm too lax, but it is a vow I've made and plan on keeping - I will not be a boring, uptight mother. That's not to say she won't have boundaries and consequences for negative/unwanted actions, just that the world will not be off limits.

So, for now, there's one little monkey jumping on the bed. Let's hope she doesn't fall off and bump her head. ;)