A while back, I noted that I've seen at least one really smart kid pass through my mom's day care. As of now, that list is up to three kids.
I've always said that it's actions that prove whether a kid is smart or not. All little kids parrot what they hear around them. If they use big words, it just means someone around them knows the big words. If they find ways to accomplish things that you think are impossible for them, though, that's all them. And since little kids are constantly trying to do things that they shouldn't be doing, that means the real test is in what kind of mischief they get up to. So, gather 'round, because this is a tale of mischief.
There are a pair of twin one year old boys that really like to climb on stuff. It's not like this is a new phenomenon, either; they've always liked to climb on stuff. Luckily for us, they just didn't have the physical capacity for the longest time. Their legs couldn't reach high enough, and they didn't have the leg strength to push themselves up. That has since changed, however, so their favorite target are the futons in the living room. They've got easy access, the arm rests of the futon provide an additional thrill, and the back of the futon (where the cushion goes) provides yet another opportunity.
Falls from that distance for a kid that size are far from trivial, though. So, my mom's first answer to this problem was to simply blockade the fronts of the futon with cushions. Essentially, she just made the front of the futon a few inches higher. Also, the cushions were just heavy enough to provide a legitimate road block. Problem solved, right? The kid couldn't throw his leg over the top of the futon anymore, so he had no leverage. He couldn't push the roadblock out of the way, either, so he was stuck.
Problem not solved. One of them took one of the rectangular toys and he dragged it over to the futon. Then he stepped on the thing. The key part of the cushion plan was that they weren't tall enough to throw their legs over the top of the futon & cushion combination. However, standing on top of a toy nullified that height differential. What's more, the other twin saw the first one did this, so he immediately learned the intricacies of this plan. Number of twins who could now climb on to the futon: two.
Well, that wouldn't do. Next step was to blockade the futons with taller items. No toy we had was tall enough to eliminate the height differential, so no amount of standing on top of them would help. So, one of the tykes decided that rather than attacking the problem head-on, he'd take the side road. He managed to drag one of the dining room chairs over a few inches, next to the futon. Mind you, he didn't drag it over to the front, since that'd essentially box him in. No, he dragged it next the armrest. Remember, an armrest is a relatively thin piece of wood on which it is next to impossible to balance anything of weight; as a result, we discovered that it was the weak point of the new plan. So, he scooted his way up to the seat of the chair, stepped over the chair's armrest, stepped on to the futon's armrest, and stepped on top of the new, taller blockades.
This, also, was met with disapproval from all adults. It was also met with a few chuckles when no tykes were within earshot, I'll admit. But still, this was bad. So, the new plan was to actually take the dining room chairs, turn them upside down, and put those on top of the futon. I wasn't the biggest fan of this plan, but I liked it more than one year old kids nose-diving onto my living room floor. Also, the fact that the chair legs stuck out was helpful because it provided an extra layer of "let's see you get around this" to the kids.
Now, we had two futons. The one close to the dining room was now protected by overturned dining room chairs, and the one closer to the front door was protected by taller-than-cushion items. At this point, the kids could've given up altogether. Instead, they cut their losses on the chair-protected futon, and immediately switched their focus to the other futon. I believe they actually used a combination of standing on toys, targeting the armrest, and sheer dogged determination as their next attack plan. And heck if it didn't work (side note: you will be amazed at what powers munchkins display when pressed).
For yet another round, the adults disapproved. My mom was left with no choice but scorched earth. She folded down the back half of the futon mattress to essentially make the futon wall twice as tall; we couldn't sit there anymore, but dammit, they weren't climbing there, either. If you've ever stopped to look at those mattresses, they're surprisingly thick. I'd guess they're a good six to eight inches, at least. Adding the items on top, the total height was now over the heads of these kids. The items were also strategically placed on the sides, since the front no longer needed to be protected as much. Even if they reached the top of the armrest, they then had another hurdle that was effectively taller than they were. Checkmate, right?
Nope. The back of the cushion had some small piece of string attached to it. We never noticed it, because it was safely tucked away behind the futon, and because it was a thin piece of string that happened to be the same color as the mattress. You want to know who did notice it? The twins. One of them used the string as a frickin' climbing rope. Let me repeat that: he managed to climb an object taller than he was, built specifically to keep him from climbing it, by using a piece of string. MacGyver's got nothing on him. Miraculously, it held his weight, and he just walked his way up the front of the futon. The defenses had been breached again.
Luckily, the counter measure for this last plan was easy: keep the string from dangling down. If it was safely tucked away at the top of the futon where neither twin could reach it, it was of no use to either of them. The rest of the defenses were still in place, so the kids were effectively grounded (in the literal sense).
Still, my living room now looks like a mini war zone as a result of all of the plans, counter-plans, and deterrents that have been implemented. Having a meal involves making sure the twins are safely seated in high chairs before I retrieve a chair from the futon. Victory or not, I think the twins have proven their mettle. These are some really frickin' smart twins. My list of people to be nice to in case they take over the world is now two people larger than it was two years ago.
You want to know the best part? The kid in the first post about the cushion jumping and the twins in this story are siblings. All three of them are no more than two years apart. I'm not a religious man, but I will gladly say a pray for their parents.
I've always said that it's actions that prove whether a kid is smart or not. All little kids parrot what they hear around them. If they use big words, it just means someone around them knows the big words. If they find ways to accomplish things that you think are impossible for them, though, that's all them. And since little kids are constantly trying to do things that they shouldn't be doing, that means the real test is in what kind of mischief they get up to. So, gather 'round, because this is a tale of mischief.
There are a pair of twin one year old boys that really like to climb on stuff. It's not like this is a new phenomenon, either; they've always liked to climb on stuff. Luckily for us, they just didn't have the physical capacity for the longest time. Their legs couldn't reach high enough, and they didn't have the leg strength to push themselves up. That has since changed, however, so their favorite target are the futons in the living room. They've got easy access, the arm rests of the futon provide an additional thrill, and the back of the futon (where the cushion goes) provides yet another opportunity.
Falls from that distance for a kid that size are far from trivial, though. So, my mom's first answer to this problem was to simply blockade the fronts of the futon with cushions. Essentially, she just made the front of the futon a few inches higher. Also, the cushions were just heavy enough to provide a legitimate road block. Problem solved, right? The kid couldn't throw his leg over the top of the futon anymore, so he had no leverage. He couldn't push the roadblock out of the way, either, so he was stuck.
Problem not solved. One of them took one of the rectangular toys and he dragged it over to the futon. Then he stepped on the thing. The key part of the cushion plan was that they weren't tall enough to throw their legs over the top of the futon & cushion combination. However, standing on top of a toy nullified that height differential. What's more, the other twin saw the first one did this, so he immediately learned the intricacies of this plan. Number of twins who could now climb on to the futon: two.
Well, that wouldn't do. Next step was to blockade the futons with taller items. No toy we had was tall enough to eliminate the height differential, so no amount of standing on top of them would help. So, one of the tykes decided that rather than attacking the problem head-on, he'd take the side road. He managed to drag one of the dining room chairs over a few inches, next to the futon. Mind you, he didn't drag it over to the front, since that'd essentially box him in. No, he dragged it next the armrest. Remember, an armrest is a relatively thin piece of wood on which it is next to impossible to balance anything of weight; as a result, we discovered that it was the weak point of the new plan. So, he scooted his way up to the seat of the chair, stepped over the chair's armrest, stepped on to the futon's armrest, and stepped on top of the new, taller blockades.
This, also, was met with disapproval from all adults. It was also met with a few chuckles when no tykes were within earshot, I'll admit. But still, this was bad. So, the new plan was to actually take the dining room chairs, turn them upside down, and put those on top of the futon. I wasn't the biggest fan of this plan, but I liked it more than one year old kids nose-diving onto my living room floor. Also, the fact that the chair legs stuck out was helpful because it provided an extra layer of "let's see you get around this" to the kids.
Now, we had two futons. The one close to the dining room was now protected by overturned dining room chairs, and the one closer to the front door was protected by taller-than-cushion items. At this point, the kids could've given up altogether. Instead, they cut their losses on the chair-protected futon, and immediately switched their focus to the other futon. I believe they actually used a combination of standing on toys, targeting the armrest, and sheer dogged determination as their next attack plan. And heck if it didn't work (side note: you will be amazed at what powers munchkins display when pressed).
For yet another round, the adults disapproved. My mom was left with no choice but scorched earth. She folded down the back half of the futon mattress to essentially make the futon wall twice as tall; we couldn't sit there anymore, but dammit, they weren't climbing there, either. If you've ever stopped to look at those mattresses, they're surprisingly thick. I'd guess they're a good six to eight inches, at least. Adding the items on top, the total height was now over the heads of these kids. The items were also strategically placed on the sides, since the front no longer needed to be protected as much. Even if they reached the top of the armrest, they then had another hurdle that was effectively taller than they were. Checkmate, right?
Nope. The back of the cushion had some small piece of string attached to it. We never noticed it, because it was safely tucked away behind the futon, and because it was a thin piece of string that happened to be the same color as the mattress. You want to know who did notice it? The twins. One of them used the string as a frickin' climbing rope. Let me repeat that: he managed to climb an object taller than he was, built specifically to keep him from climbing it, by using a piece of string. MacGyver's got nothing on him. Miraculously, it held his weight, and he just walked his way up the front of the futon. The defenses had been breached again.
Luckily, the counter measure for this last plan was easy: keep the string from dangling down. If it was safely tucked away at the top of the futon where neither twin could reach it, it was of no use to either of them. The rest of the defenses were still in place, so the kids were effectively grounded (in the literal sense).
Still, my living room now looks like a mini war zone as a result of all of the plans, counter-plans, and deterrents that have been implemented. Having a meal involves making sure the twins are safely seated in high chairs before I retrieve a chair from the futon. Victory or not, I think the twins have proven their mettle. These are some really frickin' smart twins. My list of people to be nice to in case they take over the world is now two people larger than it was two years ago.
You want to know the best part? The kid in the first post about the cushion jumping and the twins in this story are siblings. All three of them are no more than two years apart. I'm not a religious man, but I will gladly say a pray for their parents.
i think you need to include illustrations for this one.
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