Saturday, February 7, 2009

Symptoms of the Firstborn

- He knew his colors before he could intelligibly say them.

- He could recognize all the letters of the alphabet by his second birthday.

- He's been read to so often, he can recite entire classic Curious George stories by heart.

- But for all these "academic" accomplishments, he cannot, at the age of three, put on his own coat. Or pull up his own pants. Or take off his shirt without getting it tangled over his neck.

After speaking to a mother of five, who said that her method of teaching her kids to put on a coat was to hand it to them and say, "Put it on," I'm on a mission. This morning, after changing his diaper (yes, you read that right), I made him pull on his pants alone.

Next up, getting his own water.

1 comment:

Hayes said...

Oh Martha, you sweet sweet woman. Isaac turned 2 in October and can dress himself. I sometimes help a little with getting arms in, but otherwise, he's on his own. I promise he can do it. Celeste is 9 now and she dresses herself independently. Such is life in a house with six kids.