After spending about two hours the night before, collecting baby toys with one hand and holding the baby himself, who urgently wanted to get a little affection, with the other, I thought it was time to start instilling in the child a little interest in order. In the living room again there was nowhere to put your foot, and the floor was clean last night …
The moment was perfect: the toddler had just gotten bored with yet another puzzle consisting of four types of geometric shapes with holes, from one to four in each shape; the pieces had to be placed on the appropriate number of pins on the board. The child, with a habitual movement, threw the puzzle away from him, on which, by that moment, one of the sixteen figures had been correctly planted, and joyfully pointed towards the box with the Lego constructor. Pieces of the puzzle flew in all directions of the room, the carrier board landing exactly in the center.
— Ka! said the child, beaming.
— Aha! I’m on my way! I replied. “Just pick up what you scattered first!” Assemble the puzzle first!
— KA!!! There was indignation in his voice.
— Puzzle!
— No-her! — said the child, and shook his head for greater persuasiveness.
— Then no designer.
— AAA!
It was a matter of principle for both. I knew he could pick it up. He just wasn’t interested right now. I knew that he had “built” everyone in the house for a long time, grandfathers and grandmothers had long walked along the plinth, greeted his teddy bears and climbed out of their skin in order to please the young trainer in every possible way … Mom usually did not contact him in matters of order, because it’s easier to remove it. It remains to tame dad …
— KA !!!
— Puzzle! Played — clean up after yourself! Okay, compromise: I bring you all the details on the sofa, and you put everything in its place. Here, here are the details, let’s put everything in place!
Over the next five minutes, three parts fell into place. The kid “tried” to put each of them on all possible wrong positions, each time waiting for my “no” and arguing with a joyful smile, put it next to it and, in the end, in the right place. The first transitional age, nothing can be done …
— KA !!
— First a puzzle, then a designer!
The child got off the sofa, dragged a music book with buttons from his room, began to press the buttons and listen to songs. With all his appearance, he showed that nothing in the world interests him less than some kind of designer …
… But the child was very unlucky that day: dad had time and inspiration. I wasn’t about to give up. I took the coveted designer from the shelf, sat down right in front of it, opened the box and began to take out the parts one by one, pretending to carefully study them. The child immediately held out his hands to them:
— KA !!
— First a puzzle, then a designer!
The child climbed on top of me, trying to get to the box itself. Being ready for this turn of events, I lifted the box up, moving it out of his reach. The only thing left for the kid was that, not slurping salty, return to the book, to which, in the meantime, he lost his last interest …
I sat down a little in order to prevent further attempts to seize the coveted forcibly and began to knock on the detail, collect simple designs from three or four details, try the newly assembled «masterpieces» on the tongue. The baby just did not salivate from the mouth …
— KAAA!!! KAAAAA!!! GIVE!!!!!
— First a puzzle, then a designer!
The guys in Denmark, who came up with Lego, know their business: bright multi-colored cute details could not leave anyone indifferent! There is nothing to do — desire overpowered harmfulness …
I have never seen such a build speed before … I’m not sure that I could sort everything so quickly. He made almost no mistakes. From one time, with a swing, he hammered the figures into place. It’s good that the whole puzzle was made of high-quality wood, otherwise it would have had a hard time …
— KA! KA! KA!
The child again held out the handles to the box.
— There still! — I said and pointed to a part lying to the side. Unlike a child, I could count to sixteen. 😉
There is nothing to do, he had to get the missing figures.
— KA!
“And what was the fault of that figure over there?”
…
I think he has never received such pleasure from the designer. He just didn’t talk to every detail…
…
It goes without saying that I assembled this construction set again when the child went to bed. I had no moral strength left for a new fight with the little scoundrel; besides, it was not clear what could be used as an incentive …
But the next morning, extraordinarily inspired by my pedagogical achievement, I decided to build on my success. The stumbling block was the same yesterday’s Lego constructor, which managed to «spread» all over the room. I had to rummage through the box with his old toys for a long time, but not in vain: I found his other old constructor, which should have aroused his interest, since he managed to forget it well.
During the time that I was collecting a nice house, the kid did not even look at me. As soon as I had fitted the stove to the house, I had to stop, as my mother returned from the store and I had to lift heavy boxes into the apartment.
…
When I returned, an indignant child was already waiting for me on the threshold. Right in front of the front door lay an impressive pile of «ruins» of my house, and next to it was a box in which the parts «lived».
Mom, barely holding back laughter, told me that all the time that I was walking, the baby was running around the apartment with a box from the designer, yelling “DAD! KA!
Naturally: dad is completely insolent! He played with the designer, but he does not want to clean up after himself. If only he could teach others!!!
…
I looked sadly at the plinth. I had a little less than half a year to make it more convenient. I had no more doubts that by his second birthday I, like everyone else, would walk on it, I no longer had …
PS
Previously, they wrote in such cases “when the number was made up” 🙂
The next day my grandparents came to visit. The child went to the closet with toys, took out a puzzle, took it apart. I played with her for five minutes. He carefully collected everything, handed it to me and said:
— On!
I took the toy from him and put it in the closet. So it happened with another designer, with the third.
Grandma and Grandpa were just happy. I had a great time with them that day.
“Why are you always talking about the child!” Look how golden it is! He always puts everything in its place, does not scatter anything. He will play carefully and collect everything himself! We would have such a child, you always just scattered everything …
It was useless to prove something …
Grandpa and Grandma got ready to leave. I took them to the bottom. When I returned…
… And the first, and second, and third designers were evenly scattered throughout the living room … A child towered from above with a smile from ear to ear … It was read in his eyes: “Well, educator, now you got it from your parents? Let’s see who wins!» 🙂