Ages and stages

Tristan’s teacher set up some “Ages and Stages” parent conferences with a developmental specialist for all the kids in the class. Before our appointment, we were to go through a series of worksheets and do specific tasks to see if our child could draw a circle, put on his own shirt, stand on one foot, etc. It was kind of fun and James and I took turns doing different activities with Tristan. Of all the things on the worksheets, putting on his own shirt was something we really didn’t know if he could do. Most of the time we dress him because it’s just faster and when you are trying to get out of the house, letting your 2-year-old dress himself could be dangerous. But, he did it just fine. When we went to the conference we were expecting some information about his personality type, suggestions on other fun developmental games we could play given his current abilities and other interesting tidbits. We just got a “yep, he’s right on track!” This is better than the alternatives but truthfully we were both disappointed in the briefness and unhelpfulness of the meeting. When she asked if we had any questions, all we could think of was one regarding Genevieve: Can six-month-olds learn to cough for attention? Since Genevieve recovered from her coughing spells, she seems to do these fake coughs when she feels she’s not getting enough attention. The answer is yes, she may have learned that this activity will bring us running. Who knew a baby could learn manipulation so early!