You Can’t Catch Me!

Managing Toddlers’ Love Of Escape

Your toddler just learned to crawl? Lovely! Isn’t it amazing how fast can he go?

His cousin is walking now? Super! Has she run out into the street yet?

Being mobile is the answer to every toddler’s greatest wish. What better way to express independence than by running away from Mom and Dad? The squirminess of the rolling-over-baby is replaced by gleeful escape once kids can scoot across the floor. And how very, very fast they are!

When my older son was a toddler his dad and I lost track of him – I swear for just a moment - while standing in a new-car showroom. Next thing we knew, there was little Michael tottering on the edge of a busy highway. Yipes!

How do you keep them safe, when they have no idea that they can run head-long into danger?

You know most of this. You know that you’ve got to think like a toddler and notice where they could run to, climb onto, and shinny under. Never underestimate the creativity of the very young, who see intriguing opportunity in every nook and cranny and a racing straightaway in every stretch of driveway-intersected sidewalk. Realize that little kids don’t know that cars could suddenly appear on what looks to them to be a fine place to run. Realize that drivers are not looking for folks shorter than two feet tall.

Take time to insist on hand-holding through parking lots and take care to stand by on the playground, where little kids often run into each other and into the equipment. Understand that a toddler drunk on speed is too much for an older sib to manage, so don’t delegate the supervision. If wearing a harness lets your child feel independent while also staying safe, then don’t feel odd about getting her a harness and leash. You’re not treating your child like a dog. You’re showing as much care for your child as you would for a pet.

And realize that your toddler is not being bad. He’s just being a toddler. Remember the old folktale about the Gingerbread Boy? This is the defiant chorus:

I've run away from a little old woman,

A little old man,

And I can run away from you, I can!

Kids have been running away from their elders since time began. Let your Gingerbread Person revel in his independence but at the same time keep your Gingerbread Person safe!