Competitive

Picture of the Day:

Toddlers are smart. If they weren't, SAHMs all over the world would be watching soaps and downing Dibbs. Don't believe me? Ask any parent what happened the last time they turned their back for 30 seconds. Madison dumped 2 bottles of nail polish onto our beautiful wood table in hopes of creating a new fabulous paint color for the wall. (Hence why you can find me flailing through the junk drawer, for my key to my locked cosmetic case, anytime I want to wear sandals.)

Recently, while browsing the ABC News website, I clicked on a headline that read, "Are You Smarter Than A Toddler". Thinking it was a story on keeping kids out of trouble, I got comfy. (Or as comfy as one can get on a stool in front of a computer monitor.) When the page loaded, I realized the story wasn't a 10-lister of "Best Toddler Safety Products", but rather a story on child prodigies.

Now Jeff and I are like most parents; we want the best for our child. We've made sure that Madison knows her A-B-C's, her colors - the building blocks for when she enters pre-school. We read three books before bedtime each night and we've even begun teaching Madison how to tell time. We feel felt like we are ahead of "the game".

There's nothing like knowing that another child, younger than your own, can rattle of 78 countries. Worse yet, find them on a map. Suddenly I'm reminded of conversations from my first Baby Bunch, "Your daughter can't crawl yet?" Crap.

It's not that I'm expecting Madison to be a Nobel prize winner by the time she learns how to roller skate, but it would be nice to know that I'm ahead of the game; actually, even in the middle would be of some comfort. Of course, now that I know what I'm up against I might as well wait for that flat of Belgium Chocolate and an icy glass of caffeine to fall from the sky...and, what the hell...Patrick Dempsey.

Maybe I just need therapy to erase the bad Baby Bunch conversations from my head. What happened to "Kids need to be kids. Let them play, make mud pies, splash in puddles...live." *looking up* Yeah, what happened to that?