Toddlers and Dogs: one and the same?

People with dogs love to say that dogs are like people. Well, I can hereby claim that toddlers are like dogs!

The baby is now a toddler of 17 months. He’s walking, he’s running, he’s eating play doh, he’s in attachment anxiety hell, and when does this leave time for one to write? One needs a room of one’s own that the children cannot open. One needs a room of one’s own with a good lock on it.

We unfortunately do not have a dog. Dogs are great when you have young children because they eat the mess off the floor and find random snacks left behind in the carpet. Dogs are cute, they cuddle, they make funny noises, sometimes they bark at the door. It occurred to me the other day that young toddlers are kind of like dogs. They are so sweet, and you can’t understand them ( at least I can’t understand mine). They need love and attention, they have their own personalities, and they are very needy. And, many young toddlers eat food off the ground. When Ethan throws his food off the table, I just put him on the floor and let him eat the food he dropped. It’s almost as good as having a dog! The floor gets cleaned up, the food doesn’t get wasted, and he is feeding himself. Do I care about all the germs he’s picking up when eating said discarded food? Well, actually, not really. We have a hard and fast rule at my house: if it’s been on the ground for awhile and no one has stepped on it, it’s safe to eat. The kid must have a strong immune system because he doesn’t get sick that often. I prefer the explanation is that my lax parenting ways have improved his immunity.