A couple of days ago I mentioned that BC has been doing a LOT more walking in his walker.
Yesterday we went to our favourite trash and treasure market for the morning. It is a very popular one and always quite crowded. Despite the crowds, BC insisted on walking the whole time.
Which is great, except there’s one thing I haven’t yet mentioned about his walking. YES, he can walk for a lot longer and a lot faster than the past, but he really still hasn’t mastered the art of walking straight.
I don’t think it’s only a matter of control, but also a matter of being a 4 year old with places to go and things to see and those things aren’t necessarily straight ahead.
So he ziz-zags his way along, making sudden turns and direction changes with very little warning to anyone nearby.
This is not a problem when we are in a shopping mall when there aren’t many people around and there’s lots of room – but quite a problem when we are at a very crowded outdoor market with lots of prams, dogs on leads and people stopping to chat with friends in the middle of the path.
After several near misses as people just managed to jump out of his way at the last minute (all, I must say, a little surprised, but very good humoured about it!), I pulled BC aside and we had a little chat. I explained to him that it wasn’t up to everyone else to get out of his way. That he had to slow down, watch where he was walking and try to walk straight.
It turns out, that in typical 4 year old fashion, the only part of my little chat that BC heard was ‘everyone else get out of the way’.
So as we continued to walk, he ploughed ahead, at full speed, zig-zagging like crazy, – the only difference this time was that he was shouting, at the top of his voice ‘GET OUT OF MY WAY!!! GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!’ as people leapt left and right to clear the path for him.
I know I should have been cross, very cross. But honestly, the sight was hilarious and the result was that I just couldn’t stop laughing and, never a fan of being stuck in crowds, I had an incredible urge (which I only just managed to keep in check) to join in the shouting with him.
We certainly got to where we wanted to go much faster.
We will continue to have this chat about walking carefully and straight in the future, hopefully with some success. But just secretly, I think it would be handy for us to keep in reserve a special ‘get out of my way’ walk, just for when we really need to get through a crowd quickly 
.
Di, what a great story! I understand the whole “get out of my way!” we always have people apologising to cooper so no wonder he thinks he is king of the path!
sounds like a lovely morning too!
ps- feel free to use the miss M and cooper story too.
bron xo
Love it Di! xx.
So funny! What a great kiddo.
Di, he is no different to any able bodied young child without a walker – they all walk in zig-zags paying no attention to anyone else around them. I love it.
Too funny – I can just picture him in action with people leaping out of his way!
Well now I understand fully that he can watch where he is going, but… I can not… It’s a bit like Moses and the Red Sea with my cane. I try my best to avoid people but they are the one that usually walk into me, as I tend to stop and let people pass.
Honestly OTHER people should pay more attention.
This a great story – as well as the one below where he walks the whole grocery trip. These stories are so encouraging.
Thanks for the oral device you showed in the last post, too. I might have to link some of that into a post, too!
I am sitting here laughing out loud at the vision of BC zooming around and yelling “GET OUT OF MY WAY!” That is awesome. Max behaved the same way in his walker (but wasn’t able to speak the words, you just knew it by the glint in his eye). BC will learn how to steer, his walker and then a bike, someday. It comes with time. Max just learned the skill this summer, and it’s amazing.