What We Are

I hosted one of my older mothers' groups here a few days ago. Was struck by the growing individuality of the three kids that came to the house. One of them enjoyed arranging plastic cups according to color--blue with blue, red with red, and so forth. Another was touching and studying people's shoes and socks. A little girl of 17 months sat at the brick fireplace and patted the spot next to her and said "Mama," urgently asking her mother to sit with her; she did this again when she sat on an old blanket. I won't reveal my son's favorite activities, although I will say that they involved electronic gadgets.

What's so special about all that? Just the idea that even young toddlers develop a passion for certain things. Will those passions translate into lifelong obsessions or are they just a fleeting fancy that will disappear in a few months? How much is a toddler an individual already?

It's easy, as a proud parent, to become convinced that one sees the individual emerging in one's son or daughter at 12 or 13 months of age. I've seen various signs that indicate my son will be sociable, but not extremely outgoing; that he will love to discover how things work; that he will enjoy a good laugh. Beyond that--can I really say what paths he will follow in life? It would be wrong to assume he will become a computer scientist just because he loves computers. He's obviously attracted more to the flashing lights and the online alphabet games we've discovered than to the inner workings of the computer. And it should be remembered that he relishes emptying plates out of the dishwasher and stacking them on the floor as much as seeing A,B, and C appear on the computer screen.

I know that one of my roles as a mom is to introduce him to as many different experiences as possible in these first few years, and to foster in him the ability and the desire to become a well-rounded person. But it's still fascinating to observe the particular passions that different young children develop, and to wonder--why shoes and socks for this little boy, and cups for another?