Dr Jennifer Hanratty 💙🖤

Being a toddler can be a frustrating thing. As expert observers of their parents and siblings, toddlers are keenly aware of the examples being set around them - and deeply motivated to be just like YOU. The good news is that, thanks to their rapidly transforming motor, cognitive, and language skills, much of this emulation becomes possible (at least in early forms). But with these skills also still very much in development, toddlers’ desires and expectations can sometimes come into conflict with their actual/current abilities. And that can be hard. So much of what we consider the “terrible twos” is rooted in this frustration. Which is why I love this video. This backyard zip line isn’t within little Lyra’s skill set. But you can totally see where she might feel left out as her siblings ride time and again. Enter grandma and grandpa, who - together, slowly, safely, and appropriately - enable her to experience just the thing she wants most: To be one of the big kids. And her delight is just palpable. That face. Her delighted squeals. The. Best. This lovely example of toddlerhood done right was shared to IG by the_walters_family.