We’ve Reached a Very Important Toddler Milestone

It’s a brand new day!  We’ve reached a huge, often unspoken, toddler milestone in our house – It’s time for this little guy to carry his own stuff!

Best of all…it was his idea!  And for once, it was a really good idea.  Because let’s not forget, this guy’s past ideas include playing with sharp objects, pulling items off the stove while I’m cooking, and hurling heavy objects towards my glass coffee table and windows.  Thankfully, he hasn’t been successful in any of those ventures, but this “carrying his own stuff” thing is an idea I can really get behind.

It all started a few weeks ago when I picked Everett up from daycare and he insisted on carrying his own diaper bag as we were leaving.  It. Was. Adorable.  But as it often happens when it comes to toddlers, the moment turned on me.  I tried to take the diaper bag from him, only to find myself in the middle of the world’s worst toddler tantrum.  Kicking, screaming, biting, you name it – it was happening in the middle of the daycare.  It then spilled out into the daycare parking lot as we left, where I’m pretty sure passersby thought I was attempting to abduct him.  All because he couldn’t wait to carry his own stuff.  As I dragged my distraught toddler to the car – who was so distraught, he no longer found any reason to put one foot in front of the other and walk on his own – I asked myself, “Why am I fighting this?”.  Okay, technically, I was fighting it that day because, although light, my diaper bag at the time was still too heavy for him to carry, but in theory, having him carry his own things sounded pretty good.

So I got on amazon that night and ordered him his very own backpack.  It arrived 2 days later and it’s been love ever since, even if we do occasionally fight about how it’s suppose to be worn.

Rest assured, I’ll still be carrying the Toddler Diaper Bag on the weekends, but for now, it feels pretty good to be 5-10 pounds lighter going into and out of daycare 5 days a week.