Have you heard the one about the parents who just couldn't WAIT until their toddlers could begin climbing the bookcase? And the stairs? And the counters? Of course you haven't. Because no parent in their right mind actually enjoys the monkey phase, also known in my house as the "oh sugar, honey, iced tea, how the heck did she get on top of the TV?" OK, no parent in their right mind except the bravest dad on the planet.
The gift to the parenting world that is YouTube served up this doozy this week: a dad who actually encouraged his two young children to shimmy up the frame of a doorway in their home. Awaiting them at the top of said frame was a pretty cool prize, and I must admit they are quite talented:
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Incredible kids!
Still, I'm not sure whether to congratulate this father on his talented children or to ask him if he accidentally ingested some sort of hallucinogenic while at home with his kids. Did he think that in rewarding their fantastic feats of climbing, he could somehow harness this power for good and thereby stave off the evil that is a toddler getting out of bed at 3 a.m., climbing the cabinets, and eating an entire box of Oreos while Mommy and Daddy are sleeping?
I should warn him my parents like to talk about how I favored climbing into the cereal cabinet while they snoozed. The way my dad tells it, I would clamber into their bed, box of Cheerios in hand, and take to feeding him. Dry Cheerios plus the deep inhale of a sleeping man = a choking daddy. He jokes that he got the sense sometimes that I was trying to kill him. At least, I think he's joking!
Can your kids climb like these little monkeys? What crazy places have you found them?
Image via YouTube