There are also plenty of times for a child to learn cause and effect (drop and retrieve), like my kids did while riding in the cart through the grocery store playing with keys or a toy. They drop them, I pick them up. This is far less messy than having food all over the house.

Using items like these are definitely a personal choice, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with parents desiring items that make their home a bit safer or help make life a bit easier. We have enough on our plates as it is.

And while sometimes it is necessary to lock dangerous things away from young hands, for the most part the best babyproofing is just smart organizing, good modelling and normal supervision/connection with your baby. I mean, locking your stroller and *walking away*? Today’s parents are disconnected from their babies enough as it is, seeming often to treat them more as luggage than as humans constantly in the process of self-building from the inside out… why would we want to further encourage this sort of thing?

And of course, as soon as a toddler sees something is locked away, what does that become? Temptation! The door that must be opened! It’s just all the more interesting to them. Children generally learn self-discipline and self-restraint when actually given the opportunity to practice it, not when it’s ‘forced’ upon them through artificial means.

As parents, we need to let go of our adult obsessions with “not making messes” and “get things done efficiently and expediently”, the need to make our children as little of an inconvenience on our time (and property) as possible. We have to recognize their drive and their need to explore, to investigate, to discover their entire world in their own way and their own time, since that is how we are ‘programmed’ to learn and grow. We have to make them part of our world, and accommodate *our* world to *their* needs, rather than constantly trying to re-design *their* world to fit *our* needs.

I may not be popular for this opinion, but at least I’m in good company! This all comes from Dr. Maria Montessori, the great pioneer from 100 years ago who recognized how alienated children were in the adult society of her time. Many things have changed since then… other things… not so much!

So I’ll pass on the contest, and hope the winner enjoys it. There is certainly a small place for these items… but just, think about it for a bit, and don’t overdo it, okay?

PINK!