A child's book shelf

There is a bookshelf, in our house, in fact, more than one. The child's book shelf I wish to speak of, is by the wall in the living room. It is of an unusual appearance, being a furniture book shelf, that is round in design, not rectangular.

Now, this bookshelf doesn't have a ladder leaning against it. Indeed, there is no ladder accessible in our house (from the days we found Tiarnan at the top of it, of his own accord, while a matter of several months old).

About two months ago, I heard a little squeal coming from the living room. When I looked in the room, I found that Tiarnan, who had been quietly playing, had found an altogether unorthodox use for a bookshelf. There was a strange new addition to the top shelf of my book shelf. There, balancing carefully on top of the books, was my son, Tiarnan (eighteen months at the time). Somehow, he had climbed to the top of the bookshelf - and had done so without, as I could see, knocking off any books.

Once he had got to the top, he found that going down didn't look so inviting - hence the squeal. I reached up and took him down.

This is just another adventure in our daily life with a little spiderman/spiderbaby/spidertoddler. With him, nothing is safe from being climbed. So far, he has yet to fall off anything - but I really don't want there ever to be a first time. He attempts to climb everything that looks even vaguely possible - and always succeeds, as far as I can see. Perhaps he was born to be a mountaineer (or comes from mountain-living stock!) - for he just can't stop climbing.

Although he enjoys climbing, I would rather he took up a safer pursuit - like reading the books, instead of climbing on the bookshelves (he does like books, actually, too).

If you have a climbing baby, no doubt you, too, have had the experience of finding your child in strange places. With Tiarnan, this is a fairly regular occurrence. Oh well...

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and ten months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and three months, and Tiarnan, twenty months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Child safety: window grilles, a life-saver

When we first bought our apartment on the top floor of an apartment block, it had beautiful uninterrupted views over a leafy area of Singapore, laden with old trees. Wonderful, you might have thought - but we didn't, not after our initial delight had been ambushed by a second thought. What was that second thought? That it was an awfully long way to fall down.

You see, the flat had balconies with windows that opened freely. An ambitious, athletic child could easily climb out of the windows - and fly briefly through the air to the ground below. We had young children to consider, so we went to considerable expense to obstruct our pristine views of a beautiful vista with what might seem like an ugly, black, gridwork of metallic grilles.

For a long time, they seemed to serve no purpose but to prevent us from fully enjoying the vantage of our apartment view - until the other day. Guess what my wife found, when she walked into the children's bedroom? Tiarnan, fifteen months, clinging to the grille, half-way between ceiling and floor, as they covered the open windows. Somehow he had climbed up a sheer perspex balcony covering, with no holds, to over three feet above the ground where the window grilles began. Then he had managed to pull his weight up and climb up to the open windows, covered only by the grilles. Had there been no grille, Tiarnan would have discovered the uglier side of gravity, pretty quickly.

So, if you have young children and a great view in an apartment on the second floor or above - don't hesitate to get grilles fitted. Yes, I know they are expensive - and ugly - but there will come a time when your children are able to climb up to open windows - and if that day comes and you do not have grilles, it could be the last day of your child's life. So get grilles, ugly or not.

Have a safe day - and watch those climbing babies. There is now nothing that Tiarnan won't climb - and no height or vantage he can't seem to reach. So, watch yours, too.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, fifteen months, or his gifted brothers, including Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and five months, and Fintan, three, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted children and gifted adults. Thanks.)

Tiarnan invents a new way to climb

Yesterday, Tiarnan, fourteen months, did something I have never heard a baby doing. He walked up the stairs backwards.

He started at the bottom, and reversed up two flights of stairs, clearly enjoying himself throughout until he got to the top.

This showed me something interesting about his motor skills: he does not need to see where he is going, anymore, to be surefooted - he has that unconscious, internal sense of where his limbs are and does not seem to need the constant feedback of vision that a young baby normally needs.

He didn't miss a step. He didn't stumble and he didn't fall - he just climbed backwards all the way up to the top. He did so quite quickly too.

In this action, I see Tiarnan's creative imagination at work - always seeking a new way to do an old thing; or a new way to do something he has never done before. Many children, having learnt to conquer the stairs, for instance, would, thereafter use the same method each time. Tiarnan is different: he has a need to experiment, to try a variation or find a new theme. It is in little things like this that a baby reveals their creative identity. If your baby is always trying to do things in new ways, then that baby is a creative child, who could and should grow up to be a creative adult.

I wonder what led Tiarnan to try this: what wondering thought did he have to see what it would be like to do so?

What a curious boy.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, fourteen months, or Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and four months (today), or Fintan, three, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children. Thanks.)

Tiarnan the baby "mountaineer"

I used to know a mountaineer: two in fact. They both shared the ideal that something should be climbed because they hadn't climbed it yet. They couldn't see a vertical challenge without itching to try it. I don't know the fate of both, but I know the fate of one: he left Oxford with a double starred First in Physics (that kind of means that you are brighter than God), then joined a famous firm as a Strategic Consultant of some kind. He then went on a mountain climbing holiday, at the age of 22. For reasons that may never be known, he managed to lose his footing, his grip or both - and fell 600 feet to his death. He was one of the brightest people I ever met. I rather wish he hadn't been a climber, though.

Anyway, such stories can only exacerbate parental worries. You see Tiarnan, twelve months, loves to climb. Today I took him to the playground and let him do something he has long been itching to do: climb up the vertical slides from the bottom. He had no trouble at all with this task, climbing the several metres of each slide, on his hands and knees, quite quickly. Since this was the first time I had let him do this, I was quite surprised at his facility. One slide was straight up and down, diagonally, the other was a spiral, but neither presented any difficulty.

Yesterday, he did something even more dangerous. He climbed up a ladder, all the way to the top and stood there, imbued with a sense of triumph. Needless to say, I stood behind him lest he fall, since I was curious about how far he would try to go. Again, he had no trouble with the task, despite it being the first time he has ever climbed a ladder. (I put it away after seeing him do that, because, of course, he would do it when I wasn't around, given the chance.)

Last week, he began to do something else which is enough to worry any parent: he climbed into his high chair from the floor and sat down in it. He has done it several times since. His method speaks of much upper body strength for his size, for what he does is hold onto the top of the chair from the ground and pull himself up until he can hook his leg over the top of the chair and then drags himself up. Not many adults would be able to do the manouevre, owing to a lack of the requisite arm strength, and a lack of the requisite flexibility to raise the leg above the head, to do so. He is quite a little athlete. It should be noted that, in his chair, there are no intermediate struts between ground level and chair level: so he cannot step up into it, he must haul himself up.

Tiarnan is not a thick set child, but he is of quite an athletic build, not large, but efficiently built. He is not tubby at all, in the way that many babies are.

Of course, this hobby of his presents us with a problem: to make sure he never tries to climb anything beyond his skill. It is true to say that Tiarnan requires more attention, at this age, than the other two children put together. I am half-hoping he will grow out of this habit: or are we to watch him climb ever taller objects as he gets older - making us ever more worried?

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, twelve months, Ainan, seven years and two months, a scientific child prodigy, or Fintan, three, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, baby genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted children and gifted adults in general. Thanks.)

Tiarnan's training regime

Yesterday we were at an Indian restaurant, in Orchard Road. We were with Tiarnan, eleven months, who managed to ensure that we couldn't focus on our food, so intent was he on deconstructing his new environment.

To control him, we placed him in a high chair: he fought his way to get out, trying every twist and turn he could think of, to free himself. So we took him out, which made him much happier, but much harder to handle. Oddly, he then tried to climb back into his high chair, lifting his leg up onto the first rung, followed by the second - and did, indeed, manage to secure himself halfway up the chair, his head looking over the top into the seat. I took him down.

Then, as if not satisfied with this degree of exercise, he sat between us on the chair and, for no apparent reason, started counting in Malay: "Satu, dua, tiga..." At each count, he rocked forward in his seat, as if doing mini-sit ups. I don't know of any time he has seen someone exercise in that manner, (I certainly don't) so I can only assume that the whim to count his sit ups - and to do them in the first place - came over him, of his own accord. It was the first time I have heard him count in Malay (though he has probably done so when I am not around): several months ago he started to count in English, in his sleep - I have posted on it, before.

Tiarnan looks set to be an athletic boy, so much does he enjoy moving around, climbing and exploring. He even appears to move rhythmically to music, so something in him wants to dance. He must have got that latter desire from his mother.

(If you would like to read more about Tiarnan or his gifted brothers, including scientific child prodigy, Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and one month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted children and gifted adults in general. Please note that I am presently unable to update the guide owing to problems with the edit post function in my blogger interface. I am trying to resolve the situation. Until I do, however, for recent posts you will have to go to the main page and look in the sidebar to the left. Thanks.)

Tiarnan walks downstairs, unassisted

On December 4th 2006, I caught sight of Tiarnan walking down the stairs unassisted. He stepped carefully from step to step and showed no evidence of fear - just an intensity at each movement, always appraising the steps with an attentive eye. Tiarnan is ten months old, so this is unusually young to walk downstairs. Needless to say, he didn't fall. Incidentally, for those who don't know babies well, walking downstairs is much harder and requires much more control, than walking upstairs - which he has already mastered.

At times he wants to climb into his cot - just like his elder brother Ainan used to do when he was eight months. He has long wanted to do this. When we catch sight of him, we stop him from doing so - for we are more concerned for the dangers of falling. It would be interesting to see, however, if like Ainan, he was able to do such a thing.

Tiarnan is proving to be very athletic and attempts things that show a certain bravado. Part of our apartment is split level. Tiarnan has devised a unique way of travelling from one level to the other: climb over a wall that divides them - and drop down into a couch, before proceeding to the ground from the sofa. He has done this quite a few times. At first I was wary, convinced he would hurt himself - but now that I have seen him do it several times, without mishap, I just watch and let him do it. He is happy to do so. He first did this when he was nine months old.

(If you would like to read more about Tiarnan or his gifted brothers, including Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, or Fintan, three, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, intelligence, IQ, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, baby genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Baby Tiarnan walks upstairs

Two days ago, baby Tiarnan Hasyl Cawley, took a calculated risk: he walked upstairs, three steps, on his own.

Long has he eyed the stairs and seemed prepared to walk up them...but only today did he gather his courage and do so. He is nine months old.

I was nearby in case he fell, but there was no need for my caution. I get the feeling with him, that he could have done such a thing a long time ago - but some early falls dissuaded him from being too adventurous too early. That and the hurtling comets that are his older brothers in the house, always threatening to knock him over at any time.

He was buzzing in excitement at his achievement. Sweet boy.

This follows his mastery of crawling upstairs at five weeks and two months - and crawling downstairs at eight months exactly.

To read more on these physical developments, of motor movement go to:

http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/09/baby-tiarnan-crawls-downstairs.html

For more links on Tiarnan Hasyl Cawley and his gifted brothers, including Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, six, please go to:

http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of child prodigy, child genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general.

Baby Tiarnan crawls downstairs.

Today Tiarnan Hasyl Cawley crawled downstairs, on his own, though watched carefully by his mother. He is eight months old, today, exactly. This follows his first crawling upstairs at five months and two weeks. Crawling downstairs is not easy: you should try it, yourself, adult or not - but be prepared to call an ambulance...it is really not easy at all.

If there is an award for "Bravery while crawling", I think he should get it. For the past three months he has assayed the stairs, mastering climbing it, quickly, after his first attempt...but, although he tried to crawl down it soon after, he would stop at the first step, after having placed his hands on the step below: you see, he had noted the problem - how not to fall down the stairs, head first.

Well, today he solved that one. He turned around and went down backwards. Hurrah!

(For more on Tiarnan and Ainan Celeste Cawley, six, a scientific child prodigy, and Fintan Nadym Cawley, a natural leader, go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html )