I originally thought that freerange was referring more to outside stuff too...then someone observed my style with DD (VERY hands off, allowing her free range and access to whatever she can see in the house) and called it that.....to me, allowing her to play, explore, etc without me hovering...feels like the one year old equivelant of letting a 5+ year old to have free range out of the house. We are moving soon (crossing our fingers that we close with no problem!!) to a very much more remote location with a LOT of privacey and no one around really but the woodland creatures, etc...and at that point (and once she's older, obviously) will have a much easier time with letting her have more a free range arrangement outside.
The thing I love about the house we're buying and the one we have now...is that she is allowed to do whatever she wants in the way of expoloring, because I can see her wherever she is...there is only one room closed off to her...the other, like, 1300 square feet are hers to rip through and I can see and hear her the whole time. I keep a general idea of what she's doing...and would definitely know immediately if she were in "trouble" of any kind...but I really don't intrude upon her exploration. Needless to say, anything that holds any personal value to me/is breakable/is dangerous....is packed away or HIGH up..like, up away in cabinets or on top of the fridge.
I just love observing her from across the room she's in...like while I cook....she is learning about the way things work, taking things apart, studying things...getting messy. I just love it. I love that she has her own business, she seems to love that. She sticks close to me I think out of habit, just being worn all the time before she could walk and always being with me while I cooked, did laundry, etc....so, it's nice, now that she doesn't want to be held because she can walk...that she wants to stay close, but can be close while at the same time doing her own thing.
A few people in my life are amazed at the things she does "You mean, she doesn't get bored and cry until you play with her" - and you know...she really doesn't. We spend time together...like, reading, singing, dancing, etc...but when she plays, I find she plays much better, happier, when she is doing her own thing. If she wants to play with me, she will come to me with something specific...like, her lady and car, she has a playmobile little blue car, that has a lady who sits in it....she likes to zoom it back and forth with me. SO, if she wants to play something more cooperative like that, she will come and get me and I always stop what I'm doing or wrap it up and come play with her....but she has much more elaborate play when I'm not participating.
I knew I'd never be a "hover mom".....but I've been surprised at how naturally this method of being has been for us. She just gets into the funnest stuff. Like...the only two drawers she can reach, in a coffee table and end table...we've cleaned out and she keeps her "papers" in there. When I sit down in my chair to do bills, paperwork of any kind...she will hear me rattling papers, stop what she's doing and come over to where her papers are kept in her drawers and she will start busying herself with doing her own paperwork...stuffing it back into the drawer, taking it out again, scribbling on it with her crayon and then showing me....this is just so nice and so much different than I thought it would be.
I just thought she would NEED more instruction from me....more structuring of her time....but, clearly, she is quite fine to keep herself occupied. Especially now that she is discovering that she can make marks on paper with crayons...that has been a big thing for her...but she's ONE, you know? I just didn't expect this kind of playing so early.
Anyway...I just wondered who else has this sort of set up and how it works as they get older. We have a kind of schedule...because dada always leaves for work at the same time every morning...so it's up, breakfast with him, then waving bye bye on the porch...then she sleeps for a while...then she plays for a while, then eats again...I mean it's just all so lazy and laid back....I guess it's just sort of surprised me!!
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: I guess I feel lucky about where we live though. We are pretty rural in a little village - so not a big city life. But I honestly just could not life in a city! lol At three I am quite comfortable with him playing unsupervised outside the front of our house. We live at the end of a cul de sac way off road and next to a lovely little foresty/grassy type of footpath area which is very appealing to DS. I am sure I would be free range still if we lived in a city, but would certainly be more wary - however, I am sure my DS would probably be as well - as a very sensitive child, hes pretty in-tune with his surroundings!
, pick up (unplugged) cords and move them to the other side of the room, put things in bags, take things out of bags.
