Parenting An 18-Month Old...A Few Simple Rules To Live By

• Rule: Never, ever give an 18-month old a soft-boiled egg.

I learned this lesson just this morning. David and I were watching an Iron Chef America we had TiVo'd from Sunday night, and the challenger used a soft boiled egg in one of his dishes. This reminded me of when I was young and would visit my grandparents. I asked for a soft boiled egg and toast sticks every morning. I thought, "What a fun thing to have for breakfast!" So this morning, I made this personal favorite for myself and the girls. Lucy said, "I'm not eating that." Amy saw me dipping the toast sticks into the yolk and was all over that egg. Or, I should say, the egg was all over her. I should learn NOT to get her dressed before breakfast.

• Rule: If there are items on the dining table, and the 18-month old can climb up into a chair, everything on that table is fair game.

• Rule: The only person who is deterred by a safety gate is the parent.

Amy learned from Lucy that if you push hard enough, the gate can be conquered. And if, for some reason, you're not strong enough to push it over, a child-sized chair makes a great stool for climbing over.

• Rule: The dishwasher contains lots of kitchen things that are never within reach normally.

It's especially annoying when the dishes are clean and Amy "drinks" out of every cup in the rack.

More rules to come. Maybe someday I'll learn my lesson.

Gina