The hand, an interesting developmental step
Sep 4, 2006Yesterday, Nathan was “helping” Maria unpack some odds and ends that
had been on shelves in the apartment when he noticed a mannequin
hand Maria picked up years ago from a junk seller in the
Netherlands. He got an upset look on his face, shied away and circled
around to hold Maria’s leg. He wanted nothing to do with the fake hand
and would not go near it even after we demonstrated that it was okay.
What’s interesting is that it was one of the first things he stole off
a shelf when he started standing up from a crawl. When he first
learned to walk, at ten months, he would take that fake hand and carry
it around like any other toy. I guess he knows that hands are attached
to a person at the arm and there’s something not right about
one that isn’t. I admit it’s a kind of creepy object but it’s amazing
how he
integrated that himself.
Oh, and since he dislikes the fake hand, we’re making use of it as a
talisman to keep him from touching Maria’s laptop and stealing the
keycaps and mouse. I don’t expect the deterrent to last long. He
approached from the other side and opened the drawer today.
That desk drawer is going to need a hasp.