Kids are pokey. Mobile babies and toddlers, especially, are so incessantly pokey. While their curious minds want to explore every space they’re in, it is also a recipe for a tantrum to keep tossing a string of ‘no’s’ at them. What’s a parent to do?
Allow me to introduce a concept to you: one-finger touch.
Your child can touch anything (within reason. Don’t pick a stove or whatever) they want. Everything they want. But with only. One. Finger.
With just one finger, they are physically unable to bend items, make a mess, or break things.
To be fair, I can’t take the credit for creating this brilliant solution—my cousin came up with it, my mom raved about it, and I stole it. And it’s been amazing.
This is a game-changer for being at other people’s houses. When Gwendolyn was just over a year, we took her to a family Christmas party. Of course, the only thing of interest to her there was the Christmas tree decked out in breakable baubles. However, we had already been practicing one-finger touch for months. And she stuck to it. She got to examine every ornament that caught her eye. And we didn’t have to constantly panic, or try to keep her away all evening.
So, how do you, effectively, train your child to do one-finger touch?
I start around a year old. When they want to touch something new that they wouldn’t be trusted with to mess with on their own, help them use just their pointer finger. It can help to say ‘just one touch’ or ‘one finger’. If they can’t do that—getting to excited, or getting grabby—you can simply let them know that the object can only be touched gently with one finger, or it can’t be touched at all. Little-little ones probably won’t be too vexed (or can be distracted) at this, but as they get older, you’ll just have to enforce using only one-finger. Either by helping, or asking them to show you how they can touch with just one finger.
In the end, this won’t replace parental supervision, but it can reduce your stress, knowing that your child knows how to gently handle objects. And a child who gets to really experience their world is a more content, less fussy one.
Good luck!
