One step at a time

Georgie was practising stairs of more “ordinary” make – well, sort of. He can’t read – he just knows they’re not that weird slippery see-through stairs at the Apple Store.

Mummy then took him next door to the Apple Store to try those stairs again. As they approached the stairs – he stopped short. Nope! Not going up them. I took him to my friends house, she has some lovely stairs from here but he wouldn’t go up those either!As Mummy just had him and not the both if us (I was doing my big walk with Agnes), she picked him up and carried him to the half way point.

She then put him down – and urged him to take his first step …
And she waited as he tested each step before jumping on it. She urged him on – one at a time.

To be honest, those stairs look a bit scary, don’t you think?Eventually George made it to the top! Hooray! Even in time for Mummy’s One-to-One session. She did wonder if she might have missed her allocated slot.Mummy was so proud, told everyone how well he did and he got a lot of attention. And when it was time to leave, Georgie had no hesitancy. He ran down those stairs!

May’s comment: Someone would ask – why do I make him go up the stairs if he was afraid of it?

When George first arrived in London, he was afraid of cars, especially trucks and buses. He would put on all four brakes. I would pick him up and knew this was not going to work if he was going to live with us in the city. Eventually I just pulled him along, ignoring his fear. Today, he walks confidently and is not bothered by those large vehicles.

Then George would not get into cars. Again he would put on his brakes. Each time we would try and ended up picking him up. Then one day after having watched Darcy leaping into cars and cabs, he jumped into one. Today, he commutes with us in cars, buses, trains.

So like all his other fears, when he has a little help and we do it often enough, he will also overcome the fear of walking on a strange surface. He’s a smart little guy and he learns fast.

And he is taking life one step at a time. Well done, Georgie. We’ll conquer the world together.