About to Mouth

1
About to Mouth   Seven-month-old Brendan is in a
bouncer. Walter, eleven months old, toddles to
the bouncing Brendan, but plops on his bottom
right in front of the bouncer. Using the
bouncer, he pulls to stand and re-balances
himself. Walter now reaches for Brendans
fingers and pulls them toward his mouth.
Caregiver Betsy has been watching Walter. She is
within an arms length of him, but so far has not
intervened. Now, she quickly puts her hand over
Brendans fingers and stops them from entering
Walters mouth. She reaches for a soft plastic
block with her free hand and offers it to Walter
saying, Here, you can chew on this instead.
Walter takes the block and holds it in the hand
of an outstretched arm as he toddles off. Then,
plop, he lands on his bottom and begins to chew
on the block.
From the South Dakota Institute for Infant
Toddler Development Care