Bree’s Kitchen Drawer

Once Bree became mobile (crawling), she went through a stage where she disliked being left on her own, especially in the evenings. Her mum found it hard to keep her occupied while getting dinner ready at the same time. In situations like this, we moved the basket to one end of the kitchen (near the pantry and fridge) and there Bree would sit and play. Then the child gained confidence in her mobility and once she was walking steadily, she did what many toddlers all over the world do. No longer content with just a basketful of goodies to explore, the child became increasingly interested in checking out the kitchen drawers and cupboards.

Up until that stage, Bree’s dad had installed only one child lock for the cupboard under the kitchen sink and another one for the cooking utensils drawer. Then it was a mad race to install more child locks and electric outlet covers. Ideally, I would prefer to lock the child out of the kitchen but it doesn’t always work for all households. The parents also wanted Bree to be part of everything the family did. Bree’s mum and I agreed that some drawers will be left unlocked because the contents were relatively ‘safe’ under supervision. So, the deep drawer under the oven (where cake pans and the like are stored), a drawer for bibs and tea towels and a drawer for recipes and takeaway flyers were kept unlocked.

One day, Bree’s mum placed the recipes and flyers into a box and kept them in the cupboard above the fridge. She emptied all of Bree’s goodies from the basket into the drawer. From that day on, that became Bree’s kitchen drawer. Even though she is now two and a bit, she loves going to the drawer to have a look at what’s inside. The basket has a new job as well. It is now used to store Bree’s toys for the sandpit. She has learned to request to pick up her basket of toys from the laundry and then return it there later.

Eventually all of the items in Bree’s drawer will have to find a new home or return to where they originally came from. While she is happy to play with our version of ‘Fetch’ for now, Bree will soon be ready for the next stage of independence and I will have a new job for her kitchen drawer. I will need to discuss this with her mum first. So stay tuned for the next chapter in the near future.