"Boys are found everywhere; on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to. A boy is truth with dirt on its face, beauty with a cut on its finger, wisdom with bubble gum in its hair, and the hope of the future with a frog in its pocket." - Alan Marshall Beck

It is easy to expect too much of the 15-month-old child. They look so much different from the crawling infant of a few months ago that many parents think their child "is no longer a baby." And while the 15-month-old child is indeed a whirlwind of activity and curiosity, he or she may lack a sense of danger or fear. Your child will try to climb up furniture or put his or her fingers in electrical sockets. Your youngster will touch everything in sight. As a parent, you may not realize what all this means until your child has his or her first temper tantrum, ruins the carpeting or nearly breaks a precious heirloom. Parenting this age is indeed a balancing act, between giving your child freedom to explore while keeping him or her sage.


My oh my, the above excerpt from the article ‘15 Months: Whirlwind of Activity’ aptly describes how my baby is at 15 months of age. He is certainly not the same baby who coos sweetly and stares lovingly into my eyes. Pfftt. He is his own person now; independent yet very clingy, smart yet not even close to being wise, super happy yet can throw fit in a blink of an eye.

Got this book from MPH but have yet to finish reading it. So are boys harder to handle compared to girls? I have no baby girl of my own to compare with but judging from the fact that Wahida’s Khayra never memanjat meja or menjerit di kedai makan, I guess, maybe lah kot? Haha.


So how is my Hadi these days, you ask?

He doesn’t cry. Most of the time he screams. Bergegar satu bangunan.

Memanjat adalah hobi nombor satu. The more cemas I get, the more fun he’ll have. Dia akan sengaja panjat meja/sofa dan buat-buat macam nak terjatuh then when I get all panic, he’ll laugh. Berdekah-dekah ya. Grrrr.

Did I tell you that he conteng my lantai? Yep, terleka seketika and he found a permanent marker pen and conteng away on my precious white tiles. Here’s the masterpiece. I think his art represents the stress in his life. Stress wak lu! Pfftt.

He still mengempeng to sleep but not as lama as before dah. Although I can’t wait to wean him off when he turns 2, I know I’m so gonna miss the bond; the peace and quiet between us as I nurse him to sleep. OK part main-main jari sambil mata terlelap memang comel. Cuba ingat part menggigit, part meronta tendang-tendang kaki sebab mengantuk tapi tak nak tidur, part menjerit tengah malam lapar susu. Grrrr seksa.

Tantrum. Although he is mostly a happy baby, oh my tentulah ada occasional tantrum. Memang tempted je nak jadi tarzan setiap kali but I have learned that the more garang I get, the more aggressive he’ll be. Bila lembut dan sabar sikit, diapun mellow. But me being short-tempered me, selalu je terbabas. I’m learning too.


Ah tak larat nak write down semua keletah dia. Like I said. Much smarter but not necessarily wiser. Smart enough to understand simple instruction but not smart enough to know that he could fall off the meja and membenjolkan kepala. Smart enough to play, sing along and understand conversation but not smart enough to know that conteng lantai could awake the tarzan in Mama.

I'd like to share among the tips given by the Tantrums book:
(1) Avoid using too many commands/ ultimatum.
(2) Avoid labels like ‘stubborn’, ‘brat’, ‘always has tantrum’.
(3) Don’t give in to misbehaviour like whining or tantrums once you have said no.
(4) Never get angry or aggressive back – this creates a vicious cycle.


Huh. Easier said than done. Haha. Well, I’m learning and as my baby grows older, I’ll learn so many more. I’ll learn to cope with his demand, I’ll learn the best way to handle his tantrum and I will learn so many more exciting, magical discoveries about my baby every single day.


Hadi oh Hadi, Mama loves you more than anything in this world, baby. You bring so much joy (and adventure) into our lives. But yeah, lower your scream pitch please. Bingit!