Child's play?

Watching your child play is said to be therapeutic.

Reality of motherhood is that your child will never just play but turn things upside down around a just-cleaned house, throw his uneaten food all around and manage to stuff toys/objects in & around the house such that you will never be able to retrieve them without breaking your back.

My boi has recently moved up the toddlerhood ladder and now is at a phase where he HAS to throw everything down, bang it around and on the floor before he calls off the inspection.

In the last several days, he has managed to get his hand up on the kitchen counter (he managed that by tip-toeing) and throw down empty water bottles, spoons, bowls, and banged the life out of these. Next, he managed to get his hands on headsets and wireless mouse on the computer table. These were duly tasted, slobbered with saliva and then discarded beneath the bed. Just yesterday, he realised that he can also pull bedsheets, blankets off the beds and now this is a new game of tug-and-see-how-I can-make-mommy-run-after-me. With 6 teeth in front and molars ready to pop up, boi loves to use these on everything and everyone. I have been bitten several times now and so has been my iPad leather cover, wallet has been chewed at corners, and I just discovered tiny teeth marks on 5 whole apples that were in the fruit basket.  

I know from the various literature on motherhood, across websites and elsewhere, that toddlers between 1-3 years of age are a curious lot. It's natural for them to go exploring the cabinets, drawers, pulling out everything inside. Mind you, bumps and falls don't stop these little tykes. Skills like pulling up, standing, crawling, walking, climbing, and running help them test their environment. So, experts advise that leave your toddlers free to help them build their intelligence. 

Right. I did that and what a bad idea it was to do this in a mall when I was alone with boi (spouse missing). He scooted away in a second. What it did to poor mommy? It aged her 10x times. Yes, it also - magically - gave mommy strength to balance grocery bags, baby bag, a pram and baby with just 2 human hands. In turn, mommy figured that this is also an instant laugh inducer to others (non-kid couples) who watch mommy do the above routine. Win-win for all, eh?

I think even watching my active little person zoom around the house is now categorised as exhausting in my mommy book.