It is so true that today's society tends to keep us very busy... busier than our body and mind can actually keep up with. If it is this difficult for grown-ups, how challenging it might be for our little ones?
So whenever time allows, I am letting Roo take her time and space to accomplish a task in her hands. No... it does not always make sense to me (why would she need to buckle her car seat by herself before she even sits down?) but she needs to orient herself in the world before I consistently intervene with what makes sense to a grown-up. If I need to be at a certain place at a specific time, I simply start getting ready little earlier so nobody has to fuss about extra time it takes for her to be on the same page with us.
We also put away a lot of toys (and keep reducing general "stuff" from our house) and added two special ones - a little ukelele for her and a loan guitar from my dad for me. I have no idea how to play a guitar but I wanted to play it with Roo. My dad got this guitar when he was in college... 40 years ago... so it is a very special one and it took some convincing for him to lend it to me. Now whenever we have a little moment at home, we pretend as if we know how to play them and sing our favorites. (It's a good thing that you don't hear how we sound from the photo:)
I am looking forward to reading rest of the book... and see how our parenting approach will continue to evolve. So far it not only has reduced amount of melt down she has had in a day but also given me more space and time to flow through the day... It feels like an win-win for everyone:)
