We’ve been spending some time up at the trailer lately. Because of the dry weather, there has been a fire ban for most of the summer. My poor husband has been eagerly anticipating having one. In fact, as soon as his plane landed from a recent trip out east, he texted me: ”Landed. Want to have D and C for a fire?” He was puppy dog sad when we drove up, only to find the ban had not yet been lifted.
This week we’ve had a couple of days of steady showers. The ban lifted – finally! For the first time, we had people for dinner while Poppet was still awake and lit a fire. Friday was national s’mores day, so we toasted up some sweet puffs of marshmallow goodness and had ourselves a s’more. Just……one. You see, despite our best efforts, it is literally impossible to keep a toddler from getting too near a roaring campfire. They are tipsy, they are turvy, and they just about fall in every time.
We tried sitting her in a chair. We tried holding her. But at some point she would try to make it from one of us to the other, and she would teeter, and we would jump. So, how to safely have a camp fire with a toddler about? Don’t even try!
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ha! this sounds about right! my Rowan would jump head first into a fire if I let him near one.
We used “STOP” for warnings when our kids were little. “No” comes out too easily and is good for general situations, but when they heard “STOP” they knew to freeze in place! It worked well for all my kids. Maybe that trick will help Poppet — cuz campfires are fun for everyone!!! :)
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What a GREAT idea! I’m going to start this today! Never thought of that as a tactic!
We love a good campfire over here too. I remember feeling like you described when my toddler was younger, and with good reason. Still, it’s nice to include them, and keeping it short and sweet (haha, literally) like you did seems the best way to go.
that made me anxious just reading it! my motherly instincts keep wanting to reach out to her and save her from falling in the fire! i never dealt with this at least not that i can remember. my three years just went camping with us and the fire was more of a place to throw everything, but luckily they are more stable on their feet now ; )
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My husband and I both love a good fire. Our son is nearly four and I don’t really remember how we handled him when he was younger. I think a lot of times we would just wait ’til he was asleep because a late fire was better than an unenjoyable one. This summer we have done fairly well with giving him a chair of his own and some pretty explicit rules. Of course, it doesn’t help that we also have a 16yo and a little monkey see, monkey do to deal with. It is amazing that all parents don’t keel over from heart failure before their kids leave the house.
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So true!
Laughing like crazy over here! Love the socks! I would have had a heart attack, followed by the house burning down! :-) Quite sure of it!
Our fire pit is dug into the ground, so my biggest fear is that in her teetering at the stone edge, she might actually fall DOWN into it! Think I’d be a bit less nervous with a fire pit in a stand, or a fire actually built on the ground. Had a friend who suggested we gather round his iphone and watch a virtual fire. Actually sounded like a good idea!
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Oh, Alec has LOVED fires from the time he learned to walk (11 months)! It helped us that we have a wood-burning stove in our home, so he learned “fire” and “hot” at a very early age. Since he was a year old, he actually helps his daddy throw sticks on our fires. He stands back and throws as hard as he can (which, I’m told by the more athletic, is very far for such a small boy). Makes me nervous, but I know his daddy won’t let him get too far into danger’s way, unlike his mommy. Last year, his daddy had left the stove open to let oxygen in. I was reading so not paying attention. Looked up to see Alec holding a ball of fire in his hand! He’d thrown his socks into the fire and then PULLED THEM BACK OUT! Yeah, I lost a few years on that one. Happy firesiding!