Siblings can create more pressure and incentive than parents or grandparents. At least that is the explanation Kathleen and Stan use for the fact that their neighbor's grandson, Joey, is just one week older than Emily but walks, er, staggers, already.
Joey has a brother and sister, Emily does not.This child development theory was played out tonight on the tarmac separating us from our neighbors, Tom and Sandy Story. Their daughter, Holly, had Joey here briefly, along with Joey's brother.
Stan and Kathleen came over to see the wonder of a one-year-old walker. That wasn't good enough for Joey's brother, Michael.
"Joey can skateboard!" he announced, and proceeded to carry his brother to the end of the driveway intent on demonstrating Joey's new skills.Turns out, Joey already has more sense than his big brother. He wanted nothing to do with the skateboard -- enough of this accelerated child development, he figured.
He quickly staggered away on wobbly pegs to his waiting mom and cried out just enough so that she would scoop him up off the tarmac, give him a hug, and feed him his sister's jump rope.
