Discovering Autumn with Baby: Tips for Enjoying Autumn Strolls
Let's turn your usual walk into a "first experience."
Bonjour!
It's September.
While some days are still hot, I sometimes feel a hint of autumn in the morning breeze and the color of the sky.
When you walk with your baby, don't you sometimes find yourself looking at things you never paid attention to before?
Leaves swaying in the wind.
Small acorns fallen on the path.
The sound of insects.
The sky, which feels a little higher.
Today, with Sophie, we're going to talk about "little autumns" that you discover with your baby.
For babies, every season is a series of "firsts."
For a baby experiencing autumn for the first time, of course, many things are new experiences.
But even a second autumn is completely different from the last.
A child who looked out from a stroller last year might be walking and finding leaves on their own this year.
For babies and small children, each season brings new discoveries every year.
Outside, there are various "firsts" that you can't encounter inside the house.
You don't have to feel like you "have to do something"
When it comes to walks with your baby,
"Where should I take them?"
"What should we play?"
you might think, but you don't have to go to a special place.
Just walking a short distance in your neighborhood,
"The wind feels nice."
"The leaves are swaying."
"Look, a bird!"
Put into words the things you discover with your baby.
That alone makes your usual path a little more enjoyable.
Adults, too, should see what the baby sees.
During a walk, a baby might suddenly stare intently at something.
From an adult's perspective,
"What are they looking at?"
you might wonder.
It could be sunlight filtering through trees.
It could be a swaying shadow.
It could be a dog passing by.
Babies are absorbed by things adults would just walk past.
In such moments, why not pause for a bit and look in the same direction as your baby?
Perhaps there's something "interesting" there that adults have forgotten.
Autumn comes even to tiny hands.
If your baby is a little older, they might show interest in fallen leaves and other elements of nature around them.
Rustling.
Smooth.
Fluffy.
When they start showing interest in various things, not just seeing them with their eyes, the joy of walks also increases.
Put your usual Sophie in your outing bag.
The outside world is full of things to see for the first time.
It's nice to bring one of your baby's usual toys on such an outing.
Sophie la girafe, held in your baby's tiny hands.
Looking at the sky and trees together from the stroller.
Sophie, who plays inside the house, might look a little different when she goes outside.
"Sophie, shall we go find autumn today?"
Saying something like that, you head out for a walk.
"First autumns" are only for this year.
Some days, daily life with a baby can feel like a repetition.
But with each change of season, the baby also changes little by little.
This year, it was an autumn seen while being carried.
Next year, it might be an autumn walked in tiny shoes.
The year after that,
"I found an acorn!"
they might tell you.
When you think about it that way, the autumn you're spending with your baby right now is a special autumn that only happens this year.
Even without going far.
Even without doing anything special.
Why not find a small piece of autumn on your usual path with your baby?
What "firsts" will you encounter today?
With Sophie, too.
À bientôt!