cheque

I must have seen this hundreds of times: a toddler runs around the park like a happy dog and it’s clear he’s having fun and he’ll never get tired, but as soon as it’s time to go home, he’ll ask to be carried. Cue frustrated mom who’s all YOU WEIGH A TON AND YOU CAN WALK YOU WERE RUNNING JUST NOW and all that. And TIL the child can’t help that behaviour at all. Apparently it’s a monkey instinct: until a certain age, baby monkeys and baby humans know that if their mom walks away, they simply can’t keep up with her. They’re not strong enough or fast enough, and if they try, they’ll get left behind. So they ask to be carried, and if the mom ignores that and leaves, they’ll sit down and cry because they think she’s abandoned them. So this is not a tantrum: it’s how little humans are wired. Apparently what you’re supposed to do is either take a stroller with you until your child is around three or just carry him the first time he asks and avoid an argument you can’t win.

Eileen Myles, "Writing" from I Must Be Living Twice: New and Selected Poems 1975 - 2014