By Dionna Ford

Yesterday my ten-month-old went down the slide by himself.

For months on our daily outing to the park, he sat next to me on the concrete playing with blocks or balls, watching his older brother run and play. He never went beyond arms reach, in spite of being an avid explorer at home.

But yesterday, he wandered away.

I watched him crawl to the slide, touch the rails, and make his way up the stairs. I moved to be closer.

He stood at the top, looking through the rails on one side, and then the other. He watched as his brother came up, then slid down, over and over. He moved closer to the slide, inching his feet closer and closer to the drop-off, sometimes pulling back a bit.

And then he did it — he stepped out, fell on his bottom, turned over,... More...