A child’s first careful steps turn an ordinary floor into an achievement.

A floor is not a neutral thing to everyone in the room. To most people it is the surface you cross without thinking; to whoever is learning to cross it, the same three metres are a distance with real difficulty in them. Attention like this is worth keeping, because plenty of adults are also crossing rooms that look easy from outside.

When you watch someone doing something hard that you find easy, measure it by their effort rather than yours. And when it is you who is relearning something, give the ordinary distances their proper weight.