Messy Developments

Feeding oneself. That has to be one milestone every parent heaves a sigh of great relief at. I for one am familiar with all the benefits of a child who can feed himself, at least in my imagination. Jemmy's mummy was encouraging me to get this training going as soon as possible so that when #2 arrives, it'll be a great load off my shoulders. I tried. But I didn't make much headway. And it's because of me...

Every parent has some form of hang-ups. Mine's to do with mess. I can't take mess. I cringe when I see adults scattering rice around their plates, not stacking up the meat and fish bones in a neat pile, dripping soup while the spoon journeys from the soup bowl to their mouth. I see clips of children eating with their hands (read: all ten fingers and palms) and collateral damage extends to the entire highchair, their faces, bodies and clothes. Honestly, I think mess is healthy for children. I mean, when eating, baking, playing with brushes and just plain experimenting, I think mess is a good part of growth! But I just can't bring myself to execute it. I read Karen Cheng's account of her boys helping out with some paint work and I thought it to be such a cool and fun idea but like Karen, I won't be able to watch.

So... when gabe's mouth misses the spoon, when he tilts the utensil before it reaches him, when the food goes all over the highchair, into his bib pocket and onto the floor, I cringe big time and pick up each blob the instant it drops. That's not including the happy banging of the spoon, uncontrolled stirring of the food, and those itchy hands beating me to the food that has dropped. Urgh it's such agony on my part. But it has to be done, especially when Carissa has accomplished the feat at 1.5 years old! And so has that 1.5 yo boy sitting behind us at the restaurant yesterday!

I do think it's high time for gabe to go intensive on training. He's more than ready. And with the extra motivation by Carissa, I think I'll do better this time. But this goes against the very grain of my make-up, so fingers crossed and pat on my shoulder for encouragement ok!