While at my parents and in laws, Sanju had picked a rather good habit of sitting with the adult for meals. Previously I had let him use his hands to pick fruits and biscuits for self feeding. Now he had even started using fork and spoon, thanks to our folks.
Let me first confess that the highchair we got for Sanju has been collecting dust, except for the rare occasions where we make him sit for 5 seconds and he cries to get out of it. It was now time to get Sanju on the highchair and self feed him once and for all. Being the clean freak I am (oh yes, I am monster at that), I have always dreaded the mess the toddler might create if given a chance to self feed. Few friends suggested I put newspapers below the chair to capture the waste and make cleaning easier.
My strategy was to allow Sanju to explore the food on his own, while I feed him the real food. So with Sanju on the highchair, I gave him a bowl and spoon. He was hooked, trying to pick, play and bang the spoon. At times, he even feeds himself with impressive accuracy. The first time I had newspapers layered on the floor. But during subsequent feeds, I allowed the food to drop on the floor, because cleaning it somehow turned therapeutic (guess another traits of being a clean freak).
Feeding is much easier now with Sanju doing half the work and staying put during meal times. In the past he would totally climb over his father during meal times but now he is happy with his bowl on the highchair. Hubby is pleased, the recent trip for bak kut teh is evident to that, too bad I did not capture the moment. However, I did capture the sweet moment Sanju picking up food with his hand to eat when the spoon did not seem to work.
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