forget about table manners!

rafael is becoming 1 in a week and officially entering the toddler stage! can you believe how fast time flies? yesterday i grabbed a leaflet from three sixty about feeding toddlers and it says:

let them explore, forget table manners for a moment

far too often we get overly concerned about the way toddlers eat and handle their food, and we get upset with "poor table manners" with not much eaten. remember that they are in an exploratory stage when they learn by seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting their food. this is how they establish their library of information on food. so let them explore freely, let them touch with their fingers so they can feel the texture. trying to impose table manners at this stage may turn off their interests totally. there will be time for table manners later on.

專家說：就讓幼兒盡情一邊探索一邊進食吧！管他的餐桌禮儀！

幼兒每天都在學習，學習用眼、口、鼻和手去感覺食物，他們就是靠這五官的感覺來認識新事物，怎能要求他們在這個階段要乖乖的好好的吃？

rafael had started learning using his 5 senses to feel the alphabet pasta quite a while ago. and a month ago, i also let him actually try feeding himself with a spoon. i was surprised that he could actually aim at his mouth pretty accurately! it turned out to be quite a mess of course, with congee everywhere, on the shirt, the highchair and the floor. rafael, next time i will surely put on a disposable mat on the ground before trying again so mommy can let you explore as freely as possible with your food while simplifying the after-math!

靖愷，就讓我們出齊眼、耳、口、鼻、手和腳來吃吧，弄得愈髒愈好，天一半地一半也不要緊，媽媽下次會記緊為你做好預防措施－－穿上保護衣和在地上舖上膠墊。 媽媽下次也會記緊再加多一點點的耐性。