Best Taste Face

The looks are priceless, even if the mess attached to this new adventure, can end up being somewhat of a cleanup task. Those first days when you decide it's time your child fed themself.  That endless fight to control the spoon is coming to an end and you're slowly relinquishing your grip.

Sure, you've learnt there's a right and a wrong time to let go when the pressure to control is being backed up with a strength that only a beginner musters when they're determined to win. For sure there'll be the flying pumpkin, potato or other foodstuff hitting the wall or floor as an everyday part of the learning process for you and the beginner. They just don't see or care that there's an overflow of work attached to the simple task of mealtime. But the overwhelming joy of seeing your beginner successfully navigate the spoon from the plate to the mouth with a near full transfer, and without a loss of dinner spilling on the way, will fill your heart with a newfound sense of pride.

Your shouts of joyous achievement around the kitchen or wherever you carry out your daily training routine, may only be witnessed by the beginner him or herself, and not really appreciated for the true value of such an achievement on your part. But regardless of the crowd of either one or other family members, it is a monumental win on your part as the carer of this mess making learner. Be prepared after you've made that all changing decision that it's time to hand over the control, to allow those little hands to begin that journey we all need to go through, feeding ourselves, and then stand back and watch. With patience, with love, and most importantly, with a cloth.