OCD Much?
I'm all for being clean, but my toddler is on a kick lately. Pixie doesn't want to eat foods that are messy. She doesn't want to use a spoon or fork that have food on them. She doesn't want to use her hands to eat food. If she knew there was such thing as an i.v. she'd insist I hook her up to one. Lately all she wants to eat are power bars and granola bars because they leave the fewest remnants on her hands and face. I unwittingly ruined the chicken nuggets I served for dinner last night by squirting ketchup on them. I ended up placing tiny pieces of them carefully into her mouth so that she didn't have to touch them or get ketchup on her lips with her scrubbing her face with a dishrag after each bite. (Yes, I realize my accommodation is half of the problem, but some days I just can't handle the sound of her screams.)
This morning she went outside her comfort zone and asked for oatmeal. I whipped some up, placed a spoon in the bowl and handed it to her. "The spoon is all messy!" she shrieked. "I'll get oatmeal on my face!" She refused to even touch the bowl. After trying to reason with her for a few minutes I finally caved and passed her oatmeal to our 5 month old and poured Pixie a bowl of cheerios. I put the spoon BESIDE the bowl this time. She was happy and took a big bite. Then another shriek. "The spoon is yucky!" she said, indicating the milk dripping from the spoon.
"Honey, it's just your cheerios," I sighed.
"Can I have a clean spoon?"
"Just use this one."
"I need a CLEAN one!"
"How about I give you a napkin and you can wipe the spoon off?"
I then gave her a stack of napkins. For the remainder of the meal she would take a bite, the nervously wipe her face and her spoon clean after each bite. By the end of the meal there was a rainforest's worth of crumpled napkins beside her cereal bowl.
Somehow having snot dripping from her nose all day doesn't bug her. Somehow peeing in her crib twice a day doesn't bother her. Somehow bringing handfuls of dirt into the house and rubbing them into the carpet doesn't bother her. But milk on her spoon? That's just disgusting.
Where did I go wrong? An OCD toddler and an infant with an outtie belly button? I just don't understand these people. I'm surrounded by traitors. And for some reason I accommodate them. I guess we all have our issues.
This morning she went outside her comfort zone and asked for oatmeal. I whipped some up, placed a spoon in the bowl and handed it to her. "The spoon is all messy!" she shrieked. "I'll get oatmeal on my face!" She refused to even touch the bowl. After trying to reason with her for a few minutes I finally caved and passed her oatmeal to our 5 month old and poured Pixie a bowl of cheerios. I put the spoon BESIDE the bowl this time. She was happy and took a big bite. Then another shriek. "The spoon is yucky!" she said, indicating the milk dripping from the spoon.
"Honey, it's just your cheerios," I sighed.
"Can I have a clean spoon?"
"Just use this one."
"I need a CLEAN one!"
"How about I give you a napkin and you can wipe the spoon off?"
I then gave her a stack of napkins. For the remainder of the meal she would take a bite, the nervously wipe her face and her spoon clean after each bite. By the end of the meal there was a rainforest's worth of crumpled napkins beside her cereal bowl.
Somehow having snot dripping from her nose all day doesn't bug her. Somehow peeing in her crib twice a day doesn't bother her. Somehow bringing handfuls of dirt into the house and rubbing them into the carpet doesn't bother her. But milk on her spoon? That's just disgusting.
Where did I go wrong? An OCD toddler and an infant with an outtie belly button? I just don't understand these people. I'm surrounded by traitors. And for some reason I accommodate them. I guess we all have our issues.
Comments
OCD runs in my family, and its usually a bit more... hmmm... consistent. If messiness was really the enemy, she'd mind the peeing in the crib, the dirt in the floor and the snot on the face.
So congratulations, she's not crazy, just a two-year old going through a phase.
I remember my kids being on top of the world when they were 4. They thought they had it all dialed. Then kindergarten and suddenly, uh oh, there's a whole new world out there, and they became very difficult.
I swear sometimes my 13yo still goes through these phases, but I'm hoping he's just bipolar.
This was probably no help at all. My best parenting tip: redirection, redirection, redirection.
You sound like a very patient mother.
when lily starts ordering me around at mealtime and i just can't stand it anymore, i leave whatever i think she needs to feed herself, and i just get out of there. most of the time i come back and she's managed to eat the cereal even though i poured the milk wrong on it.
look on the bright side, at least she isn't getting her fingers messy and leaving sticky fingerprints all over your furniture and walls.
...my children would be polite
...my thighs would be tones
...my complexion would be olive
...my life would be complete
Let's save that particular train of thought for a day when I really want to whine to you guys!
Also? I believe the bloggerland rule is if you use the word Cheerios in a post you HAVE to link back to me. Just sayin. (Don't verify that with GM)
Amber, I have linked up "cheerios" to your blog and will continue to do so for the rest of my existence.
You totally made my (going to be very long) day today. ROFL!