Perhaps The Fostering of Independence in Our Children Has Gone Too Far...

Many of you know that we are all about letting our kids do things on their own - especially in the kitchen. By age 3, they generally make their own sandwiches and help younger siblings get yogurt or other such meal time necessities. My 2 older kids regularly make cookies and things, and Amelia cooks on the stove. (We still help with turning the stove on, of course.) Just this week Jonas made zuchini bread for us. So this independence thing is just part of life around here. (We still have a lot of work to do on the clean up aspect but hopefully we'll get there.)

However, this photo is my almost 16 month old sitting on the table. (I tell ya, you turn your head for just one minute...) Anyway, I realize lots of kids this age climb on tables, but you will notice that he is sitting next to a bowl of cereal that he poured himself. Seriously, hardly a flake out of the bowl! (Do you think 16 months is too early to start on personal food prep?) I think I'm glad that the milk was not left out as well. I just can't imagine he could have pulled that off quite as well. Although, it would be really awesome if he could take over feeding himself... Note to self: Leave items unattended on the table at your own risk.