Marc can finally feed himself! Going to school has done him a world of good and I'm a school convert. Its not so much the academic learning at this age but the basic skills like self-feeding, putting on and removing shoes, packing up toys. We recently taught him how to throw rubbish into the bins at home too. (next on the list: fold own clothes!) He creates an almighty mess when he eats, which shocks quite a few people. But we're fairly renegade parents and would rather clean him up and give him the chance to learn to feed himself. Plus he loves food, so feeding himself keeps him occupied, which means we can eat! We take his feeding chair everywhere, which means we have peace of mind letting him eat off the tray as we can remove it and wash it ourselves.
And his latest indulgence - MACDONALDS! He loves the Fillet O Fish, which is our favourite too. We're pretty indulgent, but hey, life is short, live it to the full right? :) And to think i was totally anti macdonalds before I had kids! Somehow, they have the recipe down pat. Firstly - their eateries are air conditioned - a BIG PLUS in hot humid Singapore. Secondly, they have kid friendly equipment - high chairs, happy meals. Thirdly, they give kids free stuff which they like - just last Saturday they gave out free balloons to the kids. Balloons don't cost much - but it made Marc so happy, he was SOLD before we even walked in. And if the kids like the place - the parents will go! If only other businesses learnt this trick too. We were at Han's just last week for lunch and Marc was making a mess as usual. I got several dirty looks from the waitresses, who came up midway with a broom to sweep the floor. I had no intention to leave the restaurant in a mess, and was planning to clean up the chair and pick up whatever food bits I could from the floor. But even if I didn't - as a family restaurant, having kids mess up the place is part and parcel of customer service and running a restaurant. If you don't welcome families, then families won't come, simple as that. Of course, a lot depends on the service staff as well, but Management should communicate to their staff their business philosophies and enforce it.
The other bad thing about school - is that kids will fall sick. Marc's pretty strong and recovers quickly. Which leaves me sick for a week! I tell people that I have no immune system left, as I gave it all to my son! Oh well, its part and parcel of having kids I guess!