Spoony

V read a website last week, one of those 'normal childhood development milestones' ones. They're great. One quick read provides 90% of your RDA of paranoia and fear. F was looking pretty good - bits of walking, talking, etc, plus what it referred to as 'increased levels of activity', which is certainly true. It also said 'starting to use a spoon.'

Nope, none of that. She's trained me to do it for her, more or less. But if some random website says normal children can do that by this age? Well, by God and St. George! I shall immediately commence a rapid programme of spoon training, and devil take the hindmost.

I had a simple approach - feed F about two-thirds of her usual breakfast porridge, then offer her both bowl and spoon and let her work it out.

Learning Notes 

Day 1

Porridge feels good. Good on the face, good on the elbows, good on the floor. 
F can now keep her baby skin smooth and soft with regular oatmeal peels. 
Two metres is still inside the splash zone. 
F has mastered this skill Matrix style. Yes, that's right - there is no spoon. Thank you, I'll be here all week.

Day 3

Porridge can be used like a drum. 
Porridge can be used like glue. 
Porridge can be used as a projectile weapon.
Porridge should not be used as porridge. That's boring. 

Day 5

Sudden progress! F can now fill the spoon. Then she meticulously wipes it clean with her other hand, turns it upside down and chews the other end. Every little helps, I guess.

All the same, holding the spoon and dipping it into the porridge after a mere five days seems like a tremendous rate of progress. I don't know when she's practising between meals, but she must be slipping it in somewhere. Middle of the night, maybe? When she wakes up yowling at 0300, it may represent some new breakthrough in spoon theory. I did find porridge on her blanket this afternoon, which may prove this hypothesis. Either that, or eight metres and a wall is still inside the splash zone.