Gaining Independence With Osper

I mentioned a few weeks back about my struggle in knowing when to give a little when it comes to my older two children. The fact that I want to give them a little bit more independence but not quite knowing how. Well the lovely people at Osper stepped in to help with eldest daughter.

Knowing When To Give A Little

I think as parents we will always see our children as our babies, even when they become fully grown adults, my own mum tells me this often. So this is where I have trouble knowing when to give a little, to bestow upon them a little more independence, trust them with just a tad more than I used to.

Things seem to be changing at a rapid rate for my eldest two. At seven and nine years old, they are growing far too quick for my liking and that isn't just in height (almost over taking me) but in the way they present themselves, the things that they talk about and just what they are able to do for themselves.

Some of their friends already have mobile phones which I find bazaar considering I didn't get a mobile until I was around thirteen years old. I'm not sure that they need this sort of technology when they are so young.

However there are moments where I have had to swallow a chill pill and let them go so to speak.

The Last Step Towards Independence

Layla was my last child. It doesn't seem two minutes ago that I gave birth to her yet now she is a fully fledged little person, no longer a baby. She walks, talks, feeds herself and rarely uses her pushchair anymore. My youngest daughter took her last steps towards independence the other day when she said goodbye nappies and hello knickers, that's right completely potty trained, day and night.

Potty training has definitely been interesting and all of my children have been so different with their approach so I  just wanted to share with you 5 easy tips to make the experience better for both parent and child.

There are the usual signs to look out for :

* They know when they have got a wet or dirty nappy.

* They might tell you when they are weeing or pooing, so they have good communication skills.

* They may be drier for longer periods of time.

Now this might be a good time to start trying but this doesn't necessarily mean that they are ready.

Independence means.....

..... that litte miss Layla has decided she would like to feed herself now.

Well technically she has been feeding herself since we began the weaning journey because we went down the BLW route. This meant that most foods were cut up in a way that she could hold them and experiment herself.

However when it came to the messy bits, like mashed potatoes, yoghurts etc, I would feed her with a spoon.

In the past couple of weeks, Layla has decided that she no longer wants of needs mummy's help anymore, when I've tried to feed her she has either turned her head away or pulled the spoon right out of my hands.

So I decided to be brave (I'm not a big fan of mess) and this morning I gave her a spoon, well actually she ended up with two, not quite sure how and I also gave her a pot full of yoghurt.....

Ok she may be eating with the wrong end of the spoon and yes I think she wore more than she ate BUT she did it, just another way of showing me that she is growing up.

xxxx

Just One More Step

So of all the firsts that little ones do, for me, I think learning to walk unaided has got to be one of the most exciting. I like my kids to be on the move.

Now Elise, Freya and Gracie all did things at the exact same time, learning to roll 4 months, learning to crawl 7 months, learning to stand up and cruise 8 months and they were all walking unaided by the age of 10 months.

My little monkey Layla wants to be different, you know she wants to stand out from the crowd!! She rolled at 4 months and that's when she decided to switch it up. She didn't start crawling until she was 9 months old, she had been teasing us on and off since she turned 7 months old, rocking on all fours, cheeky.

However as soon as she learnt to crawl there seemed to be no stopping her, she immediately started pulling herself up and walking around the furniture, I was sure she would be walking soon but of course she had to prove mummy wrong.

One week before her first birthday, we were on our holiday in Ibiza when she did it, she took her first step, we managed to coax her into taking three whole baby steps and that was it.

Since we've come back she hasn't done it again, as you can see from the picture below, she just stands there teasing me, look mum no hands!!!

Although she has added a new trick to her repertoire, the bounce.

When did your children learn to walk?? Which of their first had you most excited??

xxxx