Little E’s arrival has meant that I need to keep Ethan very busy and with me at all times. This is because his affections towards Litte E are very intense and at times obsessive. We can’t leave him in a situation where he could accidentally hurt his sister.
The positive aspect of this is that I find I’m talking to Ethan more than I ever did, in the hope to hold his attention for as long as possible. Our food shopping delivery has never been so exciting!
To make him leave the front room I’m also making the jobs I have to do for Little E as exciting as possible. The main job at the moment is preparing Little E’s bottles, this includes washing and sterilising all of them.
Of course no four year old is going to find this very exciting but with the help of tommee tippee, bottle making is holding Ethan’s attention.
Whilst I wash the bottles and place them in the steriliser I’m counting all the time. ‘Ethan how many bottles are there?’, ‘Can you count the lids?’ etc. Ethan will then press the button to start the steriliser.
Darren treated himself to a new gadget when Little E arrived, a Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Perfect Prep Machine. This machine measures the water and it comes out at the correct temperature for the baby.
To prepare the bottle you have to press the button twice, perfect for a little guy who loves to press buttons, so I have made this Ethan’s job. I also encourage him to say ‘Go’ as he presses the button.
He then has to count the powdered milk scoops, at the moment we are on four. I will start and wait for Ethan to vocalise each number.
It isn’t a job that lasts hours but its a job that keeps him by my side and also out of trouble. The bonus is that we are also working on his communication skills.
Brilliant idea, sounds like you have it all sorted. He’s learning how to be helpful, that’s a great skill! 😉 am sure it’s not all as easy as you are making it sound, so am hoping you are getting lots of help and rest too xx
You’re right, it’s not easy. I’m mentally exhausted, keeping Ethan busy!
Well done E, it’s a difficult task to keep them stimulated and interested during tasks, but with the counting and the “Go!”, he’ll be enjoying it.
You must feel like you need eyes everywhere though xx
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