My Child Helper

B did not smile but she wanted to have her photo taken

Spent the arvo with B last Friday. That gave me a chance to spend time with B and also allow her mum, my SIL to have an alone time with B's sister C.

B was rather quiet all the time she had lunch, until she got the chance to be my helper in baking. She was so excited to be my helper. She asked that I scoop the flour/sugar, etc and she pours it into the mixing bowl. I got her to hold my egg separator while I crack the egg and pour it into the separator to separate the egg white and egg yolk. B is especially thrilled with watching how the egg white runs through the separator and into the bowl. She kept on wow-ing and talking to herself, describing what she is seeing with a really excited tone of speech. On confirming with her mum, I learnt that she is thrilled because she has not seen an egg separator before. My SIL does not use one.

However when it comes to watching me use the electric egg beater, she did not want to come close to me. She said "You beat it there and I watch from here. I don't like the sound". She stood 2m away from me because she is afraid of the sound that the egg beater makes.

We also made some 'pearls' to put into our iced milk tea. That is her favourite beverage! Consider it as a treat for her... and of course we also made some pikelets which was also a treat for her.

One problem I faced was how to teach B to be more thankful and express it. After a few times of giving her some food, I reminded her that when someone gives her something, she should be saying ___? She simply refuses to say "thank you" even though I had a talk with her. I also gathered that she could be tired and hence did not want to speak. She took a nap soon after.

Thinking back, I wonder what I could have done better... how do I get her to express what she wants, what she is thinking/feeling? How do I teach her in the ways of the Lord in this case? When she is not in the mood, B will keep very silent. She only talks non-stop when she is happy. Maybe only her parents can get her to express herself... maybe I should learn to be less strict with her and so that she feels comfortable enough to share/express. But after all, she is still quite young (3 yo) and still learning how to express herself well.