obsessed with action heroes

for the longest time, we’ve tried to distract jan from superhero figures. we considered them to be inappropriate for his age and really, what good would he pick up from them? in germany, it was relatively easy, as there were lots of other options. there were a variety of well-made children shows that didn’t feature violence and fighting as its main plot.

now that we've moved to singapore, he’s obsessed with action heroes. it is so pervasive, not only on tv, we knew we were facing a losing battle when we implemented a restriction on them in our household.

boob tube

our tv went kaputt. that means, we have been televesion-free for the last three weeks now. oh yes, it’s possible! it probably sounds abnormal, but except for some snippets of news, we don’t watch much tv anyway. here's why.

jan's food allergies

early on, we found out that jan breaks out in rashes when coming into contact with cow’s milk and products made out of cow’s milk. but slowly, the last few weeks, he has been showing greater and greater tolerance, and he is now able to finish a cup of yoghurt or a slice of cheese without breaking into hives, nor suffering from diarrhea. because jan is slowly outgrowing his milk allergy, we have been getting complacent and less vigilant with what he puts in his mouth. he himself knows what he can and cannot eat. he asks if he’s not sure and readily accepts the fact if he can’t.

but then we discovered he's allergic to nuts, too!

co-sleeping

now and again, i encounter scientific literature that goes against the grain, against instinct, if i may call parenting that. see, we’ve adapted the “attachment parenting” approach in bringing up jan: lots of physical contact and no cry-til-you-can’t-breathe-anymore and the you-have-to-learn-how-to-soothe-yourself disciplinary approach. together with attachment parenting naturally comes breast-feeding and co-sleeping; jan has been breastfed for more than a year, and is still with us on the matrimonial bed to date.

so being a breastfeeding advocate, i am confounded by a recent report saying that breastmilk cause more cavities than cow’s milk. i say, huh? and then there’s the new guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics saying that infants should sleep in their cribs, not in their parents’ beds.

“The recommendations are very straightforward and clear: Babies should not be asleep in the same bed that their parents are sleeping in,” said James Kemp, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University and a world-recognized researcher on SIDS.

so will I follow the AAP recommendation? No way!

jan scribbles

jan learns to write at 1 and a half! :)