[mermaidmama]

We went out to eat with my mil. She wanted to know if my 9 month old could have whipped cream and jello.....and some crayons. She said that her son was coloring at my sons age. And also asked if my son plays with bath foam in the tub yet. I said no to the jello and whipped cream because he cant eat that stuff yet and I dont want him eating sugar too often. I said no to the crayons and bath stuff because he would just put them in his mouth and those aren't really things I want in his mouth either.
She then says "Oh. So, did the dr. say if that was just a stage and he would grow out of it or not?"

Am I missing something? Do other 9 month olds color with crayons? I am really confused by the way she relates to him and what she believes is age appropriate. Am I wrong?

 

[elmh23]

Maybe her kid's never mouthed things (these babies do exist!) or she's totally forgotten that stage. I know my MIL has forgotten most of my husband and his siblings early years.

 

[lotusdebi]

I don't think you're wrong. More likely, your MIL's memory isn't as perfect as she thinks it is. You have nothing to worry about. A disinterested, "Oh, really?" and a "The doctor says he's doing just fine" at appropriate times would be your best response, IMO.

 

[soccermama]

No, you're not wrong. Ugh.....MIL's can be a pain some times and just not understand the parenting styles that we've acquired.

I would just explain your side, how you feel about what your LO should be eating or playing and say that it doesn't have anything to do with what your child's doctor has said - it's what YOU have said!

 

[mamazee]

What stage? Putting stuff in his mouth? Don't most 9-month-olds do that, and don't they all generally grow out of it? I guess I'm mystified by your MIL's thinking.

 

[alisoncooks]

I'm thinking it's just been so long since she had a 9 month old...

My DD is 10 months old and she wouldn't HAVE A CLUE what to do w/ a crayon (except, of course, EAT it)!

 

[Mamafreya]

Crayons were a nightmare for me when my girls were nine months old. All they wanted to do with them was eat them or stick them in things. Nose and ears were a favorite.

I think that she was just being mean and said that so you'd feel like something was wrong. I doubt that she's that clueless.

My MIL always said stuff like that to me when my first dd was an infant. My darling dh

told her that we were suffering from thrush when my first dd was two months old in front of me and she said.... (in a really disgusted tone) "I wasn't aware that people still got that anymore."

I guess there is a small chance that your MIL's kids never tried to stick things in their mouth. Seems odd to me though.

 

[Leilamus]

I don't think your MIL was being mean necessarily. My first guess is that she doesn't really remember your DH at 9 mos as well as she thinks she does. My oldest is only 6 and I still have a lot of trouble remembering what he did at 9 mos, 12mos etc as far as developmental milestones and such. Coloring with crayons at that age is not the norm and I'd guess your MIL just doesn't remember things the way she thought and isn't around a lot of other 9 mo olds.

 

[momtokea]

At 9 months my kids all ate crayons. They sat in their high chairs and banged things, screamed, drooled, and threw stuff around.

They don't do any of those things anymore

 

[Mamafreya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by momtokea At 9 months my kids all ate crayons. They sat in their high chairs and banged things, screamed, drooled, and threw stuff around. They don't do any of those things anymore

 

[accountclosed2]

I've nannied for a little boy who never really did put things in his mouth. It was just never a concern. It was hard to get him to eat things at all, and certainly, anything new to him, well, he would prefer not to touch it either! He grew out of that, by the way, around 4y.

 

[St. Margaret]

Heck, at around 10mo we gave DD crayons (she was starting to not mouth things right then, and did stop totally around a year) and she had fun coloring with them (as in, making huge sweeping scribbles back and forth across the surface of the table we set up with paper for her, on the paper and off--not sure I'd really call that coloring so much as exploring something!)--- but I still read that and thought your MIL was being batty. She probably just doesn't remember. That does sound a bit loaded, her question about the doctor saying it was a phase--like it was something BAD or developmentally inappropriate, but maybe she was trying to say even authorities say it's normal and they outgrow it. And the jello/whipped cream! Such a typical thing people want to give young babies, eh?

 

[Storm Bride]

My son's 16, and I can't remember at what age he started to colour. He's always been very artistic and into drawing and colouring...but I'm pretty sure he was at least a year (we moved when he was 13 months old, and I have no recollection of him colouring in the first house). I couldn't begin to say exactly when, though. It doesn't seem that likely to me that your MIL remembers this stuff very clearly, since her son is obviously old enough to be a dad himself - it's been a while, yk?

(Okay - typed that out and then realized that, biologically, ds1 is old enough to be a dad himself. Eek.)

 

[Breeder]

I seriously doubt your husband was coloring at 9 mo. But even if he was that's hardly normal for this age.

I had one of those babies who didn't put everything in his mouth DS1 never really ate things. DS2 is like a billy goat though. If he can get it in there, it is going in his mouth.

:

 

[HarperRose]

My 17 mo old still tries to eat crayons. He's certainly NOT coloring!

 

[Kirsten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mermaidmama We went out to eat with my mil. She wanted to know if my 9 month old could have whipped cream and jello.....and some crayons. She said that her son was coloring at my sons age. And also asked if my son plays with bath foam in the tub yet. Am I missing something? Do other 9 month olds color with crayons? I am really confused by the way she relates to him and what she believes is age appropriate. Am I wrong?

whipped cream - ok by me.
Jello - no, could choke if he got a big hunk
crayons - depends on if you have a kid who puts everything in his mouth or not. My dd1 never put anything in her mouth that wasn't food. Not a Lego or a Barbie shoe or a paper clip or anything. Not at our house or other houses or restaurants. She just didn't. Dd2 did a bit, but it was pretty rare. Dd3 did at more of what I consider an average for babies.
bath foam - no, we don't use bubble bath or anything else that could be tough on sensitive parts. Play in clear water first, shampoo and wash up at the end, rinse and out right away.

So by my count, neither one of you are wrong. It is two and two (as I'd be ok with my kid having the whipped cream and crayons at that age, but not the jello or bath foam).

It depends on the kid you have. A very close friend of mine's dd ate pasta salad with uncountable different things in it when she was 9 months old, and my kid could barely choke down a Cheerio. I don't think your MIL did anything outrageous.

 

[ssh]

My 3.5 year old just started using crayons. She liked to bite them and make them into smaller pieces. She has been using finger paint since about 8 months old and markers from about 15 months. She didn't try to eat those things. After I started giving her paint in her high chair she stopped 'painting' with her food. She just really had a need to smear something all over the place and be really messy. Organic yogurt and homemade hummus are too expensive to waste large quantities of every day. I have an adult DD, who was using crayons very well by 18 months old and didn't use paint till age 3. Kids are just different.

 

[mama_mojo]

A friend gave DS colors for his first birthday, and I thought that was CRAZY. Ds did not really show any interest in coloring until he was close to 5. HOWEVER, that friend's son had been coloring since he could sit up, no kidding, and she just assumed that was normal. You might as well assume no ill intention.

Jello is NOT food. No one needs all those dyes and flavorings (but they're a fun treat every two or three years

).

ETA: Jello is not a choking hazard. I guess it could be aspirated, but I just think you could not choke on it.

 

[JudiAU]

I think she just doesn't remember.

Mouthing everything is very common at that age. I will say, though, that DS was never a big mouther. He mostly just hands me stuff that doesn't look like a toy and did when he was quite young too.

 

[sahmama_12]

I agree she probably doesn't remember. My 14 month old still eats crayons. His brother didn't start coloring (and stop mouthing things) until about 2 and 1/2 I figure thats about average.