Leave him be, Mommy, it's his choice.

Mara taught me a valuable parenting lesson today.

We were having breakfast. Mara had thought of making French toast this morning so we had cooked it all together: Mara, Gaius and I. Each child breaking two eggs, mixing in turn to poke the yolks and dipping the bread in.

Now, at the dining table, both kids are behaving top-notch until Gaius decides he's slightly bored and wants to go wondering. I ask him if he's done, he says a clear and pointed "No".

Sitting down for the entire meal is hard for a year-and-a-half, they have so much to explore and experiment! But he still wants to eat while he's learning.
The solution? Direct his attention to learning something while he is at the table.

Mommy: "Gaius, would you like to practice cutting your french toast with a knife?"

Gaius: [Big nod.]

I bring the kids' knife - one safe for toddlers (this kids knife set from Curious Chef; it works well enough on veggies and fruit but will not cut through skin, so my kids have been using them since they were one. I thoroughly recommend it).

I hand it to him. He grabs the handle, puts it on his slice of french toast and pushes on top with his free hand. The only issue is that the knife blade is up and the blunt side on the toast.

Gaius pushes and pushes that blunt side onto the french toast, while enduring the slightly sharp edge feel on the palm of his hand. But he is determined, he keeps pushing. He finally checks the bread, then looks at me with big brown eyes and a most sincere shake of the head, saying a simple: "No."

Mommy: You have to put the knife with the sharp edge down, see, the one with the teeth.

Gaius silently turns it back with the blunt side down and repeats the same process.

Mommy: Here are the teeth, Gaius, these are the ones that will cut it. Like this.

Mara: Leave him be, Mommy, it's his choice.

Silence.

I realize she is right. He's been conducting an experiment, determining that pushing it that way has a different effect - it does not cut through. He's learning much more by trying the idea hands-on, than from me telling him how to do it "the right way".

Thank you, Mara, for the reminder.