What's That In My Soup??

My 6-year-old son Joshua was a clean freak. He couldn't stand dirt or what he perceived as "dirt" in any way. He would demand to have his shirt changed if there was a tiny spot of stain on it; his hands washed if there was a speck of dust; his drawing thrown away if the line he'd just drawn wasn't straight enough.

Once, he even kicked up a big fuss at the restaurant when his soup arrived with tiny bits of over-fried garlic. He started screaming and yelling, much to the horror of the waiter. The poor guy actually thought he'd spilled some hot soup on the kid!

Well, that was then, before we left the house inhibited by weird in-laws with even weirder habits. You see, mum-in-law has a mild case of OCD (obssesive compulsive disorder) and has this urge to wash her hands frequently. Somehow, she "conditioned" my son to be very much like her, much to my chagrin.

Here are some strange but real examples - Little Joshua wasn't allowed to walk barefoot in the house just as he started to learn to walk because the floor was "dirty" (Gosh, how is the poor kid ever going to learn to walk if he's not allowed to walk the usual way?); Little Joshua must not eat using his fingers (Good heavens! How do you hold your food then?) Little Joshua was not to eat anything that has dropped from his plate onto the dining table (I mean, what's wrong with that? It's not like it's dropped on to the floor!); etc.

I know in her own misguided way, the old lady meant well. But she was doing more harm than
good. Imagine my relief now that we don't live under the same roof.

In the past few months, I've managed to undo all the funny stuff she planted in my son. Joshua is now just like any other 6-year-old - having a blast in the sand pit, eating with his fingers, getting his shirt all brown and sticky, even spitting in his hand before making a deal.

And no, he doesn't scream murder when he sees something weird in his food anymore! Thank goodness.