Archive

Christmas and the New Year came and went, and James enjoyed the break and the general excess of the season. We're all back to work and school now and James isn't at all happy with having to get up in the morning and getting ready for school.

This morning he informed us with exasperation that "we were addicted to washing".  His aversion to getting washed in the morning is puzzling because, in every other respect, he is zealous in his pursuit of hygiene - especially other people's. After my partner's uncle visited us recently James told us that Uncle Bill had used the toilet but hadn't gone into the bathroom to wash his hands. "It's disgusting," he said. He then went on to say that he had told Uncle Bill, as he was walking back downstairs, that "The sink is in the bathroom!"

We tried to explain to James that it's not really appropriate to tell adults to wash their hands - even in a roundabout way. "But you tell me to wash my hands all the time," he said, "that's why I know it's so important."  Check mate. His logic is spot on, but trying to get him to adapt it to the real world is tricky.

We are off to see the dietician today to talk about how I can help James to eat more healthily and, hopefully, to lose some weight (an appointment that we have waited eight months for). Our experience of dieticians has not been great - some have been helpful, some patronising and unrealistic about how children eat. But I'm going with a positive attitude.

He's very sensitive about the issue of his weight and it's a constant battle trying to make sure he doesn't overeat while trying not to make too big a deal of it - I don't think I succeed. But at least he doesn't seem to be hiding food as much as he was and that is a relief, but we've got a long way to go.