Planes, Kids and Bubble Gum

It has dawned on me that though I spent more time with child number one, teaching, playing and ensuring all milestones were noted and celebrated - it appears Master No 2 - SJ,  got far less attention.  Somehow he just plodded along. He passed most of his milestones almost under the radar - and I have noticed a few gaps along the way. Luckily he is super smart and I am starting to think he has probably learned more by osmosis than actual one on one 'developmental lessons'

I remember not so long ago, that Master SJ kept burning his mouth with hot food and I got a little frustrated with him, until on one occasion, he looked up at me with the biggest round eyes and said ' but mum I don't know how to check if it is hot when taking a mouthful'  Well child,  firstly you have an absent-minded mum (too busy probably thinking up of her next blog post) but also realised that some  skills were just missed or assumed learned by some miracle.  So what does all this have to do with Long haul flights and bubble gum?

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Well we can blame it on (Insert name Here) Airlines and the absent-minded mother - we boarded our flight for Amsterdam in Melbourne, and due to some technical issues, the plane sat on the tarmac for almost another two hours - while Frenchie was trying not to freak out about a delayed flight and recent aviation troubles and with no entertainment working,  what better idea than to grab some hubba Bubba and chomp on it - and once again  'Mum I don't know how to blow bubbles with my gum ' or bubbling (apparently is the correct term) - another gap in my son's development.... poor kid.

So in a wonderful Mum and son moment, whilst trying to remain calm and kill time, we both patiently spent a considerable amount of time practising our 'bubbling' skills. Wish I'd had the very handy instructions by Nintendo of America on how to blow a bubble! Come to think of it,  he should have acquired this skill simply by playing his Nintendo games... really!

Here are my son's instructions: (post lessons)

1. Chew and make flat
2. Place the now flat gum on teeth
3. Poke tongue out (make sure it is not broken) (the gum I assume)
4. Take tongue out and blow
5. Get your friend to smack it in your fac
6. Repeat over and over (till mum screams at you to bin it)

So there you have it folks, how to entertain a child whilst travelling... here are some other fun suggestions in case you need more ideas:

• Sick Bags & Kids - Journeys of the Fabulist
• Box of Cute Bandaids - hours of peeling and sticking bandaids (hopefully to a scrap piece of paper)
• Stickers
•  Electronic devices - Ipad, etc
• Colouring Pens and Paper
• FOOD - lots of little snacks should help
• 52 Fun Things to Do on the plane by Lynn Gordon

 
And on a side note, as I was researching images and info on Google about bubbles and kids, it appears that chewing gum is actually really BAD for you.. so though it is a great diversion on a long haul flight it might cause harm.. (hmm need to find an alternative to my little addiction then..damn research arghhh)