Mini me is growing into himself and he’s at the point where he is doing things along with saying things that make me shake my head! This past January Mini me turned four and I will admit that due to his asthma, eczema, food and seasonal allergies I’ve been very cautious with him. I’ve had blog rants about preschool germs on more than one occasion and the debatable “If your kid is sick, keep them home” rant! He was hospitalized as an infant due to severe eczema, he scratched himself so bad he had open wounds and developed a staph infection. We were in UNC children’s hospital for a week and from that point on I was overly obsessive. So it shouldn’t be surprising to me that mini me has developed a minor complex.

So for reference I digress to the movie “As Good As It Gets” when Melvin (Jack Nicholson) rants “Don’t touch me, don’t touch” as he walks through crowded NYC….this is my baby in the morning. His siblings are not allowed to touch him with their germ filled hands until he is ready and willing to be touched, this process may take up to 30 minutes. We will get to the plastic utensil reference and the fact that he wipes off kisses a bit later.

So by complex I mean a minor case of Germaphobia. Another example… I, Me, MOM was eating a piece of triple layered chocolate mousse cake. Mini me wanted a piece of “MY” cake and proceeds to ask me for a piece. I get ready to get him a piece of cake and he takes the fork from me before I can do anything, in order to clean it off with a napkin before his piece of cake touches it and he puts the fork in his mouth. I was speechless… Does this kid know that I carried him for nine months and nourished him in my womb, had the most natural child birth, then breastfed him for 36 months even though 24 months was my original cut off! We’ve shared so much but, he has to clean my fork before he uses it. I was offended and appalled at the notion that this child that I birthed thought I was diseased and had to clean my fork before he ate from it.

Mini me has his own designated sippy cup but, if we wants a sip of my drink he makes sure he is drinking from another side of the glass or he’ll wipe the rim or straw off. I know I was cautious with him, but was I so bad that I created a mini monster? I did things that I think any mother would do, especially if I have a child that has underlying issues that can be triggered by the slightest thing. Make sure he washes his hands, tell him to be cautious of other children when they’re sick. I taught him cover his mouth when he coughs or his nose when he sneezes. He uses hand sanitizer periodically throughout his day. These are all no brainers to me! So where did I go wrong?

I’m still cautious with Mini me because he still has the same issues to deal with. I’d love to think that maybe he’ll grow out of them at some point. When he gets sick or develops a respiratory infection, it’s a lot worse when you add asthma and he takes a little longer to recuperate with the average cold. We’re doing a lot better with his eczema and we stay away from certain foods. I do want to continue to be proactive so that we won’t have to deal with any unnecessary illnesses or ER visits but, I don’t know how to calm him. On a good day he may leave one of my kisses on his cheek, otherwise they get wiped off! Are there any other moms out the with a preschooler with Germaphobia tendencies? Please share your stories an how you deal with it, I’d love to hear from you.