Bubbles in Your Milk

Tell me, is it really so bad?  Shlomo has reached the bubble-blowing stage, and I have to say, I think it’s hilarious.  The sound of it, the happiness of the kid, the way the bubbles get higher and higher – it’s all win, no lose.  And really really funny.

Granted, I no longer blow bubbles in my drinks.  But that’s because, well, I’m an adult.

And seriously?  Did any of you stop blowing bubbles because your parents screamed at you about it?  Because your parents told you that it’s not socially acceptable?  I’m guessing not.  It’s a childish behavior, and a behavior that every child knows and has practiced several times over.  It’s also fascinating.  And guess what?  It’s also something of a phase that we all grow out of.

Will Shlomo blow bubbles in his milk in grade one, whether or not I tell him not to do it now?  Probably.  Will he blow bubbles in his water on a date?  Probably not.  Will he blow bubbles in his milk with his own kids?  Probably yes, and I really couldn’t care less.  He won’t do it in high school, he won’t do it in college, and he won’t do it while he’s at work.  If he does do such a thing as an adult, it will probably be either alone or with his wife when they are both blowing bubbles in their milk together.  Unless, of course, he is doing it with his kids.

So I am not planning on saying anything.  I said one sentence – “You should know it’s not socially acceptable.”  When the bubbles got high enough I made Shlomo choose between sitting on my lap beside the computer and blowing bubbles in his milk; he gladly got off my lap, and it’s not the first time he’s made that choice.  He knows that any mess he makes he has to clean up.  And when too much milk started ending up on the floor I told him that we don’t waste milk and if he spills any more I will take it away.  Guess what – he is now keeping the milk in the cup and not letting it overflow.

In addition to the bubble-blowing, he also stuck an index finger in the milk to mix it, he said his hand was in the milk and it got wet.  He also told me he was blowing bubbles and then said that they looked like balloons.  Of course, balloons need to be popped, so stick your entire fist in the milk cup to pop the balloons, and say, “boom, trach (guttural “ch” again).”

These are not behaviors that will last until adulthood and so I think – we think – that life will be more peaceful if we let them be.  Some behaviors, if left alone, will just get worse if they are not stopped.  Somehow, we don’t think bubble-blowing is one of them.

Happy blowing.