My daughter is in the kitchen....

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Making a lemon cake from scratch and teaching her NT friend how to cook and measure and operate the gas burner in the process. I have gone elsewhere to give her free reign, but pretty impressed with her right now. Hopefully in about half an hour I will get a slice of the finished product! Or I will start smelling smoke soon.

This took some doing, so far I have overheard a mental battle with the idea that some butter packets signpost how much a piece of butter weights and some don't, forcing one to rely on scales, and there was frustration about why there is no amount of butter specified for greasing the dish. Also, some inventive thinking upon finding no breadcrumbs and reaching the conclusion that coconut has a similar function. But she sorted this all out herself. All in all, this is quite an achievement for someone who used to be terrified of kitchen fans, fire, and anything sharp.

I hear her washing up after herself now. Bodes well, right?

Sounds like your daughter realizes the futility of letting her fears rule her.

She has better coping skills at 8 years old than I had in my 20s. Not the cake making, the overcoming fears and finding positive ways to deal with things that pose a problem for her.

^^^It seems like you are an excellent guide---and she profits from your wisdom.

I wish someone had helped me like that when I was younger. Congratulations to your daughter!

How was the cake?

I love your post - I'm on the forum right now trying to calm myself a bit with other people's experiences because I feel like I'm not coping well with my two kids.

Cake-baking was just what I need to remind me of all the areas where I am doing well by my kids. Thank you!

You know what....the first one was not the best as she forgot to mix the flour at the final stage. But she set the table beautifully and we still had a lovely tea party. The next morning she woke up and decided to have another go and it came out perfect. Since, then when she has restless energy I suggest maybe she wants to bake something and she is working her way through her cookbook trying all sorts of things. Always with the kitchen all to herself and the rest of us far away... she works best alone, just like me!

Anyway, nice to see you. I know what you mean about not coping, it comes in waves. I am finding it hard at the moment as there is so much change on the horizon and I am struggling to keep my anxieties about it all under wraps! So I am taking a break from here to just really focus on the essentials of daily living for a few weeks or months, but hope to see you when I come back to the forum.

Hang in there.

Good thing that your daughter at an early age has a positive sign of coping easily.

Congratulations.