Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Oedipus Strikes!

I’ve noticed that I have to re-bond with Stan every weekend at the moment. Sadly, I'm used to that with Mila and Frankie, as they're at their mum's 11 days out of 14. However, it seems that even with Stan, his mum is a more consistently present figure in his life. My access to him is limited to an hour or so in the morning, where I’m concentrating on ironing shirts and finding my wallet as well as giving Stan the attention he needs. By the end of the week I feel I’m a bit of peripheral figure and he’s a little stand-offish, but by the end of the weekend, after I’ve chased him around pretending to be a monkey for hours on end, he’s really cuddly and affectionate.

Admittedly he’s currently going through a bit of an oedipal phase, so mummy is very much the parent de jour. Like a lion separating a wildebeest from the herd, he physically tries to keep me away from his mum and gets rather miffed if I do get near to her. For instance, when he’s in Emily’s arms, he actually pushes me away so he has her to himself!

Mind you, Stan’s stereotypical male obsession with big machines – cars, trucks, trains, diggers and planes – suggests that he’ll soon be enthusiastically joining the patriarchal order!


2 comments:

Steve said...

Aw he's so cute. Totally takes after Emily ;-)

Tom went through a week of not smiling at Karen, even turning away from her... it really freaked her out for a while. And then suddenly he was all over her again. Very bizarre. We've yet to hit the Oedipal stage but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for it!

Tristan said...

Yep, kids know how to manipulate the parents very early on! I guess Dawkins would say it's a baby survival mechanism that's evolved over time...