Sometimes I feel like I’m a little too “lax” when it comes to my parenting. I let Ishu sit at my feet – making a mess with whatever he’s playing with – as I finish cooking dinner.

I let him roam around the playground and only intervene if I really, truly feel like he’s going to put himself or someone else in danger.

Yesterday, I plopped him down in front of the fridge as I put a couple groceries away. He took out all the condiments on the door shelves and placed them on the floor. He opened up the bottom drawer, took out a tomato, took a bite of it and then threw it back into the drawer.

Yeah, I could probably set some boundaries. I could probably tell him that “fridge is for looking and grabbing, high chair is for eating.” I could probably do a whole host of things that I’m not doing now.

But I think there’s also something pretty great about having a little free rein.

He’s exploring. And it’s messy and unstructured and, perhaps, not everybody’s approach.

But I love it.

He sits in front of the fridge. Grabs things that look interesting to him. Tells me what he wants (or doesn’t want). And then I pull it out, prepare it for him, and we walk over to his chair together.

He feels fully invested in whatever meal he’s eating at that moment. And he’s occupied while I put my groceries away.

Again, I don’t feel like my way is the “right way.” But I love that it works for us.

My kitchen is a little messy. We sometimes have half eaten tomatoes in our drawers. But, my kid feels like he got to make a very independent decision about what was for lunch.

Win win win. If you ask me.