When Your Strong-Willed Son Won’t Let You Help

I tried to wiggle the spoon out from my toddler’s grip.

“Let me help you,” I told him.

Spaghetti sauce was in his hair, on his cheeks. There was even a splotch on the ceiling. My son let out a yelp and yanked harder. The spoon was his now. His gaze had never left mine. He wasn’t yet two, but I saw his fierce intensity. His independence.

I let him have the spoon even though, technically, he couldn’t feed himself yet—and his attempts left me with a huge mess. As a first time mom, I wasn’t thin...