Likes:

  • Colouring
  • Sewing (small pillows) and embroidering (colourful lines on waffle cloth)
  • Order and separation. Mixing Legos from two sets is a no-no; Lego guys never climb on Plus plus constructions.
  • Movies with action and bloodless fighting in them.
  • Maths. Out of nowhere he tells me that “50 is an even number, because if you divide it then each one would get 25”. Or that 4 times 5 makes 20.
  • Reading. While I’m reading a bedtime story for him, he starts spelling out some word in the middle of the page and distracts us both. So he gets to read a bit now and again (for example the title and beginning of a chapter) and then I read the rest.
  • Pokemons. They’re almost better than Legos.

Does not like:

  • Criticism. He’s very sensitive to when someone is annoyed with something he does, or even sounds like they might be annoyed with him, and marches off in tears. Especially when he’s tired.
  • Chores. Even the lightest chore – setting the table for dinner – is too much. It’s “I’m so tired” and whining all the way through, even though it would take him all of three minutes if he just focused on getting it done.
  • Movie scenes that are too scary or too intensely suspenseful. He cuddles up very close to me, hides his face, or hides behind the sofa. It’s just too much.