A new form of ‘mango cheek syndrome’

I’ve always remembered the term ‘mango cheek syndrome’ after reading about it once; how putting your kids first means you end up gnawing the stringy pip of a mango while your two children get a beautiful fat, fleshy cheek each.

(How cool to be able to google mango cheek syndrome and straight away find the online version of the article I’d read last year – it’s worth a read!)

Angela Mollard says in her article that there’s no metaphor more apt for motherhood than the relinquishing of the mango.  And to her list of the other things you’ve given up (like your waistline, sleep and going to the toilet on your own), I must add the chocolate powder on top of a cappuccino.

At the start I thought it was so clever how Maeve would very delicately dip one finger into the top of my coffee and then slowly find her mouth with that same finger.

Now, when she hears the coffee machine she rushes over and waits. There’s nothing patient in her waiting, though; there’s an urgent pulling on the leg of my jeans and a very serious request of  ‘peez!’.

But the dainty finger has gone.

And now I think it’s very clever how she’s replaced it with a full plunge and then an upward movement of all four fingers, enabling the largest quantity of chocolate to be transferred directly to the mouth in one scoop.