DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T… be an inventor

Sophia Procter found a unique way to avoid tantrums at teatime

- BESS BROWNING

As I call my son, Ernie, now five, to the table for dinner, I notice how he responds without any fuss and happily sits down – a stark contrast to a couple of years ago when mealtimes were something to dread.

For years, I was faced with arm-flapping, leg-kicking tantrums in response to simply saying the words, ‘time for tea’. But now, my son is keen to tuck in, as long as it’s served in his favorite dish – one with a train track around it – the one I invented.

After years of climbing the PR career ladder, when my husband, Mark, 42, and I became parents to Ernie in February 2015, our priorities changed. Returning to work after maternity leave, I felt like I was missing out on precious moments that I’d never get back. I was always desperate to get home to feed Ernie his dinner and bathe him – things I loved until, like most toddlers, he started getting fussy at mealtimes.