ow, hot!

I try my hardest to teach Hampton why I'm telling him not to touch things or the reason why I'm not handing him his dinner right off the stove or out of the microwave. He's always at my feet in the bathroom while I get ready for work in the mornings, and I use a straightening iron everyday. When he comes close and tries to reach up to grab it, I'll say, "Don't touch! Hot! Ow!" and pull away my hand quickly. He now points at the straightener and says "ow" so I think he's getting it. With food, I say "Too hot, help mommy blow it" and we'll both blow on whatever he has to eat to buy time until I think it's cooled off enough. So, the other day, we were playing in his room, and he was fascinated by his night light. I went with the "Don't touch! Hot!" response as he reached for the bulb, completely expecting him to say "ow" and back away. Instead, he got real close to it, and started blowing on it! It was pretty funny! I think we've gotten the messages crossed though, and I may need to come up with a new approach to keep him away from objects that could hurt him...!