It is hard but do-able - you should be able to lean forwards just about enough. It's not ideal with the fixed divider.
Bigger issue for me is the fixed floor divider...we decided after our last flight that next time we would stick to one side of the a/c (window and aisle pairs rather than middle pairs), since the floor divider makes it tough to help them in their seat - you pretty much have to walk through the galley at the front or rear of the cabin to move to the other aisle.