Having a hard time w kid activities

katncrack

I'm a little upset today. I took my almost fifteen month old to our town open gym for young kids. I thought it might be fun for her, but the kids were so rough. My kid was hit in the head with a basketball. It wasn't on purpose and I know that, but there was a lot of chaos and a lot of kids looking unsupervised. I feel like I want to find activities that will be good for her and age appropriate, but I'm not sure what is best. We do go to library story time and I'm in a moms group, but I also have to admit that I find the group activities chaotic also. Any suggestions for activities to foster positive growth and socialization? Thank you.

JaysonandKristin

Just keep trying the open gym.  If after a few tries it just doesn't seem like a scene with which you are comfortable, just move on.

There are tons of things that you can do at home as well.  I'm sure that MOMS club does playgroups, but you can also do learning adventures.  Pick themes -- explorers.  Make binoculars out of paper towel rolls cut in half and yarn.  Have them get outside and get dirty.  Too cold outside?  Hide a bunch of toys around the living room and do a hunt for treasure.  Tell them what they are looking for.

It's really easy to get caught up in what we think they need, but I honestly believe that sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves.  This ends up overcomplicating things.  Last week we went to open gym at the gymnastics center, and they have craft afterward.  The kids painted cut out ducks with yellow paint, glued on two googly eyes and 3 feathers.  They had a blast, and how simple was that? 

Fweetie

Are there any local parks? DS and I go twice a week to play on the play ground. You will find other mom's. I took DS to a play group and it was chaotic and he almost got ran over by the older kids going down the slide in a toy car!!!!! Also, in my home community, every evening the kids of the neighborhood get together in the culdasac. DS enjoys just running around. There are older kids and younger kids, but when the parents are your neighbors, they are more likely to make sure their kids aren't being too rough. Check out your home owner association activites if you live in a community. We also do painting, coloring, swiming... When I was in TN there was a place where you pay $10 a day and your LO can play all day. It was a giant room (toddler section was seperated from big kids) and there was foam rubber everywhere so if they hit the floor... no biggie! There was toys galore and balls and toddler trikes... and there was a room "attendant" who would sing and play games with the kids if they wanted. It was awesome. I don't remember what it was called, but they need something like that here. Ok, I just wrote you a novel. Sorry. Good luck! We are about to go to the play ground.

katncrack

Thank you for this. I think I'm putting too much pressure on this. I'm pretty sure my mom didn't enroll me in organized play as a kid, but I turned out fine just running and jumping and playing.

eatmorecupcakes

We go to c closely supervised play gym that is for ages 12 -36 months and it can still get a little rough.   I like the activities that J&K suggested.

 I SAH part time and while we do pick and choose a few activities that we pay for, most of the time we are outside at the park.  We do swimming, an indoor playground, the carousel and play space at the small, and baby gym but not consistently.  I try to save those activities for when it seems like DS is just over what we are doing.

His current favorite activity is to go outside, run around, and touch bushes and trees.  Sometimes it can be just that simple. I also met a group of girls at my BFing support group, so we have playdates from time to time.

 

Good luck!

melissa0726

I have found that by scouting local parks and playgrounds and talking to some of the parents, there seem to be days and times where you're more likely to find a younger toddler crowd playing.  When possible, I stick to a local tot lot.  The equipment is a lot smaller and more basic, so we're less likely to find bigger kids playing there. 

Also, I've been trying to get together more with neighbors with kids.  It felt weird making plans with them at first since they're strangers, but I've found that they're just as excited to talk to an adult for an hour here or there as I am!  Even just taking the kids on a stroller walk can be fun.  And even though some of their kids are older (2-4 yo), it's much less chaotic to keep a couple kids in check versus a whole group when we're playing outside.

I really don't take DD more than once a week (if that!) to an organized activity or storytime.   She seems to have plenty of fun playing and exploring right in our own yard and neighborhood.

ladybugpjb

I went with a friend to a couple of local "playmornings" sponsored by the YMCA on base - they were chaos. I heard horror stories about another one at a different housing area. The last time I went, a bigger kid (maybe 3) repeatedly smashed DS's fingers in the toy oven door before I realized what was happening. The problem with a lot of those large open playgroups is that a lot of moms use it as social time - turn the kids loose, then sit and talk with their friends. They don't pay attention to what their kids are doing, but they'll chew you out if you say something when their kid injures (or almost injures) yours. I stopped going because I didn't want DS to pick up the bad habits from the unsupervised kids (ie, the ones running around like crazy while the teacher led music/story time).

Someone else's idea of scouting out the local parks to see when toddlers tend to be there is a good idea. Also, you can make any outing into social time, even if it's not a big group activity. Example: we often stop and talk to other toddlers/parents at the grocery store. I think that's how DS really figured out how to wave hello/goodbye.