DD is going to be a flower girl this weekend. She's 21/22 months old, and I'm already picturing worst case scenarios. Anyone have a kid in any "formal" event like this and have any advice? Anything at all?
Hype it up all week. Explain several times a day what she's going to be doing. Have her play pretend flower girl a few times in your living room or a hallway or something.
And chill. Hopefully the bride and groom understand that toddlers can't exactly be expected to behave appropriately all the time.
Be prepared for her to not want to walk down. My DD was a flower girl and was a few weeks shy of 2. We put her in a wagon and had someone pull her down the aisle. Make sure there is a parent near the front that she can see.
Having all those people turn and look at you (and probably go "awww") is overwhelming for young ones. So practice with her, tell her there will be lots of people there and just make sure she can see someone at the end and tell her to walk to them.
My DD who is 2 1/2 was a flower girl last month. We talked about what she was going to do a lot. We got books about being a flower girl from the library and read them lots of times. We also practiced walking and throwing flower petals in our hallway. She did a great job at the wedding, but we and the bride and groom were fully prepared for her to not do it at all. It probably helped that Daddy was the best man so she walked down to him and then came and sat by Grandma and Grandpa and Mommy.
DD1 was a flower girl at 21 months and did great. My sister stayed back and sent her down the aisle, while I was sitting near the front. Her grandpa was at the front with a treat, so we told her "walk to papa and he'll give you a treat." She went straight for him, then came and sat by me. She even held the 4yo ring bearers hand.
She was a flower girl again at 2.5 and that didn't go as well. She panicked and would not walk down the aisle. She ended up being carried in, then processed out at the end with DH who was best man.
Best advice: be prepared for meltdowns during pictures. If you can tell your LO is getting antsy or is over standing still for pics, get her out of there. Give her a snack, let her run a bit, then you can try again, but don't expect her to behave through all of it. It's a lot for the adults to behave through all of it, let alone a toddler
Mama to two sweet girls DD1 Feb 2010 DD2 Sept 2011
Re: XP: Flower Girl?
Hype it up all week. Explain several times a day what she's going to be doing. Have her play pretend flower girl a few times in your living room or a hallway or something.
And chill. Hopefully the bride and groom understand that toddlers can't exactly be expected to behave appropriately all the time.
Be prepared for her to not want to walk down. My DD was a flower girl and was a few weeks shy of 2. We put her in a wagon and had someone pull her down the aisle. Make sure there is a parent near the front that she can see.
Having all those people turn and look at you (and probably go "awww") is overwhelming for young ones. So practice with her, tell her there will be lots of people there and just make sure she can see someone at the end and tell her to walk to them.
Good luck!
DD was a Flower Girl a month ago and this as all the advice I received.
1. hype it up for a good long while before the event
2. have someone else send her down the isle (grandparent?) as toddles will often listen to others more than their parents
3. have mom be at the end waving her to walk towards her, perhaps with a treat or stuffed animal
4. if she freezes have someone hold her hand and walk down the aisle with her, if that also fails have someone carry her down the aisle
Good luck!!
Derek - February 2013 Caelyn April 2011
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011