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| Mom, I think I could live with visiting the zoo weekly. |
So far we have a playdate about once a week with my friend and her 4 year old, 2 year old, and 7 month old. We also attend story time at the library once a week. But even at story time, he is in my lap and doesn't have much chance to play other kids while there (because they are supposed to be quiet, said in best nasaly librarian voice) We go to church on Sundays but his interaction with other children is pretty limited there.
I have signed us up for a free trial of a baby gym class. I am scared it's not going to be as I hope though. The person I talked to on the phone said they usually have 3 or 4 kids a class and the age range is 18 months to 3 years. So it kind of sounds like a hit or miss.
Then there is Kindermusik, which we did a month trial of last May, but it runs $210 a semester. Pretty pricey but I haven't ruled it out.
We go to the park about once a week. It's a quiet park near my house though and there are rarely other children there.
So my question is, what activities does your toddler participate in outside the home?
I'm pretty lucky to be in a big city with the zoo, children's museum and a bunch of other activities. We go to Little Gym, though, and he'll start weekly swim lessons this summer. I'm also in mom's groups.
We have a thing called Baby Talk here. They do the Kindermusik, but they also have a bunch of activities every week or two that are free. G and I currently attend the Breastfeeding Support class. The moms talk about breastfeeding issues while the kiddos play.
I found a moms group/playgroup through meetup.com when my DS was about 5 months old. BEST THING I EVER DID. Seriously. I've made friends, he has friends, we go to playdates on the regular (we're hosting one tomorrow) and I think it's so beneficial in many ways for my DS to socialize with other kids around his age, and it's important for me to socialize too :) We also do stuff together like mall walks, go to the park when it's warmer, we do a lot of other things, but they're kind of specific to our area so I don't really know what to suggest that's around you!
I would absolutely suggest seeking out some sort of playgroup though because I'm SO SOOO glad that I did and I learned a lot about what our area had to offer for young kids through the group. Good luck!
We got lucky and started a playgroup when he was 3 weeks old that meets twice a week. We were lucky to know a few friends, and they had a few friends, etc so the group just formed! But if you don't have that check out MOPS or meetup.com, etc. PG is the best because it is free! And they are our best friends now. In addition to doing that twice a week, we go to "The Music Class" once week. Don't know if you have them by you, but they are AMAZING! Can't say enough about that program. But it is expensive. Those are our 3 structured days. Other days we - go to the zoo (we have an annual pass), go to the park, go to the library, go to Barnes and Noble, go to "jump places" - we have a frequent jumper card, run errands, go on hikes, and do lots of crafts (love Pinterest for toddler craft ideas). We also did swim lessons last summer, and gymnastics through our local community center but he didn't like that- it was too much structure for his age at the time. Our community center also has art classes for 18+ months that we will probably try this summer (I think he is prob still a little young now at 21 months).
Baby gym classes was really helpful for my kids...Took them both to these classes and they quite enjoyed it..
Ah I'm scared! I have to meet some other moms IRL!
Jamie
For Love of Cupcakes
I found a local chapter of a MOMS Club... best thing we ever did!
www.momsclub.org Getting him out and about doesn't have to cost lots of money! (Plus, most clubs make meals after babies are born for their members... just sayin'...)
I just googled the name of my village + playgroup and found a facebook page for a WONDERFUL, completely FREE playgroup that meets at one of the school gyms in town once a week. They do crafts, sing songs, and even have a parachute to play with. I wish the same luck for you!