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Worried about early childhood education? Don’t. Just Let Them Play!By Jodie Lynn, www.ParentToParent.com
Parents can get pretty busy and our relationships with our kids, spouse and ourselves can be extremely strained leading to an unhappy mom. Our world is a whirlwind filled with schedules and constant deadlines. Make sure you are taking time out for a simple but important pleasure with your kids: PLAYING.
This doesn't mean you have to always entertain them, even have company over for them everyday, or even sign them up for every single activity possible to enrich their whole being of a "perfect child."
Take a breather here and there to monitor their playtime and implement unscheduled time for them to just be a "kid" …for you to just be a mom and for good old dad to just be a "kid" -- er, a dad.
Don’t be in such a rush to get your babies and young children signed up for programs before the second (or possibly third) birthday. I'm not kidding! There are many conflicting stories derived from "researchers" regarding early childhood academic education. Let your children enjoy being children. Tune in to your children's needs and make the best choice for your specific situation. If you choose a program and it doesn't work out, make a change. If you have the time and a little imagination, there's no need to go overboard with expensive toys and programs. There are tons of gadgets inside and outside the house to create a fun and educational environment right at home.
Parents have a tendency to forget that everything is new and exciting to their children. There's no need for a formal learning environment with emphasis on academics. In these first two to three years, they're very busy learning to walk, speak and become coordinated, and trying to become an individual. They display a great zest for life and attempt to fulfill it daily.
Motor skills and language abilities are growing in daily leaps, and depending on the child, they can be very happy and quick to learn rituals anywhere. Your community probably has a wide variety of activities for children of this age range. Check out the local libraries, community centers, zoos, parks and colleges for year-round activities. There may be many fun, stress-free programs.
Begin with caution and proceed slowly. Remember that schedules can become out of hand very quickly. Think things through before signing up for too many organized playtimes. With all the hot new information out now on the developing brain of babies and young children, learning through playing will develop social skills and school readiness.
Top priorities include talking, playing, singing, touching and reading with your little ones. This should begin as soon as possible after the birth of your baby. Or you could do what many people I know including myself have done: begin talking and singing to your baby while he or she is still in the womb.
Playing With Others
If you are wondering if it’s OK for your child to be perfectly happy playing with play dough by herself, don’t fret. It’s not a big deal. In fact, it’s perfectly normal to stand back and watch others interact. Most toddlers aren’t into social behavior until the age of two or three. Check out this handy checklist and relax.
(Birth to age 15 months) - Repetition play helps the child to learn about her world. Dropping an object is one of the most common games. Even a six-month old will drop something and watch to see if someone will pick it up. If it does get picked up, it delivers pure delight when she gets to drop it over and over until someone stops picking it up. While it may drive many of us nuts, it is an excellent way to help the child gain control over her immediate environment while mastering a new skill.
(Age 15 months to 2 years) - Observing others but not participating is often referred to as the onlooker stage. This is common among all children. Playing by themselves is called solitary play. Here they just play by themselves. While older kids do this as well, it is not as popular as actually engaging in activities unless the child is reserved (which most parents refer to as being "shy.") Whether observing or playing, both help the child learn how to get along with others, building social skills while exposing them to language. Kids do not have to be a perfect little social butterfly -- and neither you nor your husband needs to feel stressed if they want to be alone.
(Ages 2 to 3 years) - Most older toddlers play side by side but are not really playing. This is called parallel play. There may not be any real interaction but it still provides a perfect chance to begin learning what belongs to whom...but mostly "mine." As they watch others and maybe dress up while pretending to pour and serve a drink, milk of course, they are experiencing their first taste to role-playing. All of this helps develop gross motor skills as well as some fine motor skills. So, relax, mom and dad, she will come around when ready.
(Ages 4 to 4 1/2 years) - This age group displays very unstructured organized play called associative play. An example of this would be when children are all sharing a box of action figures, but may all be playing different things with their own figures. Another example would be where children decide to play with a common aspiration in mind, like entertaining each other by singing a song for a pretend audience. The more interaction children have with other children, the better understood the rules of getting along would become. Playing with others teaches how to share, encourages language and the introduction of being fair. This age group can become quite creative and gain great self-esteem (especially if parents let go of the perfect child syndrome) and play right along the side of your bouncing rolling and free to be me preschooler.
(Age 5 and up) - Here is when things begin to turn into clear competition. While younger children often feel frustrated with rules of winning, the positive side is that games and rules offer the chance to build character and choose friends. As they grow older, they will enjoy being part of a group (some like large groups while others prefer small groups) which will help them become aware of different children and different ideas. This is especially a fun time for dad who often times acts like a big kid himself and children love it!
All in all, if your child is not into other kids, don‘t push too hard. She will come around when she is ready. For now, give her the space she may need to become more independent while still being there when she needs you.
© 2006 Jodie Lynn
Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Her syndicated column Parent to Parent(parenttoparent.com) has been successful for over 10 years and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to several sites including eDiets.com, MommiesMagazine.com, ClubMom.com and is the Resident Mom Expert for BabyUniverse.com. Lynn has written two books and contributed to two others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest best-selling parenting/family book is Mommy-CEO, revised edition.
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