Last week sometime I took Beth and Luke to the mall; we'd had a scheduled open house so to make use of our time we had lunch with daddy and I let the kids play in the indoor play area at the mall. Beth and Luke each ventured off immediately, so happy to be there! For a few minutes, Beth "helped" Luke play by showing him how to climb on the toys, but she soon noticed two girls- about her age- playing hide and seek. Beth asked me if she could play with them and I encouraged her to go to them and ask to play. She bravely walked away from me slowly and ask the little girl if she could play, and them immediately slunk down in their hiding spot and started talking and giggling. They played for the rest of the time I'd agreed to stay, probably another 15 minutes. She probably could've gone for another hour!
I was left thinking about this time, and how I wonder if I'm somehow cheating Beth of the opportunity to learn to play with others her age, especially girls. Since our friends moved, Beth hasn't had a friend that she sees on a regular basis. I know, she's newly 3, but she's becoming very social with other kids her age, and I feel like maybe she needs a social outlet. Dance is wonderful for her but it's not exactly an opportunity for free play!
There's the obvious option of pre-school or mother's day out, but that's not something I want to do with her. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of sending her off into someone else's care (call me controlling, but the most I can let her go is for an hour or two in the church nursery during my meetings!). I've considered starting or joining a playgroup, but I also don't want to get stuck in a group where my priorities differ greatly from the other moms in the group (cause we all know what playgroup moms talk about!). Our hom eschool group at church offers a lot of activities, even for kids her age, but I feel like I'm not ready to make any more commitments quite yet.
In any case, seeing her play with those little girls at the mall made me happy. She was having so much fun, so independently from me, and she talked about her experience with them for the rest of the day. Maybe I should just take her back to the mall once or twice a week!
Monday, January 25
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3 comments:
If you want to start a playgroup, I'm game, even if it's just us!
We would love to see you guys waaaaaay more often!! I think our girls play so well together! Just move to Huntsville :)
umm.. i don't actually know what playgroup moms talk about... crying babies, sick babies, cute babies, feeding babies... potty training, school, homework, the kid that bit your kid.... at least that what we talk about... don't be scared... also, fine line between protecting and controlling... just make sure you're on the right side. :)
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