I did something for my own sanity that I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I started a play group! I sent out the email to the interested moms and nannies last week to solidify a weekly day and time (Thursdays at 12:15) and I setup the first activity for THIS Thursday! I am really excited about it because I know these moms and nannies, and I LIKE these moms and nannies!
It’s now summer, and I need to keep this little boy busy! I am working on his activity schedule that I plan to follow pretty closely. I am making sure we leave a free day in each week to just do whatever it is we feel like doing. Here is what I’m thinking:
- Monday – Gymnastics
- Tuesday – Aquatic Center
- Wednesday – Free day (or Aquatic Center make-up day)
- Thursday – Playgroup
- Friday – Indoor Swimming at the Y
I have the Monday, Thursday, and Friday activities set for every single week. Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be our flex days. This may sound really rigid (because it is), but Matthew is super social and needs to be with other kids a lot – and I like the idea of him getting to play with other kids most days of the week.
We have a date with my friend and her daughter for the aquatic center tomorrow and I can’t wait! I may even take Matthew’s lunch with me and have a little baby picnic while we’re there. We’ll see. I don’t know if I’ll be able to contain him long enough to eat anything while at the pool!
In other news, Matthew is walking again, slowly but surely. He’s very tentative but by the end of the day, he’s crossing the room again. He crawls more than he walks, but that’s OK because I’m sure he’s still a little sore and scared. It doesn’t help that his 3 year old cousin was over yesterday and literally pushed him to the ground at least 3 times. I watched her walk right up to him, put both hands on his shoulders, and push him to the floor. What do you do when another kid pushes your baby? I was stunned! The third time was on the tile floor and she literally threw him to the ground and he hit his head pretty hard. She also just walked up to him once and smacked him across the head. We’re not happy. B is going to talk to his sister about it because she kept acting like they were accidents and they.were.not.accidents. I have no idea what causes a 3 year old girl to do this to a baby. B mentioned today that he’s probably nervous about walking around, living in fear that his cousin will jump out and toss him to the floor.
This whole cousin thing has me riled up because I have to see them again on Thursday without B there – and this little girl knocks Matthew down every time they’re together so I know it will happen on Thursday. I think I’m going to intervene and tell her to never do that again because it’s mean. Advice, anyone? I have been told by a few people that as his mother, I have a right to tell her to stop if her mother won’t. Thoughts?
All the Sun For You 
June 12, 2012 at 2:58 am
In my family, whether you are an in-law or not, we all take responsibility for the children and their behaviour when we’re all together. As the mother of the child being pushed, and the aunt of the child doing the pushing, you most certainly have the right to say something.
June 12, 2012 at 8:02 am
Glad to hear about all these activities! It is giving me a push to stop thinking I “can’t” leave my house because of XYZ reason. Or the excuse that I “don’t know what’s going on” for HGB to go to. I live in the largest city in the country, and clearly I have the internet so there surely must be *something* to do!
Re: pushing, here is my two cents. In the moment, it DOES NOT matter if it was an “accident” or not. It is NOT SAFE and M could potentially be hurt. In the moment, you absolutely have the right to say “No! Don’t push. That hurt’s M.” You aren’t ‘disciplining’ her, or yelling at her, or whatever. You are firmly setting limits as to how she must behave in front of YOU, with YOUR child. You are under no obligation to explain yourself about this – if SIL wants to have a philosophical discussion with you about this, it needs to be before or after the fact but NOT in the moment, and not in front of the kids. It will not scar the girl for life, trust me. “Accident” or not, she needs to develop an awareness that knocking other people down is not acceptable. That’s a pretty universal life lesson.
June 12, 2012 at 8:05 am
I haven’t had experience with that yet, but I would definitely say something if it were my kid being pushed around. Maybe do it in a way that the mom hears so hopefully she will step in and correct her daughter so you don’t have to keep doing it. I think it’s great that you started a playgroup! I started one back in May but we only meet once a month. I like that you have activities planned throughout the week. I told JJ just last night that we need to come up with things for Chloe to do this summer – we put up our ghetto above ground pool last night so we can swim with her too. 🙂
June 13, 2012 at 12:40 pm
There is nothing ghetto about an above ground pool. I was wishing for one just the other day 😉
June 13, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Thank you, everyone, for the advice. I am taking it all to heart and will solve this problem tomorrow (when we see them next).