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Fallen says
My almost 5 year old has been sick all week with a pretty brutal virus (for a while we were even suspecting meningitis until ER ruled it out… it’s pretty rough). Any advice on keeping sick kids happy while they are cranky? He mostly only seems content when he’s watching a show or sleeping, otherwise is just irritable (which is understandable).
Anonymous says
Let him watch a show all day.
Cb says
Maybe an audiobook and some quiet play? Like a new pack of Duplo/Lego?
Could you go for a drive in the car or set him up outside for a bit for a change of scenery? Long baths?
Hope he’s on the mend soon, that sounds really scary!
Anon says
The only things my kids do when sick are watch tv or sleep.
Spirograph says
This.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Yep. And same is true for me, when I have a bad illness! Let him rest and recover.
Anon says
Same
TheElms says
I say lean into the TV. Its hopefully only just a few more days. He’s clearly quite unwell. Maybe he would like to Facetime an aunt or uncle or grandparent (they could read him a book, if he’d like that) or possibly even a friend? I would also offer all the popsicles he wanted and his favorite foods if he has an appetite.
Isabella says
My mom used to bundle us up in a bunch of blankets and take us to the beach. Obviously location and kid dependent, but it worked great for us.
Cb says
My dad was convinced that fresh air cured all so would set me up with a blanket and a book on the patio.
Mary Moo Cow says
My husband describes himself as a Victorian invalid dying of consumption when he’s sick and whines “just wheel me out onto the patio for one last glimpse of the sunset.”
Cb says
Are we married to the same man? I describe my husband as a Victorian invalid with an iPhone. He rarely gets sick but when he does, he hangs out in his dressing gown and slumps dramatically, phone in hand. As someone with a chronic illness, I have no patience for it and will go work in the library because his inertia annoys me.
Anon says
My husband also tends to the dramatic when sick, but can at least joke about it/refer to his “man cold” and not expect me to drop everything to nurse him.
Anonymous says
If he’s content watching a show or sleeping, then let him watch shows and sleep?
Mary Moo Cow says
Is he cranky or irritable when you’re trying to get him to switch locations, like making him come to the table for dinner? Your ped can give you advice on how much to force it, but I let my kids stay on the couch and eat only what they can manage when they are sick. Trying to get them up and to the table, even when they are ostensibly well enough to do that, is not worth the fight. Like others, sleep and screen time best practices go out the window when kids are sick.
Anonymous says
We like Circle Round podcast, but my 3yo had suspected viral meningitis (not bacterial) in December and we just did lots of TV and sleep. He couldn’t even do TV at first because of photophobia. Screen time rules don’t apply with illness. I had someone take my other child (DH was away, of course) so they weren’t bored. Mine was screaming his head hurt it was awful!
Fallen says
What were his symptoms that made you suspect viral meningitis? He has neck pain; fever, headache, light sensitivity, and stomach issues and tested positive for enterovirus which can cause meningitis. ER doesn’t think it’s meningitis bc the neck stiffness isn’t bad, but I have my doubts
Cb says
Paging graphic novel mom – the Can We Read? substack just published a round up of graphic novels.
Anon318 says
Not the poster you were paging, but thanks for this! My graphic novel-loving rising second grader just discovered The InvestiGators and is loving it, in case anyone else is looking for similar suggestions.
Anon says
That was me, thanks!
Isabella says
It’s time to replace nighttime nursing with water for LB. Which gives me two shopping dillemas.
What kind of cup should I give him? I would prefer a straw instead of a sippy, but top priority is cleanability.
The extra volume (he likes water!) is flooding diapers (Huggies size 4) in the middle of the night. Is there any product to solve this problem, or do I just need to keep getting up to change the diapers.
Clementine says
Most straw cups have some leakage – Maybe a thermos funtain-er or camelbak Eddy+ water bottle would be my suggestion.
And… overnight diaper in a size up. So size 5 overnights (have tried Honest, Huggies, Target, and Pampers, currently using Pampers overnights). Life changing.
Anonymous says
+1 to sizing up on overnight diapers. Add a Sposie booster pad if needed.
Anon says
Dumb question, but our toddler (will be 3 in October) tends to flood her overnight diaper a few times a week. I just assumed this is because she is a camel and drinks a lot during the day and doesn’t pee it all out at her last evening potty trip. But do different brands really work differently? We’ve been brand loyal since she was born simply b/c she never got a bad reaction to them (Bambo) but now that she is in a toddler bed with extra bedding etc., washing the linens is more of a pain. It doesn’t wake her up (she’s slept through the night sincee early early on) so it’s not a middle of the night sheet change hassle.
Clementine says
They do! Not only absorbency but also fit. I used to hate Huggies and thought they were trash but now – they fit youngest really well.
Overnight diapers are also larger with more absorbent material, so they’re very different.
Anon says
I’ve always used Take and Toss sippy cups for night time water cups. I understand wanting to use straw cups, but I prefer to offer those during the day. We haven’t had any issues with water spilling out on flooring, etc. at night with those. (Knocking on wood)
Also just putting it out there. We have a contigo spill-proof straw cup. It is not actually spill proof. But they do have excellent customer service if you need a replacement.
Bette says
Munchkin any angle click lock with straw does not leak when new, but we find they get leaky after like a year or so . Not linking to avoid mod.
For overnight – add a sposie pad and switch to overnight diapers which are extra absorbent
Lise says
I tried about 723 cups before finding the Dr. Brown’s straw bottles. Easy to use and clean and very very minimal spillage (I’m not sure it’s doable to get to zero). We’ve always sized up overnight diapers months before the daytime ones and that has worked really well.
An.On. says
We ended up just cutting out the last bottle completely after ~1-2 weeks of water, since it was making the overnight diapers so soggy the kid was getting a rash. But to answer your question – straw cups are just harder to clean. I’ve noticed they can taste like the previous liquid even after being washed (and we use the little pipe cleaner which is a huge PITA). I prefer the soft spouts even if they have to be held up higher to drink from.
AwayEmily says
We’ve never had any leaks with 360 cups. They’re what both my big kids use at night for their bed water.
CCLA says
Same, 360 cups for years, from crib to bedside table until they’re old enough to know to close the water bottle lid at night.
Anon says
i feel like the worst mom. recently i lost it with my kids one night after they came out of their room for the millionth time while DH was out of town and said something along the lines of “your’e driving me crazy.” i apologized shortly thereafter and told them it was not a kind thing to say, but then last time they were procrastinating bedtime and started saying it to me. idk what is wrong with me lately, i’ve been very impatient with them, i already take an ssri, i dont feel depressed, i just wish i could turn my brain off for like a week.
Boston Legal Eagle says
You’re solo parenting, doing the whole nighttime routine (when everyone is already tired and stressed) and your kid keeps coming out of their room? Of course you’re annoyed! That’s a normal response. It’s really nice that you talked to them after – you normalized that everyone gets frustrated at times. Give yourself a break.
I just watched that documentary on the Duggars – now that is truly bad parenting. I guarantee everyone here is doing a much better job, even if we sometimes (often) get frustrated with our kids.
Cb says
Yep, definitely! I told my son he was being a pain in the bum last night after he did his nightly fuss about going to the loo before bed. He’s fine, he knows I love him, and he also knows that sometimes parents get frustrated.
Anonymous says
Agree.
FVNC says
My kids definitely know when I get exasperated with them. We talk about how even the people we love the most annoy each other sometimes and that doesn’t mean we don’t love each other — my daughter is almost 10, so we frame the discussion not just as parents being annoyed with kids or each other, but also kids being annoyed with parents. My daughter really seemed to like hearing that it’s okay to feel annoyed, like her feelings aren’t “wrong.”
AwayEmily says
Yeah I think it’s better to sometimes get mad and then apologize than to be a robot mom who is always perfect. You’re modeling a critically important life skill — what to do after you mess up.
Clementine says
Kids should see that we make mistakes and make it better.
And give yourself grace. Like they say in Frozen, ‘people make bad choices when they’re mad or scared or stressed.’
As someone who solo parents, it’s hard. Take a night off as much as you can – screens, easy dinner, podcast while you lay with the kids. I tend to lean into ‘silly’ so I will say ‘you’re driving me CRAAAZYYYY’ and then do a silly dance and make a silly face.
Anon says
Gently, do you think you’re holding yourself to impossibly high parenting standards and then shame spiraling when you can’t meet them which is making you even more frustrated and impatient? When I get like that I find I have to be very kind to myself so that I can then be kind to others.
Anon says
Did your kids sleep through the night at 2.5+? My good friend is really, really struggling with her kid refusing to sleep in his room, waking up, calling out, the works. She said to me “I think I have to wait until he’s at least 3 because I’ve heard that’s when kids can really sleep through the night” and I was curious if that’s true – we’re not at that age yet in our house but I’ve been hoping for sleeping through the night much earlier than that…
Anon says
Every kid is different. Ours slept through the night (7-8 hour stretches) by 2 months, and 11-12 hour stretches by 4 months. My BFF has a 6 year old and a 9 year old and they’ve never slept through the night. Most are somewhere in between.
(Yes i’m lucky and also i know it’s bc of them, not me)
Anonymous says
Yes – this was my experience as well. We were on the triple feed schedule and had to nurse and supplement every two hours for the first 8 weeks of DS’ life (he was full term, but in the 2% for height and weight). Once we got the okay from doctors to feed him on demand, DS slept for 8 hours straight, and moved to 12 hours straight at night about a week later, and he hasn’t looked back. He just is a kid who loves sleep and loves his bed (to the point where you’d think we had a teenager some mornings due to exclamations of “it’s too early to get up! Sleep is so nice why are you waking me up??” Which we will gladly take over night wakings, it’s just a very different experience from other kids we know).
HSAL says
Totally kid-specific. My oldest is 7 and I can count on two hands the number of times she’s woken up in the night since she was 10-11 months, usually when she’s ill. My twins are 5 and I would say it’s just been in the last 6 months that at least one of them hasn’t been up a few times a month. They probably got more consistent in the 3-4 range? Honestly I’ve blocked it out.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Every kid is different but I think most kids are sleeping through the night by age 1 at the latest. Of course there can be random wake-ups and sick nights where kids are up, but it’s not an expected nightly occurrence. We got lucky with good sleepers who were sleeping mostly through the night by 4/5 months, but by 1 year I think most parents get there or sleep train.
Am I off base? I’ve heard of extreme cases where kids are routinely not sleeping through after age 1.
Cb says
My son didn’t sleep through the night until he was 2…. he was a truly delightful baby during the day but a gremlin at night. And even now at almost 6, he wakes up needing the loo or needing covers sorted out. He’s had night terrors from 18 months onwards (which thankfully seem to be decreasing in frequency, thank goodness) which didn’t help.
He’s the easiest kid otherwise so it’s just the price of admission?
Anon says
None of my three kids was even close to sleeping through at 12 months. The older two woke 1-2x a night most nights until they were at least two (even the one we Ferber sleep trained!) My current 2yo has slept through four times in his life (defined as 9hrs straight) but many nights is still up 2-3x. Sleep is dependent on many factors, which are difficult to untangle, but it’s definitely not “abnormal” to still be waking up til 2 or later.
That said, there are varying levels of sleep training and sleep coaches to try if the parents are at the end of their ropes that could make a difference, but every family’s ability/tolerance for that is different.
Anonymous says
Hahaha!! My first didn’t sleep until we did Ferber at 18months, second slept through the night at 10 months (also Ferber). My mom says I didn’t until I was 2. My kids are awesome sleepers now, but I definitely have friends whose kids wake up A LOT at like age 6.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Clearly, I got lucky in the sleep department! Good to know. I would have been a grumpy mess with lack of sleep past 1 year, but obviously no one chooses that!
Anon says
My best friend didn’t sleep though the night until age 3. She’s an only child ;)
busybee says
My daughter started sleeping through the night around 8 months, though it wasn’t until 10 months that it was pretty reliable. She’s 20 months now and sleeps through the night almost every night. Bedtime is at 7; she falls asleep around 7:30 and wakes up around 6:30. Teething, specifically her canines, caused her to wake up during the night, as did a nasty stomach bug a few months ago. She occasionally- maybe once every few weeks- wakes up hysterically screaming and we can only assume she’s having a nightmare because she needs a hug and then goes back to sleep. We did not sleep train but always put her down awake.
Anon says
I have a nearly 3 yo and he’s always been a pretty decent sleeper. In the past year there have been middle of the night wakings. Some potty related (too wet/pooped) but a lot of it seems more like bad dreams. About a month ago he was up at like 3am and we brought him into our bed and he was whimpering in his sleep when he fell back asleep.
He’s usually down by 9 and awake somewhere between 6:30/7.
He will have a stretch of 5am wakeups when he’s got a new skill. Fwiw he’s still happily in his crib.
Lise says
My son is 2.5 and he started sleeping through the night around 9-10 months. There are sometimes bad nights and disruptions but either it’s a one-off (I mean, I’m 40, and I randomly had trouble sleeping last night), or we realize it’s time to adjust his bedtime a bit and then things go back to being good.
Anonymous says
This is all a blur because my son is now 11, but it varied – progress was not linear. Take this with a large grain of salt, but my memory is that he slept some 8 hour stretches really early on, when he was a few months old, then woke up 3x a night during a brief but memorable 4 month sleep regression, slept 12 hours straight for 3 blissful nights, then woke up about 1x a night most nights until he was around 9 months. Then he slept through for a few months, then regressed around a year old, after which it was kind of up and down. I think it became more predictable/reliable by age 2. But then when he was in preschool there were a lot of middle of the night wake ups for “bad dreams” that required us to walk him back to bed and tuck him in almost once a night. Every kid is different and every parent’s appetite for intervention is different so it really varies.
Anon says
Yeah super kid dependent. Mine slept through the night very early as an infant (~6 weeks) but then ages 2-3 were harder and she woke up more and needed us more in the night (though not the way an infant wakes up constantly). I also had less patience for it -babies are supposed to wake up all the time, toddlers aren’t, so that made it harder on me than infant wake-up’s.
AwayEmily says
Joining the chorus that kids are different and also parents differ in what they are okay with. I have friends with a 3yo who still gets up in the middle of the night and come into bed with them and honestly it seems to work great for their family. I would be a hard no on that because I really need a solid night’s sleep to function. We sleep trained both our kids very early (11 weeks). Since then my 7yo has woken up at night like five times ever. My 5yo has had a tougher time with sleep — he had night terrors as a toddler and now once or twice a week he’s up for some reason (pullup leaked, heard a scary noise, needs more water). I think he’d love to sleep with us every night but we have figured out alternative strategies to make sure everyone gets the sleep they need.
Anon says
We let our kid come into our room during this phase at age 3 precisely *because* it was the easiest way for us all to get a solid night sleep. Trying to put her back in her room resulted in an hour of crying and whining that made us all wide awake, whereas if we just agreed to let her in our bed we all went right back to sleep. It was a relatively short phase and she went back to sleeping in her own room eventually.
Anonymous says
I think the main takeaway here is that there is no reason for your friend to wait until her child is at least 3. If this pattern is affecting her sleep and her life, she should start to experiment with solutions TONIGHT. There are a million different things she could try, from Hatch light to pass system to bribery to new bedtime routine to new bedtime hour to nap etc. But she should start trying now. There’s no reason to wait.
My daughter’s sleep patterns made our lives miserable for the first year of her life. I was a zombie. But we just kept at it, experimenting in some ways while staying consistent in terms of good habits. Now, at 2.5 (and for the last year and a half), she has the occasional meltdown night. But most nights she sleeps for ~12 hours and goes down without a problem.
Anonymous says
I agree with this. My child is younger but I think there is a view that you either do cry it out or you do nothing. There are a lot of improvements you can make in sleep habits that don’t involve traditional cry-it-out style sleep training – what tactics work depend on how old the child is and they might take some time. Modifying nap schedules, changing wake windows, revising bed time routines, modifying feeding schedules, etc.
My child has always been able to fall asleep independently without assistance, and I regularly hear them wake and then put themselves back to sleep. So I didn’t think cry it out was right for our situation because they can go to sleep independently. I did make a lot of progress using other tactics.
Anon says
I objectively agree with all of this, but I make kids that break the mold (I’m above, with the 2yo who still wakes 2-3 times per night).
Our VERY WORST nights of sleep have been when I’ve followed the prescribed 5-hr wake window, early 8pm bedtime, room at 68 degrees.
Our BEST nights have been those with crap 15 min naps, 9:30-10pm bedtimes, and the house at 78 degrees.
I have to laugh or I’d cry/die.
Anonymous says
Is this kid ready to drop his nap?
Sports Q w/ Littles says
How do you balance a 5 year old kid saying “I don’t want to try that new thing” with just pushing them to have exposure to something new?
DD is 5. She likes gymnastics and ballet. She doesn’t have a lot of exposure to other organized sports beyond that. I’d love to get her to try tennis or soccer, for example, but I’m met with an instant no. I really don’t think she has a good concept of what she’s saying no to, on the one hand, but on the other I want her to have the chance to try and potentially realize she likes it! Gymnastics and ballet were similarly met with “no” but she was younger and I was more willing to just pull her if it ended up a true flop. Not sure if 5 is still young enough to abort participation if it’s not a fit vs her making her see the session/session through.
There’s a low pressure 2-week tennis clinic thing in town for 3.45-5 year olds our nanny could take her to in July, for exmple. Should I just bite the bullet, register and talk it up/show her what tennis is and see if there’s any luck?
FWIW, she tried soccer at 3.5-4.5 and it was a bust (broke this once competitively-playing soccer mama’s heart) and she doesn’t want to try again. She’s still young and I’m hoping she comes around, but I’m not going to force the sport on her, esp given the direct exposure and negative connotation in her head. Honestly, she was just really shy and I think she found it overwhelming, but has since completely grown out of the shyness. TIA!
Anonymous says
I think 5 is still pretty young for team sports. My 5-year-old nephew’s soccer games consist mostly of kids pouting or picking flowers. If she likes gymnastics and ballet let her stick with those for now.
I would not do this particular tennis clinic. A 5-year-old who is capable of paying attention and cooperating will go nuts in a class with 3.5-year-olds running all over the place and will hate the sport because of it.
OP says
IDK why I said I’d like her to try “tennis or soccer” whereas she’s clearly tried soccer… was just on the brain! Anyway, you get the point of the question. Thanks again for any perspective.
Also, PS: I’m not proposing she do 6 activities at once or anything. 1-2 max is my rough rule, but if we took a break from gymnastics and ballet in the summer to try something new, was my thought.
Cb says
We rely a lot on different camps/clubs for school holiday childcare and just punt him in. Breezy goodbye and he’s always been fine. His bestie is more than a year older and is much more resistant. I think it’s probably mostly personality but also because if he makes enough of a fuss, they’ll bring him home.
I wouldn’t do it if it was the same thing everyday though? Is there a multisport programme where she can try different things and see what sticks?
AwayEmily says
We only have our kids do activities (including sports) that they are wholeheartedly excited about. They have autonomy over so little — I don’t want to pressure them on this (exception is swimming since it’s for safety). And they can change their mind — every year from when she was 4 we asked my daughter if she wanted to play in the neighborhood soccer league. She said no, no, no and then when she was 7 said yes and has loved it. I think they know when they are ready. 5 is so young, she will have lots of opportunities down the road. I don’t think I did a single organized activity til I was in middle school.
Momofthree says
You can try to find a friend of hers that is also doing it. Then when she shows up at the class, she already knows someone there and you can talk up that “Samantha” will be there as well.
Otherwise you can play with her to see if she has interest. You can always sign her up for the clinic & see if it takes, but then you should be comfortable if she goes the first day & doesn’t want to go back.
Anonymous says
I don’t typically ask kiddo (now 7) before I sign her up for something for the first time. I just do it and let her know after what is going on. She’s been nervous many, many times, but we tell her nerves are normal and then do what is necessary to support her through it. Nearly every time, it all goes fine. Through that process, she’s been able to let us know what her favorites are to stay involved with. We don’t sign her up again for something that she’s just ho-hum about or doesn’t like. And we encourage the clear winners. (Adding that we would have pushed swimming if she didn’t like it for safety reasons, but we didn’t really have to cross that bridge.)
Super random…I recently had a meeting that was a big deal, and I was really nervous about it. She overheard DH and I talking, and she was super interested that Mom gets nervous for new people and new stuff, too. So you might try to point out times when you’re doing something new that is scary.
Anon318 says
Our 5-year-olds sound a lot alike! We have a family rule that every season* every person (including adults) has to do something active regularly and try something active that is new. The kids can knock out both goals by trying a new sport or activity after school once a week during the season, or they can continue the activity that they love and play pickleball with mom one Saturday. The values we want to pass along are (1) we take care of our bodies and health by being active, and (2) we try new things to see if we like them. So far this has worked well for us, though our oldest is still in elementary school. As the oldest begins to commit more and more time to his sport of choice, the “try new things” option has trended toward snorkeling one time on vacation and playing ultimate frisbee at camp instead of taking up a new sport with regular time committments.
* After school activities are divided into four quarters at my kids’ school, so we have four “seasons” during the school year + summer, so five seasons per year.
GCA says
I really like this perspective. (And I’d love to hear what new activities YOU’VE tried!)
Anon318 says
Sure! “Regular” (i.e., weekly or regularly practiced throughout at least one season) activities for my kids have been golf, gymnastics, ballet, tap, baseball, basketball, tennis, soccer, and swimming. For my husband and I, our regular activities (that ebb and flow over time) are weightlifting, cycling, running, swimming, and triathlon.
Sometimes we pick things to try as a family and sometimes we pick individually. Things I’ve tried with or without the rest of the family have been pickleball, jumping rope (we’ve had hilarious jump rope Olympics in the back yard!), ice baths, ocean swimming (considered different from pool swimming because there are so many more variables), yoga, monkey bars (me and the kids), pull ups, sailing, trampoline jumping, hiking, golf, walking (I was shocked how much regular walking changed my days!), cruiser commuting, rock climbing, sauna… I’ll post again if I remember others!
Anon says
yea this is awesome! i’d also lvoe to hear more abotu the activities everyone has tried
Anonymous says
Sign her up with a friend. Mine refuse everything solo but are game for 95% of things with a friend.
Anon says
We don’t push our 5 year old to do anything, other than finishing a session she signed up for. Right now the only things she wants to do are dance and theater – she’s vehemently opposed to any ball sports, and we haven’t pushed the issue.
It’s not a huge shock to me that this is where her interests lie since I’m horribly unathletic, but I also don’t know how much of it is nature vs nurture and part of me hoped I could make my daughter sportier by introducing her to ball sports at a young age. But I agree with AwayEmily, they have so little control over their lives (and also sports take away from other fun things like pretend play) that at this age I feel like it should be up to them. And also I think two activities is plenty for a kid this age, and I want to let her continue the things she’s enjoying and working hard at.
gym mom says
If you want her to have the option for competitive gymnastics definitely keep her in classes over the summer. 5 is a common age for kids to be identified for preteam and one of the things they are looking for is family commitment.
Anonymous says
Gross. I would def do tennis then to avoid this risk
Anon says
Why is that “gross”? It sounds like the kid likes gymnastics and it’s reasonable to know that if she wants to continue and get to a higher level, she shouldn’t skip a session.
Fwiw my kid is nowhere near that level of intensity and/or talent in any of her activities, but I still don’t like the idea of taking her out of something she loves just so she can try something she may or may not like. There’s plenty of exposure to other sports through elementary school PE and summer camps, you don’t need to make your kid quit an activity they’re really enjoying just so they can try something new, and that seems pretty unfair to the kid.
Anonymous says
What I think is gross is pushing a kid to do soccer just because mom played it.
Anon says
Agreed.
Anon says
Disagree. When it works out, the family bonding and cross-generational love of a sport can be awesome.
GCA says
Honestly, we all want our kids to learn and enjoy the sports or activities we enjoyed as kids, and which added a lot of value and skills to our lives. (I love doing 5Ks with kid 1 – though i can’t keep up with him any more – and would love if either kid stuck with dance!) It’s also true that kids have a zillion opportunities to have fun and pick up the same discipline, leadership skills, etc doing other activities. That’s just part of learning to relinquish control as a parent.
OP says
Not interested in this route but thanks for the perspective.
GCA says
Yikes. where and how do i find a recreational gymnastics class? Like, something that will teach my kid to be comfortable and safe if she wants to do forward rolls or handstands, but not push her into intense competition from an early age. (signed, not a gymnastics mom unless kid really wants to)
gym mom says
All gyms have rec classes. They actually make their money off rec. Financially, team is more of a break-even prospect at best. The issue is that if your kid wants to compete she typically has to be pulled out of rec at an insanely early age, which you need to be aware of if you want her to have that option. If I had known then what I know now I wouldn’t have let her start rec gymnastics and would have encouraged her interest in dance instead. But here we are.
Anon says
I think pretty much any gymnastics place is recreational if you decline the team stuff, which is easy to do.
anon says
in our area rec classes are through the Y and the city parks and rec.
GCA says
To what extent do you think this is just shyness / anxiety vs the activity truly not being a good fit? Are you looking for something that meshes with her interests and abilities, or is the emphasis on just *trying new things*? My 8yo is a bit like this. Oddly he will try new foods all the time but not new activities – even ones that his friends do (baseball, basketball, climbing). We’ve said ‘just try it for a season and then you can stop’ but even that is too much. I’d say the tennis clinic is a low-pressure, low-stakes way to try something different and then she can quit after a week if she wants to.
Boston Legal Eagle says
This sounds like my younger kid. Older kid will do anything and loves sports, or at least the ones he’s done so far. Younger one is more hesitant to try new things. So far, he doesn’t do anything organized outside of swim lessons (for safety). We may try things like the town soccer team when he’s in kindergarten, and I also think he might like tennis. But again, probably nothing until at least kindergarten (which in his case will be when he’s almost 6).
I also agree with the person that said she’s probably not going to get anything out of a tennis clinic for 3/4 year olds… isn’t that just a lot of chaos?! Same with soccer “teams” at that age, honestly. She might like it in the future.
Anon says
+1 My older son really didn’t like any of the “little kid clinic” type situations (we go really light on the activities, but the year he was five he tried soccer and basketball, and both were basically just drills with light scrimmaging). He wants real leagues and games! Little League was a hit. And now we’re trying some things again at age 7/8 when the games are more structured.
Anonymous says
Yeah, most organized activities for kids under 5 are pretty chaotic and/or boring because they spend all their time lining up and don’t actually get to do much. Once they hit K and the classes are for ages 5+ it becomes much more fun. I kind of regret signing my daughter up for pre-ballet at 3.5 because although the class was very well run she was annoyed by the kids crying and thought waving scarves around was boring. She didn’t start enjoying it until the kindergarten class. Same with every other activity we tried.
Anon says
I think it depends on the program. My daughter did dance in both pre-K years (ages 3-4) and kindergarten, and there hasn’t really been any difference. There’s always been some waving scarves around, but they also do some actual ballet moves and learn a simple routine for the recital. Honestly, I think even the third graders still sometimes wave scarves around. But this is not a serious ballet studio though and they tolerate way more silliness and play than a ballet studio would (which I consider a good thing!) while still teaching the kids useful things.
On the other hand, soccer at age 3 was a mess and they didn’t even make any attempt to teach the kids actual soccer.
Anon says
We’re leaving my daughter with my parents for a week soon while we go out of the country. We should leave a signed letter authorizing them to get her medical treatment, right? Does it need to be notarized? We’ve done this once before, but didn’t really think to do any preparations and fortunately nothing bad happened. Anything else we should do in advance? My parents are regular caregivers for her, so they have all the info about her routines, daycare, activities, etc.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
I’ve done this – The ped’s office may have a form (mine did at the time) for this, but if not, plenty of examples online, and/or you can just write a letter giving permission. I don’t remember having to notarize but if you or your partner have easy access to one (every other admin at DH’s firm can notarize) I’d go ahead and do that.
Anonymous says
YMMV – My (very tech capable) parents and in-laws appreciate that we have given them a hard copy print out of names, addresses, and phone numbers for our kiddos daycare and pediatrician. In a time of panic, they have all said it would simply be easier for them to have the address and telephone numbers written down than looking up what the pediatrician’s office number might be. And I don’t expect them to remember the names of our child’s teachers (they do 95% weekend overnights, so rarely interact with school).
CCLA says
We do this too, and for anyone watching our kids at our home, grandparents, sitter, whoever, we leave a page that includes our address at the top so that in case of emergency they’re not scrambling to look it up or remember.
If kiddo is going to grandparents’ house, consent to treat is good and I’d also include insurance info while you’re at it. That’s probably all you need unless there are allergies or other unique situations. We’ve never notarized ours and I think I used a form from the college of emergency medical physicians.
CCLA says
My other comment is still processing but see below for sample forms from emergency docs:
https://www.acep.org/by-medical-focus/pediatrics/medical-forms2
Anon says
Thanks! Do you think the “emergency” forms are too narrow? If she gets an ear infection, I’d want them to be able to get her antibiotics, but that’s not a medical emergency.
CCLA says
It calls for arranging routine or emergency care so I think it would be fine, though if you want to really cover your bases I like the idea below of contacting the regular pedi’s office ahead of time to see what they would want to see.
anon says
If at all possible, get the authorization forms from where your parents would be seeking care for your child and send them back so they’re on file. You don’t want your kiddo’s care delayed because your notarized letter has unfamiliar wording and the pediatrician’s office/urgent care/ED need to run the letter by one office, who then need to get someone else’s advice, who then needs to get yet more advice.
Anon says
Our ped has a form so I got that filed. Thanks all!