Please answer and give your point of view everyone!?

Question

ok... My daughter is 17 months old and seems to be very bored at home during the day. let me give you a little info on our day time life. her father works at night from 11pm to 7am and is home during the day and i work part time from 4pm to 7pm tuesday thru friday but i rarely work to 7 (but get paid for it lol) and 10 hours on monday so most days i am home with her all day. we do things like finger painting and i just recently enrolled her in swim classes at the YMCA and i am going to start taking her to story time every other tuesday. but i just don't feel like that is enough i fell like she is bored even with me playing with her ALL day! So I was going to put her in daycare part-time maybe like 3 day's out of the week just for her to have some time to play and interact with other children her age, but all my family thinks that is CRAZY they say she's too young and not ready for that. my mother who is very protective over her is upset by the thought of her going to daycare. my husband is very laid back and is like do what you think is right, but i dont know. so I'm here asking for honest answers on what do you think i should do, do you think that it is all in my mind and she's not bored or should i send her to daycare? please give detailed information please thanks! and if you live in the va area and know any other things for me to take her to please let me know!!!

Answer 1

daycare, part time, when my kids were over 13 months, was the best thing i ever did. they learned songs, colors, shapes, coloring in the lines, motor skills, different types of play acting. they came home tired and worn out in a good way. it prepared them for pre school, and they were ahead most of the time in class becuase of it.

do what you think is right for your family. im not saying that a parent cannot teach their own children these things.

what i do know, is that a parent cannot teach their child the importance of a school enviroment (rules, sitting still at certain times, bathroom breaks, drink breaks, and most important, when it is time to play and when it is time to work) at home.my hubby never enrolled his son into daycare, he let his mother watch him. he regretted it after he seen what it did for my son, who has slight adhd.

good luck!!

by the way-not to scare you,(it might not) i just read in baby talk, that exposing your child to other children in a daycare/sunday school/ playgroup enviroment is actually good for their health. it exposes them to bacteria and causes their immune system to start working, so later on they won't get sick as quick. it is a proven fact. i usually don't spout nonsense like this unless i look it up to double check  the associationof pediatrics.

Answer 2

I wouldn't worry about her being bored.  Toddlers need time to themselves to explore at their own pace.  If you are concerned though I think the library is a great idea.  Also you could look into Moms Club (www.momsclub.org)  They have chapters all over the country.  They are a support and playgroup for stay at home moms and their kiddos.  We joined when my oldest was about 18mos.  Most chapters have weekly activities as well as weekly playdates.  You could both get out and make friends together.  Also,  most chapters do a monthly moms night out.  Because they support stay at home moms it is low cost and most of the activities are free.  

My problem with daycare (especially if you are going to continue to stay home) is that you won't get to know who she is playing with or be the one deciding on discipline.    With a play group you will get to know her little friends and you don't have to worry about inappropriate discipline.  Plus daycare, even part time can be expensive.  If you don't like the Moms Club/playgroup idea you could look for a mothers moring out program or co-op daycare.  These programs work like a childcare switch.  You volunteer in their program and in return you get to drop off your child for care.   Good luck!

Answer 3

she might like to be challenged more like with her playtime like make her think on her own..i know that sounds weird but lol it might help and also have her with more kids in her age group..she sounds like a very smart little f**t and likes a chalenge

Answer 4

As you know, my daughter is the same age as yours. Since she was 3 months old, we have taken her to drop in programs at local schools run by local child development centres. They are fun, interactive programs with 2 hours of free play with other kids (the groups are for 0-6 years old) and the last half hour is a structured story and song circle time. A healthy snack is also served. This runs 3 days a week.

Parents stay with their children in the room and still supervise them, but allow their child free play. It helps build development and social skills, and teaches kids to get along with others. They're amazing programs and they're free, so it helps save money on day care. It's also great for moms to get out and interact with other moms of kids the same age. Many moms have branched their own weekly playdates at each others houses.

Have you tried looking into one of those? If not, if you want to contact me again, I can try and help find one of those in your area.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Boredom is one of the most healthy things we can teach our kids.  People have to deal with boredom all their life - don't try to "fix" it for her or you will be working like that for her all her life.  If you need variation, go to the park with her or just walk around the block with her.  

I have different "stations" and toys throughout the house - I rotate them during the day and week.  For example, when bored with livingroom we move to his bedroom.

Or we only take out the train set once a week and my son will spend hours playing with it because it's like a new toy because he hasn't seen it for a while.

Honestly, though, you need to LET HER BE BORED sometimes!!  This is the time in which she learns to entertain herself and she has to have that time alone so she can learn this.  My son got through that phase and sometimes he'll just stand and shake his hands - thinking about what he wants to do next or being bored...  but he can move on to the next thing without a hassle.  I'm expecting my next child now and I think it'll work out very smoothly because he can already deal with the lack of attention that boredom sometimes indicates.

On another note - I can't stand letting my son get around preschool kids.  Sometimes we run into them at the park and he'll pick up some nasty habits or attitudes (and he's only two!)  For example, he splurted in our face for two weeks when he didn't like something - because some daycare kid did it to him at the park - it took me TWO WEEKS to make that stop!  You are lucky enough to NOT have to to preschool or daycare.  Appreciate your blessing!