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First attempts at socialization
One of the things that we are starting to feel is necessary is for Hannah to start socializing with other children around her age. We don’t have any friends with young infants, so the only real experience she has had are friends of her brother and sister, who are obviously older than she is.
We can’t send her to daycare. She has too many “issues” that would not make it safe for her to be there nor would we probably be able to have her in a regular daycare. There are no “special needs” daycares near us, as we found out the nearest two are 2 hours and almost 4 hours away from us.
So we are limited in our options.
I took advantage of trying out a free MyGym class Monday afternoon to see how she would do in it. The class was for the 7mo to 13mo babies. There were only two little boys in there, about 7mo and 10mo. They were so incredibly active — one was crawling all over the place, the other was waddling around. They were throwing things, crawling up on things, going in and out of tubes.
Hannah just sat there, holding a little ball in her hand.
As I was sitting there trying to help Hannah get to her knees just to get into a crawling position, I saw the other two moms look at me with that look of confusion on their faces. They were very sympathetic, but it seemed to me they were looking for an explanation (I probably would too). So I shared that she has some delays. From that moment on, you could see the friendly pity in their faces, which even though they were incredibly sweet, it just made me uncomfortable since Hannah couldn’t do most of what the two boys were doing.
It just wasn’t right for Hannah.
After talking to my neighbor, we are going to check out Kindermusic. Perhaps something not so focused on the physical would be a better social situation for Hannah to start with. We are going to try out their free class on Thursday morning. This class is geared for newborns to 18 months, so I think this larger age range would give us more flexibility as well.
We will see how that works out!
You can read more about our fight for Hannah's life at LittleMissHannah.com (my nickname for her!) or join our Hope for Our Hannah Facebook cause.
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Comments on First attempts at socialization »
staying afloat @ 4:04 pm
It's so hard when something like a class doesn't work out, especially when it makes us feel so different. I can still feel the looks I got during soccer when my son was spinning in circles…
I think and hope Kindermusic will be a good choice. Music is so great for integration, and the kids mostly sit in your lap or you move them around.
chyk @ 4:12 pm
I do not know about wher eyou live, but around here we have great story times at tehlibrary that we take the kids too (and they are free!). They also have them for age ranges, and since it is also less physical, they are great
Suzie and Lily @ 5:26 pm
I had Lily in Kindermusic from the age of 18 months until she was 9. They let us go an extra year. We loved it. The one thing that was hard was that other moms would allow their kids to run around the classroom and I would not let Lily do that. So I probably ended up looking like the big bad mom, but I wasn't going to let her be the one to disrupt the class and teach her that it is okay to behave that way. The public already looks at her as the one who is likely to act up, but she can and did learn how to act in a public setting, and had lots of fun along the way!
Heidi @ ggip @ 11:38 pm
I hope it does work out. I'm sorry you had such an awkward situation at the other place.
Barbara @ 7:53 am
Kindermusic sounds like a great idea. Hope it fits for your needs. No need to attend a group if you are uncomfortable.
"to feel is necessary is for Hannah to start socializing with other children around her age"
I think the need to be (play) in a group is not necessary for infants or toddlers. All the while this concept is marketed and sold widely.
Children under the age of 3 years are only really working on their own development. Social-kinds of growth and skills with other-than-family occur more naturally after the age of 3. The group stuff for babies does more for Moms, I think.
k @ 11:49 pm
Good luck, I hope it works out!