18 Month Old Needs Interaction

I have my little one in Mother's Day Out twice a week and it has been wonderful. She's been going since about 18 months and really enjoyed the interaction from the start. She is starting to go through some separation anxiety which comes with the age (she'll be two next month) so she is now crying some when I leave her (never did before) but she's fine within 5 minutes and is always happy when I pick her up. My personal opinion is a little bit of interaction is good for them.

I noticed my son (now 2 1/2 years) needed interaction when he was about a year old. I would take him to the play areas at the mall or a restaurant and he would just stare at the other kids like they were aliens. He was transfixed by older children we saw at the stores! At about 16 months, we enrolled him into a daycare on MWF. It was difficult to find part time daycare programs, so I got lucky. I got him in at about 9am and picked him up at 3pm, so not really a full day. Besides, at that age, he napped for a good amount of that time.

After he got used to going to leaving mommy, he loved going to school. His interaction skills grew by leaps and bounds. He was feeding himself easier. Daddy & I felt he was more confident in new situations, like huge family parties and going to the park. Just after he turned 2, we enrolled him full time at the same school. BOY! Did his language just explode! He was talking like crazy! Lots of singing and dancing and trying new things on his own. He's potty trained now, without too much grief. It helped to see other kids going in the potty. Daycare was definitely the right thing for our son.

In the end, I do think it is SO IMPORTANT for babies to stay home with a parent for the first year at least, if that's possible. For development, bonding, feeling secure...but when you think your child is ready, he/she also needs to explore and develop on his/her own when the time is right. Only you & Daddy can really determine when that is.

I will tell you that leaving him was SO HARD. It broke my heart every time I dropped him off, I missed him at home, I lived for Tuesdays & Thursdays when he was home with me, and he seemed to be growing up so fast! But a year later, seeing the funny, outgoing, silly boy he is...I really have no regrets.

My #1 piece of advice is to VISIT, VISIT, VISIT any place you plan to enroll him in. My first choice was our church's MDO program, but when I visited, they were wiping noses with the rough brown paper towels and kids had access to brooms, dustpans, and other cleaning materials. Another place I visited had dirty dishes and left overs (open jug of milk, half eaten bananas) from morning snack sitting in a cart at the back of the room HOURS after snack. Easy for young hands to get to! Keep an eye on ratios and interactions with adults. They gotta love kids to do this all day!

Good luck with your decision. It's far from easy, but you'll do the right thing for you and your family.

Playgroups and mom's groups are great. I think pre-school and similar programs are good too, but harder to control how your child is treated when other adults are taking care of him. I worked full-time (single mom)until my daughter was almost two. My mother watched her and hardly ever took her out. Since I've been home (huge sacrifice financially, but worth it b/c at the time she really needed me to be available to her full time), she has changed into a different person. She gets to see other kids at least twice a week and it is very benificial to her (2 1/2). She's picked up a lot of very good things (social skills, educational things, etc). There is some picking up of bad habits, but the good far out weighs the bad. Of course, as a parent, you get to use discretion as to who your children are exposed to. I also work part-time in childcare right now and I've noticed that babies start to get social and interact with other kids by 6 months~ maybe younger. We were created to be social beings; children need interaction with kids their age. It's easier (on them) to get them used to social situations now than for them to have to learn it later. So, find what works for your family and your child and do what you feel is best to get your child some interaction with kids his age! You are right to think he needs this. I noticed your husband is a stay at home dad. So, if he likes to go to the gym, just letting the childcare there take him is good for some interaction.

Playgroups are awesome.Go to meetup.com you type in your zipcode an your interest like playgoup,parenting group,ect.It will pull up any groups in your area and you can join them and let the kids plat together.Also if you are from lubbock the mall has a play area and there are always kids there playing and also the science spectrum is the best they have a great play area with lots of kids

Hello! I am a working mother of 2 boys, 4 years old and 19 months. With hesitation, I put my youngest son in Mother's Day Out when he was 16 months old. He attends Wesleyan Christian Academy in Rowlett. He goes 2 days per week from 9am to 2 pm. At first, it was difficult because he would cry when I would leave. It only took about 3 weeks (only going 2 days per week) to get adjusted. Now, he gladly goes into his classroom, without a tear. There are 10 kids in his class with 2 teachers. It is a Christian based school with many fun activities for the kids (music, library, gym, and chapel). The price is more reasonable than other daycares. For 2 days a week, the price is $160/month. He is talking more, napping on a mat, gave up the bottle and learning to share. He loves it and so do I. I recommend throughly investigating the school and visiting it prior to enrollement. The state of Texas has a website (search Texas daycares), where you can look up all registered daycares and schools. On the site, you can see the most recent audit and if they have any violations. Hope this helps!!

Join momsclub! I know there is one in Plano. Ours in Denton has activities all month long and it's totally at your own leisure. Very supportive group as well. Our club has lots of playgroups that we've organized based on the ages of children. Mine meets almost weekly at either the park, an indoor play area, library story time, etc.

We find also that the boys love going to church. We are there every Sunday, and recently started leaving them for both service times so we can attend a new Sunday school class. They LOVE it, and there are anywhere from 8-16 other kids to play with. Plus they get a good lesson, a snack, and lots of Christ's love! Every other Tuesday they're there for my momsgroup at church, too, so they're very content when interacting with that group.

Other things I'd check into is your local library. There should be lots of FREE fn things to do with your child. Whether it's story time or a craft workshop, it's fun to see lots of kids together doing something constructive.

He isn't quite old enough for Sunday School or I'd suggest that, do you live close enough to a library that has story time with other children? Is there a park near by that you could visit of an afternoon when other mothers and children may be there? If you attend Chruch, you may see if there are other children his age in the nursery that you could speak to their mothers, and plan a play day in the park for them to play. If there is a MOPS club in your area it is great (Mothers of Pre-school Children) It is a time for kids to play and moms to have another adult to talk to, and a great organization.

Well I going to go against the grain here. ")
I don't believe that a child really needs "interactions" with other children until they are about 7 or 8 years old. That is unsupervised by a parent.
With being around other children they are apt to pick up really bad behaviors that you will have no control over not being there to curb or explain the behavior. Also young children have a hard enough time learning life skills without the unhealthy peer pressure by other children. Children need to be in a emotional safe environment to fail and make mistakes. Hopefully that need is met at home.
I want them to first be very grounded in our (family) norm before exploring other standards.
I'm not just shooting from the hip here. ")
I really struggled with this very subject for a good while with my boys since I live very far from other mommy friends and have no family and I am a SAHM. After looking into the subject, I feel comfortable with their social settings in their younger years under my supervision only.
I found a book about this subject called Better Late than Early. It focuses on more on early education but it's had some cool information regarding ages and development to be a guide for social development.
Just my two cents. ")
Best Regards,
C.

You got good suggestions already, but one thing not mentined is meetup.com has a ton of meet up groups you can join. Find one that suits you and they are always setting up playdates for the kiddos.

hi! i live in Cleburne and just enrolled my two sons in Gateway Child Life Center... it is a new center in Cleburne and it looks really awesome!! I, too, was worried about interaction for my 11 month old but didn't feel that any of the daycares were "right" for us. when i stepped into Gateway, i felt that we were home. they will be teaching my baby sign language and word recognition, and provide after school care and tutoring (if needed) for my 6 year old. I am so excited about it! I don't know if you live in the area, but if you do it is definitly something to consider!

My daughter started attending the Mother's Day Out program at our church when she was 18 months old. She only attended 2 days per week but that was enough for me to get a break and her to get interaction with children her age.

SAHM of two: 18 and 5. Home Baker and Candy Maker. Married to the same wonderful man for almost 12 years.

gymboree play and music program and then you can meet some families w/kiddos and start a playgroup too.

I'm an active member of a mom's group. The kids get to play, the moms get to talk... everyone wins! My two boys are 21 months and 5 months. I got started with the group when my first was 5 months old. We meet mostly in Mckinney if you are interested.

Edit: I saw your husband is a sahd. He's welcome to come as well! My husband also does Little Gym with our oldest.

There are lots of options for interaction in Plano:
1] Try the Leisure classes offered by Plano Recreation (google LEISURE PLANO RECREATION) - they have lots of classes for kids
2] Meetup has many stay at home mom groups - try and see what works for you. Pick one that is active and you can choose to go to events or not.
3] MOPS groups,etc
4] MDO programs - Mother's day out programs are more economical than fulltime daycare center.

Good luck.
S.
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