How Many Activities Is Too Many for a Young Toddler?

There is no right or wrong answer. Just leave enough time for her to be a kid. That means play time. She needs to be able to play independently and should also be able to play with other children without adult intervention. Over scheduling kids results in children that do not know how to play. If they are constantly in classes that tell them what to do and when to do it they do not learn the valuable lesson of independence and making choices. Teachers are seeing this more and more in school, students who have a hard time working alone and in constant need of directions. Just give her plenty of time to be a kid and then you will know she is not overscheduled.

I had my daughter in Gymboree from ages 1-3. It was wonderful. It is all child led, so if the child doesn't want to participate it is ok. She loved it so much we bought a lot of the music and also did it at home.

My son is 17 months and the only thing I've paid for him to be a part of is Gymboree. He absolutely loves it, and although it is a "class" it is competely age appropriate and your child participates as much as they'd like or are able. Otherwise we go to the park, library story time, stuff like that. I don't think you NEED to sign your child up for anything. For myself I try to have one outing a day to anywhere and I felt like Gymboree would be a good addition to our options...Good luck!

My daughter is 11 months and we go to Gymboree twice a week and a mommy/me swimming lesson once a week. Our Gymboree was having a special this summer where you could go to additional classes for free...so, even though she's signed up for one class a week we've been able to go twice. She loves it!

We fill up the other days with trips to DuPage Children's Museum (we have the family membership), playground, grocery shopping, the library, etc. I work 3 days a week so on these days our nanny participates in her activities.

one a day for each week day would not be too much. They are usually very short classes at that age and most of them have you involved so that is a perfect amount. Make sure nap time is kept sacred though! The biggest mistake you could make is taking away nap time.

One class / activity at a time for kids younger than 6.

In elem. & middle school we tried one organization and one sport at a time. This worked out so that they could try a variety of things before high school.
Like Scouts and soccer, or music lessons and basketball.
Period. No more and after age 7.

I only do one class at a time for mine but I think you guys can handle the structure of going to two or three classes a week then go for it. I highly recommend not during anything any normal meal or nap time. Good Luck!
J.

It isn't really how many are too many for her but rather how many are too many for you. There is newer research out showing that children do pretty well with a packed schedule but the parents can become pretty frazzled. I would look for a bit of variety - perhaps a trip to the library for storytime once or twice a week, a singing class and a creative movement class. My daughter did an arts and crafts class at 18 months and she adored it. If you are home all day with her, then likely an activity per day would be nice and get you out and about but would not be totally consuming and give you time for just doing nothing at home and going to the park etc. Of course it all has to fit around naps as they are soooo important to a developing mind. Like several other posters said, she doesn't have to go to anything but you may like to bring her to things.

The answer really depends on you and your daughter. We usually sign up for 1 park district class a session and the rest of our time is filled up with going to the Y (where my daughter plays while I work out), trips to the park, walks, or just our normal activities.

our daughter is now 26 months but even at that age she had 3-4 activites per week...every Sat was Gymboree and during the week there was a park dist class, a music class at the church, trips to reading time at the library, etc. the more the better as long as they like it!

At his age she really doesn't need any. The normal things you do at home is her most important activities -- play, house work, yard work, telling stories, reading, puppet time, singing, speaking ryhmes with/for her. It's also important for her to see you doing hand work and anything that is of interest to you what ever hobby you do or can do with a 19mo. old at your side. She's seeping all this in like a giant sponge. It's been said babies/toddlers are one big sensory organ. Remember you are her whole life right now, take advantage of it and treasure it, it won't always be this way and there is plenty of time for scheduled activities. If you want to take her to a scheduled activity class have it be only 1. More that that creates scattered energies that the child will reflect and act out upon. Maybe a play group would be best or a gymboree.

Thankfully, you realize it is possible to over schedule our children. Especially 19 month old. I would encourage you to go local as opposed to a chain activity like Gymboree - which is wonderful. But if you go local - like park district or library - you will get opportunity to meet other moms and make connections in your community which will benefit both of you in the future.

The Park Districts have wonderful and very affordable programming as well as public libraries.

Pick one thing to do at a time and enjoy your time with your daughter. They grow up so fast.

I agree with Maggie G. At that age, my daughter did a Gymboree class during the week and then swim class on Saturday at the Y. Otherwise, we went to the park or played outside or just played together period. That parent one-on-one time is important for their development too :)

I would wait until she is older to sign her up to anything , my youngest is 2 and is not in any official activities , we go to the park , have a playdate at friends houses , go to a play area at the mall (that kind of thing). At this young age they have such a short attention span and don't follow directions all that well and I think you would be wasting your money , especially with something as expensive as Gymboree. My middle daughter was 4 before I signed her up to anything and that is a 1/week dance class for 45 mins.

I have a kindergartener, three year old, and 15 month old. Although I haven't started anything with the baby, the three year old just tried her first dance/tumbling class this week and this will be the second year of dance for the five year old. Our rule is that they are only allowed to participate in one activity at a time. If they want to change, that's fine....but they have to finish out the "season" or class and then will be allowed to make the switch. We feel that in that way, we are teaching them to be accountable for the choices they make, and to not "quit" something mid-way through. We sort of feel like one activity is enough with all the other responsibilities and things we do at home....like game night, movie night, etc. As a first grade teacher (and I know you have awhile before this age but you'll be AMAZED at how fast the time goes!) you wouldn't believe how many kids are in ball or other activities 3 or 4 nights a week, can't keep up with their homework, and are EXHAUSTED!

I wouldn't sign her up for anything yet. I would consider once a week going to the library for story time or something like that. Other than that, nothing "organized"...lots of free play at home, at the park, stuff like that.

I would either start small or have at least some things that you try be free so you don't end up shelling out a lot of money & finding that it is too much for her to handle. When mine were little both the library and Barnes & Noble had a free story hour once a week. As they got older there was usually a craft or game of some sort as well as the stories. We went to both because I have a daughter who loves books. Our park district offered several "Mommy & Me" type classes that usually met twice a week for about 45 minutes-1 hour depending on the class. At that age, those classes were sometimes good and sometimes bad, depending on fussiness, willingness to sit still, etc. We don't have a Gymboree near us but we had Gymquest. They had a few open gym times each week where it was a drop-in basis and you just paid for the days you attended. All kids are different so I would just start slow & see how she is handling things. I did personally like the drop-in type things because depending on how busy our week was with other activities (pediatrician, dentist, Grandma visiting, my changing work schedule, etc.) we could adjust for our schedule. Have fun!!!

At 18 months I think your first priority is to have a predictable schedule for her - she needs her naps and mealtimes and bedtime to be consistent. Babies thrive on predictability and consistency. One class and/or playgroup a week is enough. You can vary the activities you two do together to keep it interesting.