All Fun and Games ‘Til the Big Kid Lands On Your Head

When The Princess was an infant, I returned to work full time eight weeks after her birth. From the beginning, almost, she has been in daycare, surrounded by other children. Consequently, I’ve never had to worry about her socially, because she’s growing up learning to play, share, and get along with other kids.

Now that I’m home, and Pumpkin is home with me every day, one thing I’ve worried about is how she will learn to interact with other children, and if she will be as good at it as her older sister is. Granted, Pumpkin does have the advantage of having an older sibling around 24/7 (almost) to play with and interact with, so I know she’s getting some exposure to how things work – taking turns, sharing, compromise – however, I still worry.

So, today we attended a playgroup sponsored by the local school district’s learning center. It was my first time going, and to be honest, I was pretty nervous. I’m not an outgoing person, and I find it hard in a room full of people to go up and start a conversation with a person/people I don’t know. But, I wasn’t going there so I could make friends, I was going so Pumpkin could play – so I wasn’t too concerned with my social ineptitude!

It took Pumpkin some time to ease away from me and go into the circle and play. The theme today had to do with “Things that Go” (cars, trains, planes), so she happily sat down with some trucks and ‘vroom’ed” them around a bit. When an older child came up and wanted to play with something Pumpkin had, I saw how The Princess has her somewhat “trained”: Pumpkin handed over the toy to the older girl without a fuss. She didn’t seem to mind, just happily picked things up, moved them around. We even sat at a table and she colored with some crayons for a bit.

She was having a good time, until we were picking up the toys and getting ready for circle time. A boy, he looked to be almost two, was toddling around, and lost his balance. Before I could do anything about it, he had basically fallen on Pumpkin’s noggin. After sobbing for several minutes, she calmed down enough to listen to the coordinator read a story, but she was nowhere near ready to sit back down with the older kids. We took leave quietly before the Cheese-Its were passed around.

Will we go back? Most likely. It was a learning experience for us both. Hopefully, next time we can leave without any injuries.

About sarah

Sarah is a book nerd, a music lover, an endorphin junkie, a coffee addict. Oh, and a goof ball. She writes, she tweets, and she sings off key.

Speak Your Mind

*