I recently shared on my Facebook page the other day, an article I read about a SAHM mom wondering if she made the right decision to stay at home with her daughter. She was concerned that her daughter was behind in social and developmental skills because she kept her at home all day. When I read it, I could easily identify with it as I too sometimes wonder if little R should be around other little kids at this age, and since she doesn’t have any siblings – yet, it’s just her and I and our dogs all day long. Her pediatrician says she is ‘thriving’, but I still can’t help but wonder if she needs more at this age. Now, I don’t think staying at home with little R was a bad decision. I do think it benefits the child to have their mom around especially during the first year. But I find myself having trouble someday’s figuring out what to do to entertain little R and stimulate that growing little brain of hers.
I will tell you what we DO do during the day. We sit and play patty cake, peek-a-boo, play with toys, practice walking, listen to music and dance, we watch movies sometimes. We try to have story-time but 1-year-olds have such a short attention span, sometimes I wonder if I’m even doing that right.
I absolutely LOVE everything about this age though, she’s into everything, learning new things everyday and having mini conversations with me in baby talk. Now I can understand why I always hear moms say they wish they could stay this small forever. But still, I find myself running out of ideas and imagination for things that I can do with her.
So I was wondering, what do you do, or have you done, with your 1-year-old? Are there any sites you go to for ideas?