This can be a very common thought process for anyone who takes care of an infant or young toddler- from parents to nannies, grandparents to babysitters. However, we also know that staying in the house everyday with the little one is just not an option and at times you don't know who's going more stir crazy, you or the baby. Although I am not a parent I do know from personal experience! Not only have I worked directly with very young children and preschoolers for over 10 years, but I have also spent several of those years as a private nanny. Although I've loved being a nanny, I have quickly learned that there are some things you must do that you never thought you would, like going to the Museum of Nature and Science for a whopping 1 hour. Or visiting 10 different playgrounds despite the fact that they are all within a 10 mile radius of one another. Repetition, redundancy and tedious are words that you'll just have to throw out the door now if you want to relax and enjoy your time with the little one.
I've created this blog as a way to share how to make the best of short, simple outings with a little one. You don't have to make whole-day trips, and you surely don't have to feel like you are accomplishing something important. What is important is spending time with your little one and providing them with a plethora of opportunities to see the world through all five senses and to interact with peers and adults and people of all backgrounds. By getting out you can also help your little one to move their body and challenge their minds more, helping them to have more of an appetite at meal time and be more restful at nap and bedtime. It may take a little while to get into a good routine of figuring when is best to take your little one out so that you can still get the nap/s in and still provide a nutritious sit down meal or picnic. You'll learn through time, so don't be discouraged if your first few outings seem a bit hectic or you feel like you should've prepared something that you didn't, write these notes down so that next time you venture out you'll remember.
Briefly, here are the areas of development for a young child and how it can relate to venturing out:
Cognitive Skills: Thinking and processing skills, exploring cause and effect relationships. *Watching machines, animals, people. Thinking about what is happening and how it happens.
Social Skills: Interacting with peers and adults. *Children watch you as you interact with adults and children, and they begin to learn for themselves appropriate ways to play with other children or approach an adult.
Motor Skills: From gross motor movements such as reaching and grabbing and beginning to crawl, stand-up, or walk, to fine motor skills like manipulating an object with fingers and hand or using the pincer grip to pick up small bits of food. *Children can explore different senses in a variety of indoor places as well as parks and outdoor areas, and also use motor skills to touch, manipulate or climb on various things.
Language Skills: Remember both oral and aural, being able to speak and also being able to listen to and interpret spoken language. Both oral and aural skills are crucial building blocks to future literacy skills (reading and writing). *Watching various people speak and use language to communicate in different ways; seeing written words and signs to relay information gives significance that print is important and can relay a message.
Emotional Skills: Learning how to handle one's own emotions and putting oneself in the realm of a community versus self. *Learning how to interact with others and how to communicate needs and wants, especially in group situations or places outside of the comfort of home.
Although you may not think of the above things when you're standing around at the park watching your little one bang pinecones together, if you stopped for a moment and just watched them you'd realize just how much their little brains are taking in every second of every day. Why not provide them with the best start to grow into a happy, positive member of our community?
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