I have definitely been neglectful when it comes to writing on here and Megan’s blog. I think that’s what happens when you become a parent and there’s just too much else going on. You tend to let certain things slide and I think this (among other sites I post to) have suffered as a consequence. But, for today, I’m writing an update to give the lowdown on how something simple has made a definite impact.
Because Tamara had decided not to go back to work full time, it didn’t make sense for us to pay for a full week of daycare for Dylan (or Megan for that matter). So, we have been taking them to a private sitter for awhile. Now, Dylan has had a few different ones over the past few years. Amy was really good for a year or so but she started working for her mom and couldn’t take care of the kids anymore so we moved Dylan and Megan to Deirdre. Deirdre has been fantastic and we have no complaints about her what so ever. But a few months back, my brother in law and his wife were talking about their son and what they do for daycare and it got me to thinking about Dylan.
Dylan had just turned three and at his current babysitter’s house, there were no kids that were his own age. Now, he loved going there, but he also really enjoys it when he gets to play with some of his cousins and other boys of his own age. Now, I never gave it much thought but after thinking about it a bit, me and Tamara did wonder a bit if it would make more sense to put Dylan with a babysitter that had kids his age as well. We really thought about it a lot as we wanted to keep Megan where she was (the other kids there are her age), but that would mean having to make two stops in the morning instead of one.
Well, we eventually decided that it was in Dylan’s best interest to have him around kids his own age. So, we moved him. How did it work out? Well, it’s interesting.
He’s really been enjoying going over there and it actually seems to have improved his relationship with Megan a bit. I suspect this is because now he’s not spending his entire day with her. But also, he’s really liking being around another boy his own age, who has some of the same interests that he does (Thomas trains). But the other thing that has been interesting is that Dylan is now really learning more about sharing. He’s always had a bit of a problem sharing (what 3 year old wants to share right?) so now that he’s around another boy who’s kind of the same, he’s having to learn a bit more about sharing here and there. It’s helped, kind of, around the house, but when it comes to his toys, he DOES NOT want to share them. At least being around another kid his age during the day is giving him more exposure to that.
I’m glad to see an actual improvement with him and hopefully being able to play with kids his own age, his development will continue as it should.
Pulled from DylansHouse.com. Read the original post here
