What about socialization (not the question you think)

[sapphire_chan]

Okay, it's obvious that Lina wants/needs more kid time and it's only going to get worse as she gets older. Right now we have one friend her age an hour away, a cousin whose mom flakes out on us 45 minutes away, and a number of somewhat older cousins out of reasonable driving distance.

We go to a PS-based "Play and Learn" group once a week, and to library story time most weeks. The library story time isn't really her thing since it's not about playing with other kids.

She learns so much quicker by watching kids about her own age doing things.
For instance, I demonstrated, and helped, and explained how to climb down our ladder she enjoyed climbing up. A friend brought over their 2 year old, he climbed up and down ONCE, and she climbed right up and down no problems.

And aside from, and more important than, that is just how utterly thrilled she is at spending time with "Kids!! Kids!!!"

Frankly, if we could afford it, she'd be going to preschool part time in a year.


Anyway, the question is, btdt mamas, what kid time did your LO get around age 2 and what has worked for you with your kid-oriented social butterfly?

[alegna]

Sorry- what's the question?

-Angela

[The Amber Lily]

Our dd is 3, and since she was 18m or so, she plays with a few kids every week or two when I go to our women's Bible study group. She was like that a lot at 2 - Kids! Kids! Between my work schedule and low availability of kids, that's just the way it has been so far.

[phathui5]

We hang out at the Syracuse YMCAs a lot, so my kids get a lot of playtime there.

[EviesMom]

I was going to say, my social 2 also gets lots of kid time at the Y. Both the childcare room, which is lovely because it's multi-age and free for members; and classes.

[sapphire_chan]

The Y. Good point, once she's old enough to enjoy preschool she'd also be okay at Child watch.

[alegna]

Ah! Kid time, yes.... my 5.5yr old is still at that age

We have a very active playgroup and we DO NOT MISS We are there every week and it often runs hours long.

Classes. Around 2 dd was in gymboree and swim classes- dual purpose- kid time and tired her out some.
Ds is just in swim right now, but gets hauled around to all of dd's stuff.

Out and about stuff- that was when we started getting memberships to the zoo and the children's museum. And USING them. A few hours out someplace busy made a day much more productive for everyone.

hope that helps!

-Angela

[Lucy Alden]

The park always works for us. My DC make new friends every time we go. We mix it up and try different parks. Amazing the difference in kids and facilities depending on the area we venture to. In the summer I pack a dinner and DH, DC and I hang out for a few hours.

[Adamsmama]

We do playgroups, I used to be a member of the gym, church, VBS, and for my 2 yr old -- she plays a lot with her older siblings (5 yr & 7 yr).

[karemore]

We don't have any kids in our neighborhood, DD is an only child and has no cousins.

I joined a playgroup through meetup.com before DD turned 2. I ended up branching off into a smaller group that we still get together with weekly (she just turned 5).

Church is important for us both. We go twice a month to a mom's lunch, and DD goes into the playroom with a childcare worker and other kids. The other kids are also in her sunday school class and we see them at various programs throughout the year.

We've always done a library program. I find that if you arrive a bit early or stay a bit longer the kids have time to connect.

The park. We go to the park almost every day in the nice weather. Early in the day was the best time for other young children, now that she's older we try to go after school hours so she can play with the bigger kids.

It's hard. DD will come from a 4 hour playdate with friends and ask if she can invite someone over.

When she was younger we would go to Barnes & Noble once a week. Storytime there was too crazy for us, but other days she could play at the train table with other kids or they have a stage and little benches. She almost always found someone there to play with. Chuck E Cheese is good for us too, we go when the big kids are in school and arrive around 9:30 am. You can play on the free stuff, use a few tokens and go home for lunch. Our playgroup meets there once a month still.