Programming children

I think one of the most fun things about being a parent has to be revisiting one's own childhood favorites. I think I'd feel a little self-conscious watching Cinderella without a child to share it with; although, Andy and I did see Hercules in the theatre on a date as graduate students, and I embarrased him further by ordering the kid's snack pack. In any case, I'm rediscovering joys of legos, puzzles, crayons, and playgrounds. I'm also planning extracurricular activities for my 2-year old as if she needs a head start to get a college athletic scholarship! I realize I'm not the only one -- which I think is why there's even more social pressure to sign-'er-up early-- but I wonder where this trend is leading us. I think part of me realizes that my time as curriculum planner is limited. If I don't get her enrolled in a sport soon, she might never want to play.



What have we been up to? We took swimming at 9 months and 18 months. She loved it at 9 months and hated it at 18. I think that was a control issue. Imagine not being able to swim, wanting independence, and finding yourself in water twice your height. I wouldn't have liked it either I guess. I refuse to drive out to one of the fancy swim schools or wait in line at 5 am for a 2-year old, so we'll try that one again later. (I think it is bordering on criminal to not try to teach a child to swim, so she'll be back in the water soon enough.)



For the past few months, she's been in a wonderful program at My Gym in Chantilly. It's a bit chaotic sometimes, but she absolutely has a blast climbing, swinging, singing, dancing, and jumping. Some weeks she literally climbs the walls, and she's finally starting to participate in circle time activities.



So, for the spring we're on to soccer. She kicked so much in the womb that we almost named her "Mia." We found a program that starts kids at 18 months. I haven't done any research on it, but the website says Lil' Kickers is a "nationally renowned" child-development program so it must be good. Right? We did a trial class last weekend and Emily had a lot of fun chasing the ball from one goal to another and "planting" cones around the field and tapping them with her foot. I'm not going to run out and buy cleats or stop contributing to her college fund, but one never knows where these things might lead.