I have two things I am currently debating back and forth about within my head regarding some parenting choices. Help, please! I want to hear your experiences.
Forewarning: One of these topics I’ve seen to be quite controversial on mommy boards, please do not bring that drama here. No bashing me for my parenting, no bashing others for theirs. You don’t have to agree but it’s all about r-e-s-p-e-c-t (sung like Aretha Franklin, of course). Thanks!
1. The pacy. She is almost 2.5 and has a strong, strong, strong love for her pacy. We do limit it to only when she naps or at night (unless really sick like last weekend) so it has not interfered with her talking what so ever and her teeth are fine. My dilemma is, I have three weeks until school starts back, so therefore if I’m going to do a pacy overhaul, I need to start NOW while it doesn’t matter if I loose sleep or not. But at the same time, I had my pacy until I was FOUR. Yes, four. And I was fine, as well as my teeth. So part of me is like, “Big deal.” She’ll loose interest eventually.
So, should I do it now? How? I’ve heard the pacy fairy, cutting holes, etc. What worked for you?
2. Dance Class. We don’t get out of the house a lot. I’m a shy, reserved type person and when I try to do playdates they usually end up being one time things because our kids have been the wrong ages or the other mommy and I didn’t click. We thought about putting her in 2 day preschool this fall, but decided it wasn’t worth it right now with the cost of it. I’ve been looking for a way for both of us to socialize regularly and ta-da! Dance class (or some kind of class) seems to be a great option.
She’s 2.5, she would be in a pre-dance class with other 2-4 year olds. Is it worth the money? Is it too early? What’s your experience? If she doesn’t do dance class, there are music classes that I could do with her (but I keep asking her and she insists on dance class), or places like The Little Gym. Bottom line: I just want her to do something fun and make friends, and bonus if I can make friends with the other mommies.
Again, no bashing me or my commenters. I just to hear your experience and what has worked for you! Thanks :-)
8 Comments so far
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You need to get rid of the pacifier before you consider putting her in any type of class. One step at a time.
As for us, cold turkey with the pacifier. Granted, he was 15 months but still. We had one rough night. And it was never mentioned again.
Little Gym will rival the price of preschool. If you have to decide between preschool and a social class, go preschool.
By FireMom on 08.01.09 8:38 am | Permalink
Abby was about 15 mos old when she got sick and couldn’t breathe with the paci in her mouth – so I took that opportunity and it was gone. Once it was gone, we talked about big girls ALL the time and she would bring me the old pacis she found around the house telling me what a big girl she was and that only babies had pacis. (sorry about the run on sentence)
I’d do preschool before doing a Little Gym or a dance class. She’s still kinda young for the dance class.
By Sara on 08.01.09 9:37 pm | Permalink
I have an online friend that is a dance instructor and also has her daughter in dance class. She started her at two and she LOVES it. The videos she posts of her daughter are so adorable, that girl is such a ham; really loves to preform!
So I think if it’s something she really likes, then it’s totally worth it. But keep in mind that there are extra costs on top of the class fee-shoes, costumes, etc.
If it was something I knew my child loved, I’d work my ass off to have them in it if I had to. When I was younger I wanted to be in dance class SO BAD. I loved choreographing dances to any song I heard, learning new moves and techniques. But my mom couldn’t afford dance classes and I feel like I lost out.
By Renee on 08.02.09 2:27 am | Permalink
I probably wouldn’t go cold turkey with a 2 year old. Our son was still taking a bottle during storytime before bed at around the same age. We did the bottle fairy thing and it worked great. Things that helped: lots of talking about it before hand, letting him totally control the decision about when to actually do it, and a basket full of loads of small gifts.
By Heather on 08.02.09 4:48 am | Permalink
I have no comment on the pacy. I never had one. But the pre-k dance class is a really good idea. Both my sister and I did them and it has fostered a lifelong love of dance (though not the creepy obsessive kind). Plus, we were so cute in our little tutus.
By Crystal on 08.02.09 11:42 am | Permalink
Jayden was almost 3 when he lost interest in his pacifier. I didn’t push it and nobody else did either. Around 2, I limited it to just nap and bed times, unless, like you said, he was sick. Basically, he weaned himself, but a lot of that too was the fact that he lost (or we thought that he lost) his pacifier one night and had to go to bed without it. Fussed about for just a few minutes then went to bed. I found it within minutes of him falling asleep, but I decided to put it in a new place (since he had learned where I hid them before until nap/bed time lol!), but the next night, when he asked for it, I just said “remember, it got lost yesterday!” and he said, “oh…ok” and went to bed like it was no big deal!
I have no idea really about the preschool or dance classes. Jayden didn’t go to preschool until he was 4. He could have gone at 3, but I waited until he was 4. I think he learned a LOT from it and he really enjoyed it! It was 3 days a week, about 2 1/2 hours each day. He did great and made little buddies :) It really helped him with kindergarten. He still had a rough transition to kindergarten, mostly because of the school bus, but I think that preschool really helped him to gain confidence in making friends and stepping out of his comfort zone!
By Hillary on 08.02.09 8:49 pm | Permalink
My son, at 2 years old gave his pacy to the pacy fairy so that another baby could have it. We put it in a little box, not under his pillow where he could get it, and the ‘fairy’ took it in the middle of the night. No problems after that. Good luck.
By Meredith on 08.03.09 2:05 pm | Permalink
My kids didn’t use pacifiers much so we didn’t pay attention to when they stopped. I sucked my fingers til I was six at least and my teeth turned out fine.
Dance class vs preschool depends on the teacher and the class so much. I’d choose a good preschool over dance though because there is so much diversity of experience and you get a chance to meet other parents there too.
By jmomma on 08.03.09 3:02 pm | Permalink
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