Rick and I had a playdate with Soren over the weekend. We had the chance to spend some time with two really cool parents and one very cool little dude. We've had a chance to playdate with this family a couple times before either at parks or museums, but this was the first time we were able to chat with them - since our toddler boys are just that. Boys! They are into EVERYTHING!
On our way home, I couldn't help but think - who was this playdate for? Soren - or us?! I learned so much from watching another set of parents with their wee one. Soren is about 6 months older than his playmate - but as they grow older, the gap between them grows smaller. This playmate was quite the 'sharer', it was amazing watching him bring things to Soren the entire time. I was SO impressed - and then embarrassed (and of course - it's not about me). Soren wouldn't share - in fact, he would hoard this little guy's toys!
I felt so bad and didn't really know how to help Soren. I was inspired by his playmate's mom to gather some reading materials. I noticed last night that I have been so focused on my doula training - I have been reading A LOT about birth, but not near enough about toddler development. She 'wow'd' me with her knowledge of parallel play and how they both choose certain words and sentence structures to encourage their little guy to not only use his words - but to interact patiently with Soren.
Now, I am sure that Soren benefited from this experience, but so did I. We are both sets of attached parents - so our mentality about parenting is very similar, but you can always learn something when you choose to open up to other parents. I am grateful they had us over, even more grateful for the knowledge they have shared with us.
Today I am stopping at the library to pick up this read.
And read this fantastic article about toddler sharing last night. It's amazing how much my actions trigger poor sharing skills, when trying to improve them!