We have secretly replaced Mo's milk with Folger's crystals..

Library story hour might give you an inkling as to whether Little Mo would be ready for a pre-school/day care experience.

That is really interesting eBeth.

I have occular migranes which means they are in my eyeball, not my brain. Still, it is vascular and I imagine that the same information would hold true.

Noddy, that is a really good point. That might be a good way to evaluate the situation!

The barometric pressure changes are often quite noticeable in your mucus membranes, if you pay attention to them.

Every place you've got mucus membranes, they can swell, and put pressure on. I almost lost the vision in my right eye about 25 years ago as a result of swollen mucus membranes. I learned my lesson - "do not avoid your allergy meds, ehBeth."



This was a lesson I really didn't enjoy learning.

Barometric pressure changes just don't get enough credit for the trouble they cause. They're also implicated in asthma attacks.

link

o.k.
enough
i'm obsessed on this subject
been reading about it almost since i started reading
really

I think it is very interesting, eBeth and I thank you for pointing me in that direction. I'm going to read up on it. I don't get the headaches very often but when I do -- boy oh boy -- not at all a good thing for a girl who relies on vision for a livelihood!

Boomerang, I'm glad that brought you a laugh. I have to admit, that even through the anger and frustration at times with the boys and thier antics, I still look back and find it humorous. Of course, thats MUCH later on during the day!

I think its the reason I fell in love with the net. At one time, I was cooped up with both of them and had no outlet. The internet was the only form of adult communication during the day, besides the phone. It was my stress reliever. ( I didn't work at the time/25-30 miles to the nearest town)

I hope the swimming pool works out for you. I know thats where I found a few yard tools and one of those tiki lights...lol :wink:

Boomerang, you sound like a wonderful mother and lil Mo sounds like an exciting child. Even with everything that my boys can think of, I wouldn't have them any other way. I had to share this post with my husband. He thought it was humourous...and commented on how it sounded like our boys. WE both got a laugh out of it...


*ehBeth, I never realized that about the barometric pressure. I have vascular headaches from time to time. I hate them relentlessly.

I think nursery school/playgroup (don't know what you call it) would be ideal - at 4 Mo would really benefit from socialising, playing with friends. having access to changing toys etc and learning - children who go to nursery settle better at school and learn faster. it is also not such a big scary step to take.

My two went to a playgroup at 2 - parents could stay if they wished (I usually did but kept in the background or helped out generally), it was only 2 hours and only twice a week,

At 3 they went to proper nursery school at the same school that they'd attend at the age of 5 (when'proper' school starts here). At first they went every morning 9-12 and when they were ready (the next year) they could stay until 3 and have lunch there. By the age of 4 both of them were reading and by the age of 8 were testing at adult level and testing was no longer possible at primary level.

It gave me time to get shopping/housework and stuff done, knowing they were in a good environment, learning stuff and then we could have quality time in the afternoons.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about why I have such a hang up about preschool. While my fears are probably irrational, they are (perhaps) based on a couple of things.

Just after Mo was born his parents put him in preschool. When he was about five weeks old he became so sick that he was hospitalized for more than a week. It was terrifying.

Once cured, his parents took him back to preschool where he remaind sick for the biggest part of his first two years of life.

Then he moved in with me and hasn't been to preschool. Other than the occasional sniffle, he hasn't been sick.

Just before he moved in here somthing else happened. My good friend L's baby died. He had been born with some very serious health problems, spent the first year of his life in quarentine, then, gradually, they were allowed to take him out and about. Thinking that he was out of the woods, the doctors recommended preschool to help socialize him. After a couple of months he caught a cold. He died on Thanksgiving day.

The little boys who live next door to me go to preschool and they are always sick.

I'm not germ-phobic. I do understand how the body must be exposed to germs to build resistence. We most definately are not hermits.

Anyway.

I think I equate preschool with sickness.

While I do see the point of socialization, which is the most given reason in favor of preschooling, I do think there are other ways to socialize kids.

I'm curious as to how many people here went to preschool and if they believe their social skills were sharpened by it.

Meanwhile, Mr. B is in favor of preschool for exactly the reasons cited on this thread.

I still have some hangups.

Hmmm...

First, terminology-wise, is that preschool? I think of preschool as being a specific thing for ages 3 to 5 or so -- preparation for school, specific (limited) times 2-5 times a week (depending on the school), activities, certain structures, etc.

What you seem to be talking about is more like daycare. (To my mind, babies don't go to preschool.)

I've obviously been thinking about this too (!), and one thing I came up with is that I personally don't want to or plan to homeschool the kid. So this is going to happen now or when she enters kindergarten -- being exposed to germs, building up immunity.

Sozlet's been sick a LOT since she entered preschool, yep, and I'm extremely unhappy about it. Everyone I've talked to says it just is what happens the first few months (it's coming up on exactly three), and then she builds some more immunity and if she's with the same group of kids throughout the year, after those first few months it will be much better. I'll report back on how that goes.

If I have one reason I'm happy about preschool, it's not anything about social skills per se, it's that she loves it. ADORES it. When she was resisting taking some Motrin yesterday (just a safeguard before bedtime), I said "I want to be sure you get all the way better so you can go to school tomorrow" and her eyes lit up and she instantly downed it.

So, it's something that she adores, that gives me time, and oh incidentally is indeed sharpening her social skills CONSIDERABLY, is an entree into both her and me making new friends, is preparing her for school and instilling a love of learning, and teaching her a whole lot, too.

Into every garden, rain must fall, and I WISH the parents would just consistently keep their kids home when the kids are sick -- just got another firmly-worded letter about that from the school. I guess the parents have plans for that time. :-? That really, really pisses me off and I could go on for several pages about how much. I don't discount that part of your hesitation at all.

But on the balance, so far it's still been worth it, and I'm expecting that we're over the worst of the sick part. (Knock on wood.)

Knowing that I am being irrational rarely prevents me from being irrational.

But yes, it was a preschool/daycare.

And my friend's son was nearly five.

And Oregon schools are pretty crappy and I don't really like the direction that education is headed in so unless I can afford private school I will probably consider a homeschooling network.

I really do know that there are benefits to preschooling. But still I ...... hesitate.

How about an in-between solution to get your feet wet? Gymboree or other location (a mall play area?) where kids can play in a safe environment while you are there to watch.

You can keep Mo away from the more obviously ill children.

He can interact with other kids, and work off some of his energy.

We and our daughter LOVE Gymboree, but we're suspending our membership until after the holidays (maybe further than that depending on how flu season goes.)

Sure. If you're considering homeschooling, that's certainly another angle to the whole thing. We bought this house specifically (well in part) because it's in a really good school district, so that's one less concern I have.

Amen to your first sentence (me too!). And for me, the more I'm pressed, the more I resist.

Certainly not a huge thing. Has worked really really well for us, and if other parents had a few more brain cells, would work even better.

So sad about your friend's son. All of these vague worries we have as parents become so much more focused if we know someone it actually happened to. I have a friend whose little girl (she was about 5 at the time I think) was playing in her gated yard while the friend/ mom was inside doing stuff -- the mom went to check on her and she wasn't there, went crazy calling her and looking around, sprinted down the street, asked all of the neighbors, someone had seen the girl walking along the street with a man. Another person had seen them go into a specific house. Called the cops, there fast, burst in, the girl was sitting in the front room talking to him, completely unharmed (whole thing was maybe 5-10 minutes start to finish.) But the guy was a registered sex offender.

(I also checked for registered sex offenders before we bought this house.)

Scary as hell, E.G. doesn't want sozlet ever ever ever playing in the yard unsupervised, I struggle with that a bit.

Anyway, understand how that would wig anyone out.

One benefit to preschool or other structured learning environments is that they usually have some semblence of a consistent schedule. My kids thrive when they know what to expect and their behavior is usually better.

Just my 2 cents. I totally understand your fears, though, boomer.

Good point about schedule/ structure. Not just in the class, but the class itself -- it's Monday, so we're going to school.

Anyway, I'll shut up.

Hopefully that dastardly front has passed through and both you and Mo are having a better day today...

We already do something like that DrewDad.

The park near our home is used by the nearby Montesorri school for recess. If we go there at certain times of day Mo has lots of kids to play with.

Most weeks we swim three days. The "open swim" session people are pretty regular and there are always lots of other kids to play with there too.

He is around other kids a lot but it is true that he prefers to play with me.

There is no doubt that we live a pretty free form life but we aren't without structure.

True, I tend to be a bit of a slacker.

But I do know what you mean, FreeDuck and Soz.

Okeedokee, artichokee.

BTW, thanks to everyone on this forum; I enjoy hearing the stories, suggestions, and solutions everyone has.

Ditto.

Yikes!

That is a spooky story.

You're right, when things like that happen to someone you know it heightens the awareness. A "friend of a friend" or a newpaper headline can't create quite the same panic.

How do you check for registered sex offenders?

I think you start with your county sheriff's office. I found some for-pay national sites, it should be free.

Are you in Multnomah County?

I've been looking around, haven't found anything online yet (a listing.) I did find this:



http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/dcj/acjsoffendersup.shtml#list

Hey! Thanks soz!

I live in Washington County but that sounds like a list that covers the state.

That kind of information might be scary to have but maybe more scary not to have.