OK, maybe that’s exagerating a little. But at least i got your attention.
Yesterday, I took my 2 1/2 year old to an “art class”, just to see what they do and whether it is any better than the mess we create in our kitchen
The class was 1 hour long. But the teacher switched activities every 10 minutes. The little guy had the best fun with the watercolor, and suddenly it was music and singing. What the @$@#? Why not let the kids continue? After the music, it was back to painting. Then it was - of all things - costumes. :smack: Then it was painting again, etc. :mad:
No wonder kids later have a short attention span. My experience is that 1-2 year old toddlers can spend 20-30 minutes figuring out ONE thing (for instance, why the wheels on the stroller turn; how to open and close a bottle; how to take off those diapers… ). It this kind of high-activity classes that teaches them impatience and short attention span.
Anybody has experience or actual facts on this? I am curious about other parents’ opinions. Oh, and ideas for art in the kitchen without a blue floor
Perhaps, but not totally. Some kids have a shorter attention span than others, and many teachers teach to the “lowest common denominator,” catering to the high-maintenence kids.
An “art mat.” Oh sure, some people might call it a tarp or a drop cloth, but it’s an art mat! Also, my kids were trained by a great preschool, andf they are very into being careful and cleaning up! They sure as hell didn’t get it from me!
My just-turned-3 year old loves sticker work. As long as you don’t mind scraping dinosaur stickers off of your kitchen table with a putty knife, it’s not too messy!
I have an extremely short attention span but I never went to a toddler school like the one you mention.
I think that attention span is inborn based on my limited experience with childraising. I raised about 4 of my siblings and the ones who had short attention spans and were raising hell as babies are doing the same today.
I was told in my Psych class that a typical attention span of a child is their age multiplied by 5. I did a quick google search and other websites also suggest this, but I haven’t found any with actual credentials. Maybe your child has a much longer attention span than most children his age?
Some kids will get into an activity for a long time, but IME 10-15 minutes is about the most you can expect from a typical toddler. If you can get a Kindergarden student to stay on one activity for more than 30 minutes, that’s a minor miracle.
Heck, compared to the switch-themes-every-two-minutes nature of toddler television these days, 10 minutes is an eternity.
Dr. Kevin Leman recently published a book called First-Time Mom in which he complains mightly about our curent mania for educating children. He argues that it starts too young (before age 3) and is too intense where older children are concerned. I was just thinking today that maybe this atmosphere and the pressure associated with it might contribute towards a lack of focus.
Also, giving Moms permission to just “hang out” with their kids could help their stress levels as well. It feels a little strange, but unstructured time may be the best thing for all parties.
Dorfl, I think you have cause and effect reversed. The teacher switched activities every 10 minutes 'cause that’s what the kids need, in his/her experience.
The short attention span of the other kids was caused by short attention span parents who use TV as a child minder, as did their parents. And so it goes.
Put a different way, we learned as parents (fairly late) that it’s far easier to keep a child happy if you keep him engaged, rather than let him get bored and cranky and then try to engage him. So I expect the teacher was being a little preventative, although her quick timing wasn’t necessary for all the kids in the class.
I agree with others who say it’s probably jumping the gun to suggest that this is the cause of learning problems. I doubt that these sorts of structured, quick-paced activities are commonplace for toddlers or are done on such a regular basis that they could shorten their attention spans.
I had took my daughter to a free class at “My Gym”, a place much like Gymboree.
I didn’t care for Gymboree because I felt that apart from the socialization (she’s my only child), it wasn’t worth the money. I hated the whole McEmployee feel of it.
Well, My gym was 50 times worse!
It seemed like every 5 minutes it was something new. I wouldn’t be exageratting much to say we did 20 different things in half an hour!
The children were obviously having a good time doing one activity but they were all forced to stop and do something new. They spent such little time with each activity that IMO nothing was really enjoyed!
Worse was the fact that some teenager that more than likely did not have children was telling me in a matter-of-fact voice that “They know what’s best for children this age”.
I have nothing to add, except to say that the very thought of a toddler art class makes me want to lie down.
Or drink heavily–or both.
FWIW-I did a mix of some classes for my kids and some down time etc. We did stuff at home, but I wouldn’t call it real structured. I would make play dough on a rainy day, say and they would play with that for about an hour and then clean up and now it’s story time or whatever(in between loads of laundry etc).
IMO, new parents obsess too much about all this. I think it’s great that you want socialization for your only, but keep in mind, that once in pre-school, the friends and the playdates will come.
the Gymboree thing sounds like a Gulag to me–no thanks!
The problem is that the children will not stay on task for long because they become restless with doing the same activity. I think that the art teacher switched activities to break up the monotony so that the kids wouldn’t start eating the crayons and drinking the paint, and doing other stupid things.
Taking breaks is something even older children do, even in high school. I remember the teacher suggesting to the class to stand up and streach once in a while. Another trick teachers use to break up the monotony is to have fire drills. I saw a fire truck the other day which was probably going to put out the fire cause by mischief making teens. I always wanted to ride a fire truck like they do in the movies with the dalmation. My dog is so lovable and reminds me of a hot dog. I’m getting kind of hungry and I could go for a frank right about now.
:mad: