Comments on: My Shy Little Guy Goes to Gymboree

By: Coming Out of His Shell.. | Becoming Mom – Mommy Blog and Photography

Coming Out of His Shell.. | Becoming Mom – Mommy Blog and Photography — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:46:29 +0000

[...] activities kind of attitude (or just Jasper being Jasper = difficult!). It was most obvious when we were at gymboree and he would practically CLING to me the entire time, and when he did run off and play it was never [...]

By: AM

AM — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:28:02 +0000

@Shane – what a great tip! Thank you! I’ve been losing sleep thinking about that step down. It’s a good foot-and-a-half drop, much more than a regular “step.”

A friend once told me that being a mommy is one long worry trip and she wasn’t kidding!

By: Sherean

Sherean — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:47:52 +0000

@Shane – what a great tip! Thank you! I’ve been losing sleep thinking about that step down. It’s a good foot-and-a-half drop, much more than a regular “step.”

A friend once told me that being a mommy is one long worry trip and she wasn’t kidding!

By: ariana

ariana — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:55:09 +0000

anne marie, it was literally half the price, LG was $400 and Gymboree is $200. Jeff read this entry and felt bad for the little gym.. the woman that runs ours is super nice, but I was just being honest! Like Amy (peytie’s nanny) told me, Little gym is great for older kids as it can focus more on gymnastics etc and is set up better for that and is a good next step for kids who are too old for gymboree!

By: anne marie

anne marie — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:41:56 +0000

oh.. i want to hug and cuddle jasper.. he will blossom soon enough i’m sure. curious though. how much cheaper is gymboree compared to the little gym. i was floored to see how much little gym was.

By: Shane

Shane — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:04:46 +0000

@Sherean — we also have a step down into our living room. Our little guy (12 mths old) picked up how to navigate the steps pretty fast. I was shocked actually. Here is what worked for us! As soon as he showed interest in the step and could crawl UP the step, I started putting him in the position to turn around, one leg over, slide down the step. I tried not to just pick him up and take him down. As often as he went up — I tried to mimic the way to get down. And after a few days of this he started to do it on his own. I’ve tried to mimic the same motion when he gets off the sofa or the bed now too. Even though it’s a bigger drop — at least he’s trying it feet first.

By: Sherean

Sherean — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:29:30 +0000

We’re moving in a few weeks and plan to sign Hunter up for Gymboree when we get to our new neighborhood. Up to this point, he hasn’t had any stranger anxiety or issues in unfamiliar settings until . . . the last few days. I think he might be getting to that stage where they get a little clingy in unfamiliar situations. (Perfect timing, right? With movers, new house, etc.) I just read up on this in the Pediatric Association book and — I’m no expert, I just read a chapter — but it sounds like that’s all that’s going on with Jasper. And according to the book, that’s a sign of a healthy attachment to Mommy! Plus, he does fine at day care so it definitely sounds like it’s a phase.

As for letting him fall/bump/bruise . . . . I’m fighting the urge to be overprotective myself. It helps me to watch our friends whose daughter is 12 days older (and MONTHS ahead in motor skills). She’s fearless and they let her roam. I see how she’s thriving and hope I have the same courage they have.

Having said that, I lie awake at night worrying about the step-down from the kitchen to the den at the new house. It’s much deeper than a normal step and I have NO idea how he’ll ever navigate that.

Ariana, you are an amazing mom and you continue to learn and teach us all.

By: Peytie's Nanny

Peytie's Nanny — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:18:27 +0000

I just wanted to say real quick that I was so right about Gymboree ;-) hehehehehe

I’m glad he was able explore and have a good time, we’re signing Peyt up soon now that we’re back from vacation and I can’t wait!

PS- I didn’t read everyone’s comments so I’m not sure if this was already said, it is not unusual for kiddos to be shy, sure some of it has to do with the way they are parented but some children are also just naturally shy. It’s important for you to comfort Jasper when he’s unsure of an area or people but you should also find a balance in “letting go”, like for example, I had a little girl who was nervous around strangers and would run over and hold onto my legs (you see this all the time I’m sure!) so I would pat her back and say “it’s okay these are our friends” and then let her be while I went back to interacting with whomever was there, I wouldn’t pick her up or try and force her away. I would just acknowledge her feelings and reassure her and eventually she’d feel comfortable enough to go play (usually a few feet from me and then after a while further away).

I personally feel that some parents overreact to their children’s nervousness (or them being “scared”) and end up holding them and soothing them to the point where the child thinks “my parent/caregiver is holding me and giving cuddles and talking to me softly because I was right to be nervous” and then when you try and put them back down it’s 10 times harder than if you left them on the ground and just rubbed their backs or patted their heads and reassured them of safty because now they have the death grip going and will really object to you letting go ;-)

If this was already said then I’m sorry to repeat!

By: Aker

Aker — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:38:32 +0000

My son Eli was born exactly one week after Jasper. I love reading your posts because Eli and Jasper are so so much alike. Eli, too, is so far advanced with the motor skills but is also quite shy. He is just starting to come out of his shell and sociapize more with adults and other babies. It is fun to watch. But, I have been taking Eli to gymboree for months and he still refuses to sit on the parachute and really has no time for the log. He much prefers to run around and check things out and of course make sure his mommy is not far behind. I always imagined myself with a happy go lucky baby but instead I have been blessed with a sweet, sensitive, and cautious little boy. Eli definitely has a mind of his own and lets us know when he wants to do things and it seems like Jasper has the same personality. Our gymboree instructor told me to go with the flow and let him explore and do things on his own. They change so much and so fast. I think that you are doing everything right…as far as I can tell through your posts, Jasper seems like a great little boy!!!!;

By: KaiRayne

KaiRayne — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:13:50 +0000

My boys never went to anything like this cause we don’t have one in our small town. But as far as him being “clingy”…. the first time yall went, I could understand him being that way. You said it was noisy and such, plus it was his first time. The second time, he wasn’t really clingy…. most typically developing toddlers will do what he did: go off and play a bit and then come back for a kiss or hug or whatever and then they are off again. And they can do this once, twice or a lot more than that. In my Child Development classes in college I learned that behavior is very normal. Its kind of a reassurance for the child that, “Hey mom is still here, even though I’m way over here.”

My oldest son is in 1st grade and when I fist had him, I was the same way as you are. I didn’t want him to get hurt if it was preventable. My sister told me that I have to let go a little bit cause he’s going to fall and get hurt and that’s how he learns. It was really hard, I’m STILL learning to let him do things that I fight myself to tell him not to do. When he was 18 months old his brother came along and from the time my youngest could move independently, it was apparent that he was ALL boy. He was always getting hurt. He was a climber, so he was always falling off of things before I could get to him. But he’s fine now. Neither on of my boys have broken anything or needed stitches, yet and they’ve had some pretty serious “owies”. Its all just part of being a boy.

Jasper might act differently when you are around in those situations too. I don’t know why kids do that, but my oldest has a really hard time if I go volunteer at his school. Last year his teacher told me that he’s very independent and tries new things and such. When I went to help out in his class, he was with-drawn and introverted and very weepy. So I’ve made it a point not to volunteer IN the class. My other son is fine if I’m in his class, he pretty much ignores me cause he’s having too much fun. lol I know that you can’t just leave Jasper there at the Gymboree, but I guess my point was that maybe he is acting differently than he does at daycare because you are there.

Sorry for being so long winded. lol