Until recently Ed has been taking part in a little gym class every Wednesday. I say 'taking part'....lying on the floor or running around aimlessly isn't exactly taking part. He loved using the equipment, but he decided that doing the singing and warming up at the beginning just wasn't his thing. Which meant the dreaded word.......wrangling.
God how I hate wrangling my son. He's bigger now. He's stronger (as strong as me, I'm sure) and he's stubborn. This led to 15 minutes every week, at least, of me tussling with him, chasing him, trying to out-manoeuvre him, while a class of well-behaved children took part in their entertaining and well regimented warm-up time. And I was paying for the privilege.
It was exhausting, and I ended up dreading it every week. Wednesday was not a good day to get stressed because I also had to take Lib to drama after school too, so overall it was a busy and tiring day. So I finally gave in, and realised that if he wasn't going to take part there's no point in us being there, plus not going would make my Wednesdays a whole lot easier. But what to do instead?
I'm not the most energetic of people, as you can probably guess. Ed's gym class was a way of him getting some exercise and learning some new skills, so I had to think of a viable alternative. I don't want my kids to be adverse to exercise just because I am (I have good reasons, sure, but for their own health I want them to get stuck in where I can't). So how I can encourage them, but still preserve my own energy?
The park is great, but inevitably I have to push swings or spin roundabouts and it all takes its toll during the day. So my current solution for Ed? Soft play. Say what you will about them, but soft play has it's place, and for me at the moment it's invaluable. Ed's finally at the age where he'll go off and play, especially if we've invited a friend along too, so I can sit back and 'relax' (let's be honest, it's hard to relax in those places though!) while he does his thing. It's good exercise for him, and I'm sure he learns a few social skills while he's throwing himself around. And talking of social skills, I'm making a more conscious effort to organise play dates with other little mites his age. It's a win win situation. I get my social fix, Ed gets to develop friendships, and it breaks our day up. I've decided that getting into a routine with these things will really help not only me, but him too.
Finally things seem like they're falling into place. The older Ed gets the more I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm generally getting better sleep, feeling less fatigued during the day, and excited for him starting preschool (though emotional at the same time!). I can talk to him and reason with him now, which helps a great deal, and I just feel the hardest days are over. I could be completely wrong and there's a whole sh*tstorm of emotional torment heading our way, but let me sit in my little bubble for a few moments......before I crash back to reality!
He loves a ball pool!
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