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Infant and Toddler Privacy?Feb 27 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Even infants and toddlers can benefit from privacy although you won't want to leave them alone too long.
My son will be 18 months old next week, and although "privacy" may not be the right word, I do think infants and toddlers need their own space. Now I'm not saying leave your child in a room and go to the store . Here's what I am saying. Children need "downtime". Ever since my son could roll over we have allowed him his space. Either on a blanket on the floor while we cook, or read nearby, or in his crib looking at his toys. The time varies. Sometimes it's a few minutes, sometimes over an hour. Now that my son is running, playing, talking, and pretty self entertaining, he will shut the door to his room (which of course is childproofed) and play with his toys. The first few times he did this I would repeatedly open the door, only to have it closed again. I was worried about his safety of course, so I would prop the door open again only to have it shut. Finally I started watching him through the window. He would play in his room for sometimes two hours. Then when he felt like coming out, he would open the door (before he knew how to open the door he would bang on it until someone opened it). I discussed this with our pediatrician because I was concered about my son's strange activities. Simply put, the pediatrician said that my son was simply winding down. After running around playing with friends, pets, or going on errands, he simply wanted to be alone with his toys. According to our pediatrician even toddlers need their privacy . It seems that my son had just figured out a way to get the down time he needed. The result The results of allowing my son his "down time" are amazing. He is happier, more agreeable, a better eater, and more willing to be on the run during the day. Our pediatrician wrote on my son's chart at his 15 month check up "Active, playful, smiling child. Lots of drool." (he was cutting molars). I think those two sentances pretty much sum up my child completely. Although the drool has subsided, at least for awhile, the rest is still true. .  |
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