Green Light! Red Light...

Our first park experience post-covid.

After two years of isolation, it was time. My pediatrician recommended finding a play group, or just going to the park to "socialize" my son. I put the word 'socialize' in parenthesis because to me, it sounds like I'm training a dog. And I hate that.

"Play is fundamentally important for learning 21st century skills, such as problem solving, collaboration, and creativity, which require the executive functioning skills that are critical for adult success." - American Academy of Pediatrics

Don't get me wrong, or get it twisted, my son plays. He plays A LOT. But playing with someone other than myself or my husband, not so much. So when I took him to the park I assumed he would be excited to see other kids. He barely noticed them. Instead he searched for me, and took my hand to guide him.

I think I just thought, "well kids know how to play with other kids, right?" Wrong. I had no idea how to get him to take his focus off me, and focus on the little faces laughing, smiling and running around.

The wheels just keep spinning

While having an attachment to me, he also was drawn to areas of the playground where other kids, were not. For instance, the wheels. He's always had a fascination with things that spin. The playground we visited, had wheels. And so my sat sat there, spinning those wheels while the wheels in my head, spun with them.

The Mom guilt is real...

After leaving the park that day, I felt defeated. Why, I don't know, but I did. I felt guilty. Guilty that we had kept him cooped up for so long like a caged dog, that he didn't knw how to communicate, socialize and open up. I know my son to be loving, caring, generous, ambitious, opinionated, at times stubborn as all hell, but it felt as though no one else would get to know him the way my husband and I did. And that, just broke my heart.

It was in that moment we decided to do everything we could to introduce our son to the world we knew, pre-COVID, in hopes that it would open him up and let the world see his light.

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Please, feel free to reach out to me on social or email. I would love to hear your stories, share your stories on this platform, but also do the research and ask experts what we can do to give our kids the best future possible.