New to 19 month old baby

amother

Mon, Feb 26 2024, 2:37 pm

I'm new to this age. my baby will be 18.5 months in September. Where do I send him? he is too young for the 2+ yr old daycare. but I think he needs more than a babysitting group bec he will need stimulation more than just playing with toys from 9-4. What exactly is a kiddie group and how is it diffrnt form a daycare or playgroup or babysitting ?

amother

Peach

Mon, Feb 26 2024, 2:40 pm

amother OP wrote:

Mine was 17 months old at the beginning of the year and I sent him to a group that's more structured than a babysitter.

At the beginning of the year, it was more or less the same as a babysitter except with outdoor play, but as the year has gone on they've added circle time, some simple projects and learning

amother

PlumPink

Mon, Feb 26 2024, 3:00 pm

I found a playgroup that had other children that age, so they were all younger together. It's not as advanced as the older groups, but it's more than just babysitting. The morah did a cute davening circle, a sedra craft and generally played with them more than a babysitter did.

amother

Oatmeal

Wed, Feb 28 2024, 12:00 am

I'm a playgroup sub for a lot of different groups and we have both types in my community---- structured groups of all the same age kids who all do a craft at the same time and nap at the same time----- and babysitting groups that take from 6 week olds to 2+ year olds. If possible, at that age, I HIGHLY recommend a structured group with few kids that all eat and nap at the same time. It's a lot less chaotic for the babies and in turn a lot less chaotic for the Morah so she's more able to play with and sing to and help feed the toddlers. In addition, with a babysitting group, the older kids tend to touch the younger kids a lot and we keep needing to remind to use "gentle hands". The older kids tend to sit in a high chair or booster seat with food in front of them while Morah feeds bottles to the younger babies and food hits the floor and the kid eating isn't necessarily encouraged to eat, etc.

Like another poster mentioned, outdoor play is a good addition for this age group as well. When Morah has 2 year olds AND newborns, it's impossible to take everyone outside together (especially since part of the group is inside napping at any given time). So older kids in a babysitting group miss out on the outdoor time and the structured davening and crafts.

Another note is that older kids get access to playdoh and fingerpaint and such when there are no babies under 18 months around. When Morah has babies to bottle and nap, she's not sitting at a table with toddlers strongly supervising playdoh and paint activities.