Liam "Daycare"

July 8th marks the beginning of some great swimming memories with Christian, but it also marks an important milestone for Liam.  Given the nature of one person taking two kids to a swim lesson, I decided to take advantage of the baby sitting service at Killarney.  Christian and I dropped Liam off in the play room before heading to the pool for the swim lesson.  I was nervous about leaving Liam because I had never left Liam alone in a third-party setting.  Liam's personality is also distinguishable from his brother's in that he is a bit more reserved than Christian and needs more time to assess a new situation, new people before feeling comfortable. We stayed and got out toys we thought Liam would like to play with (a play garage with some toy cars) and soon after Liam was playing, we left to go to the pool.  I was sure Petra would call  me on my cell phone to tell me Liam was not happy, but surprisingly, I did not get the call.  

I left class to check on Liam through the window and he was sitting in the same spot we left him in and was playing with the same toys.  I felt sad to see him in there playing by himself.  Since there is only 1 caregiver for up to 8 kids, each child is sort of being looked after for basic needs as 1 caregiver can not engage with 8 kids at once.  I know this is a silly thought because at Liam's age kids are not interacting every second with each other and that the playroom is safe and fun, but it still broke my heart to see him playing in the same spot with the same toys.  As the week progressed, Liam was moving around the whole room playing with different toys and "mingling" with the other kids.  Amazing how adaptable young kids are!  Liam loves the playroom so much he tells me "no" when I tell him we are leaving.