Preparing for Thanksgiving part 3
Welcome to Part 3 of a 10 part series from our parent contributor, Beth Lattime. You can check out part 2 here.
Listen to your other offspring
Ethan has a big sister, Cecelia, who is wise beyond her years. She has helped me pack Ethan’s “outing bag” for social gatherings. I have heard her tell me all about the things that baby bro enjoys. “Mom, Ethan loves all of the VTech vehicles but not the tracks. He loves tub toys. Can we buy him some that we can just keep in his bag?” These are just a few of many things that we have learned.
I mentioned the bags and the Tupperware lids. I know. I know. You don’t want your child playing with things that aren’t toys, right? It makes them look freaky and out of place. I get it. Think about this for a minute though. Can you interchange appropriate with inappropriate items? Let your child have opportunities to play with both preferred and unpreferred items. Involve their siblings in this process. Tell their sibling to teach Aunt Sue how to play with your child with special needs. Not everyone knows how to play let alone play with a child that gets exhilarated by a Grandma’s Potato Salad lid.