not sure if this should go here or under parenting but i was looking for recommendations for a parenting book on simple activities or ideas to help with your child's development. although i of course want to be a good mum (and i am a bit of a worrier by nature) i have been deliberately fairly laid back about development as such as the last thing i want do is for my child to pick up any anxiety from me about how 'well he does' or put any pressure on him. however now that he is three it has dawned on me that i do want to do what i can with him just to help ensure he is developign fully to his capabilities (without having any competitive parenting nonsense creeping in)
I like the look of the playful parenting book that i read about here and i will buy that one but I would like a nice simple book on things you can do at home with a preschooler that help them learn what they need to at this age. I suspect I do most of the things you need to do ie we go to toddler groups, read, go to parks, soft play and i spend a lot of my time chatting with him (in fact possibly a bit too much as he is pretty clingy) and he has a lot of toys but I just want to make sure I am not missing out something.
although i think i am an reasonably good mum (well i hope so!) I do find the actual 'play' bit really hard. it just doesn't come naturally to me and I don't think i am very good at being imaginative. I suspect this is partly because my own mum wasn't great at it. We do painting and glueing from time to time and I do try and talk about numbers and letters but when it comes to crafts for example or role play my mind just goes blank. I just need something to give me a bit of structure and confidence i guess.
my ds does seem really happy and people say he is bright especially with the emotional intelligence side of things so i try and tell myself i must be doing somethign ok but i want to do my best for him. sorry that turned into a huge ramble