Hellobee Boards

How old are the other kids in the room? Similar age? LO (almost 13 months) acts pretty much the same...can't sit still, won't sit on my lap for a second etc. but so do all of the other 12-18 month olds there...so it's accepted and we all just try and stop them escaping the circle, or keep them distracted with a book of their own right in front of them.

Our library story time is only about 25 min long for this reason - the kids are at the age where they can't (and shouldn't be required to) sit still that long. M (21 months) will sit in my lap for a bit but she likes to stand and dance along to the songs they sing. She wanders a bit and goes up to the librarian reading the stories but so do the other kids - and she only tells them to sit if they get rowdy or start to really wander away.

I think the adults leading that class have unrealistic expectations, to be honest. Young kids just don't sit still, especially when there are other kids to play with. I take LO to a drop-in playgroup with circle time most days and the teacher always makes a point to say don't worry about the kids running around and not sitting nicely, they're little, that's what they do. She recommends modelling the behaviour so they learn by watching mummy. So that's what I do, while my kid climbs the walls I sit and sing all by myself and feel a bit weird, but when we get home A requests certain songs and knows the actions so she IS taking it in. We used to go to a toddler storytime and ALL the kids were at the front jumping up and down. It's just what they do.

It's okay not to go to story time at the library if your kid can't sit through it. Mine couldn't and I didn't feel the need to put my stress on display for everyone else.

@Mrs. Lion: does it help if he has something small and quiet he can hold? I've found some kiddos can sit better if they have an object they can fidget with, but it's less disruptive to the other kids than standing up and moving about. Do they sit on a mat or anything? Sometimes having a defined place for them to stay helps them stay in place, you could even bring a washcloth or small blanket to sit in, bonus- they can fidget quietly with it. Really I think most adults are just unreasonable about their expectations of children to sit still, it would be nice if those leading story hours and such could realize children are meant to be moving, it's not something to be frowned upon.

@Mrs. Lion: No suggestions, just commiseration? I tried to take my 17 month old to a hawk and owl presentation at a fall festival this past Saturday. Thought he would LOVE it. He was a wild animal and just wanted to run up and down the sidewalks (it was outside of a shop). Big FAIL.
We've only been to the library once so far and he ran in circles, did some yelling, stared at people and threw books. And I swear, he's a well behaved kid! I won't try story time anytime soon!

Btw, I know how it feels when you feel your kid is the only one not sitting still. But then I realized the parents whose kids were doing the same as mine probably stopped going, so of course all I see when we go are toddlers who are able to sit still on their moms lap. My kid just isn't one of those!