Quote Originally Posted by bright sparks View Post
BTW, I wasn't implying you had anything against AP or were bashing them. It was more with respect to babydoms comments about an AP child having the inability to be independent...or something along those lines... which is a common misconception and is not actually the case. It's more a reflection of how AP is carried out and I still stand firm that many people don't choose AP and do their research to make it a healthy parenting style, but use it as an excuse for pacifying their child and being lazy...yes that is right, I said it lol
You said it...I think it and see it all the time! I do believe that AP can be great...but I don't know that I ever really see it in action how it was meant to be. The variations of what I see are what you describe (ever so eloquently) and it does bother me as they call it AP, giving AP a bad rap.

Anywyas...my post wasn't really about 'AP' but I did put it in there as I wanted to know if others were finding the same with their families that practice AP. Clearly they are as I've yet to say their AP children are able to play easily on their own. In which case I will just continue on as is and hope that with more and more time free play will start to come naturally.

I totally understand the dislike of the word 'normal' and that is why I usually put it in quotes. There is no normal when it comes to people, especially children but I just use it to get my question across...'typical' 'average' 'acceptable' any of those words can kind of be used as well. Basically should I be concerned with the lack of play at this age or not! I don't want to just wait until she is 4 and going off to school to realize there were some big red flags I didn't try to help address and should have!

She is a great kid and her family loves her dearly. They drive me bonkers with how they do things but what they do at home is up to them, I offer advice when it is asked but otherwise try to keep out of it. It is up to me to decide if their way of doing things makes them a poor match for me. So far it doesn't as the child has adapted enough to work with us here. She naps 1.5-2hrs a day and most days begs me to go up to bed hours before nap time as she knows she will get a good nap in and feel better. She is capable of a lot, if the adults around her have the expectations that she can.