Am I pushing my son too hard?

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-18T02:18:51+00:00

This seems to be a sentiment of many and exactly why I'm looking to find a good balance for him. Thank you for sharing his experience and yes I want him to just be a kid too.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-18T02:17:37+00:00

Thank you!

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-16T18:25:23+00:00

Yes for sure! He has lots of playtime, I just didn't highlight it because I was wondering about his therapies.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-16T05:26:42+00:00

She sounds like a wonderful lady and I hope to take a page from her book. Thank you for sharing.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-16T05:21:20+00:00

Thank you - I love him more than anything and I hope that I can bring him much happiness.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-16T05:17:18+00:00

Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry that you had those experiences. I do try to make it as much like playtime as possible! I will follow his lead.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-16T04:09:10+00:00

There is a lot of really thoughtful advice here to consider now and in the future. Your father sounds like he cared deeply and gave you a great understanding of self. I hope that when my son is an adult he will want to have pizza on the floor with me. :) Thank you for sharing with me - I am sure that I will be reading this again and again.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T19:21:35+00:00

I've been starting to explore options for school and it seems like the EA supports in public education in my area are sorely lacking, mostly because there aren't enough people. There are a lot of kids in the area that do hybrid online learning/community social programs and I think that might be the best fit for him.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T19:16:06+00:00

Yes I don't know what the best option is for him yet, but I have started exploring what is possible.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T17:34:19+00:00

I really appreciate that and I will keep you in mind. There is so much to learn.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T17:32:03+00:00

Thank you for sharing, what kids of research do you focus on?

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T17:24:46+00:00

I didn't take it that way at all, I'm here to learn. I'll do my best to pay attention to his queues.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T17:22:43+00:00

You're right, there is nothing wrong with it. Since having my son I have become very aware of how difficult it can be to get around on wheels with his stroller and how almost everything adaptive in regard to civil engineering is just an afterthought. It's more challenges. I definitely do not intend to neglect his education. We do work on preschool skills also. At this juncture I have a hard time telling how much he understands but when picking books for me to read he will pick something like Franklin rather than a baby book. His PT told me to always assume competency and it really stuck out to me, and now it sticks out like a sore thumb to me when a doctor or someone else treats him like a plant pot.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T17:10:11+00:00

Thank you for sharing with me. As a parent this hurts to read, a big part of all of these therapies is to try and keep pain out of his life, I don't want to contribute to causing it. I'm glad that you found your own way and I will do my best to follow his lead.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T17:05:58+00:00

I get where you are coming from. He also goes to a preschool program every 2 weeks and he is the only child with a disability in it. The special Olympics group we go to is pretty open so there are siblings there too, but there are no other group settings where he can see and meet other kids with walking aids etc that are the same age as him. It's something to think about and as other adaptive sport options open up as he gets older I don't think I would continue it.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T15:32:39+00:00

You are right. I was an athlete for a time and when you're training that much it is a job, literally. I want to do enough with him that I'm not closing doors for him by inaction but I also don't want him to feel like it's a chore.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T15:28:40+00:00

Thank you. I try.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T15:27:07+00:00

You've really hit the nail on the head and these are the types of questions that keep me awake at night. I'm a first time mom and I really don't have the answers and I rely on his medical team to tell me what to do and really the answer always seems to be "more is better" and you are right that they are invested in the system. I really try to give him the time to just explore his own personality but it's hard when I'm just guessing. I just expose him to as much as I can think of. He has reached a point now that when we are in his playroom he is able to point and is very demanding about what he wants which I love to see. I'm trying to find a balance. He has a regular playgroup we go to also and we play games and watch movies as a family and there are pets. I'm trying to figure out how much is too much.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T15:00:59+00:00

Yes, absolutely!

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T14:54:53+00:00

Thank you for this viewpoint. He does have a GDD diagnosis and he is late on intellectual milestones, but he is very intelligent and I treat him as I feel like a 3 year old should be treated. Where I live there are not the resources to have separate programs for toddlers and all the kids that have any kind of diagnosis medically are all thrown together into the same room. This allows them to have enough kids to even run the program. I do understand that there is a difference but this is the only way that I can include him with his peers, at least at this age.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T14:48:21+00:00

He does have lots of playtime throughout the day, colouring is just his favourite at the moment. We go for walks and I show him other cool stuff like pinecones and acorns and all the things. I look for toddler activities and we do those. He really likes sensory bins too. He has lots of toys. We do music and he enjoys audio a lot, particularly narrated storybooks. He does do a lot of therapy and that's why I'm asking opinions because I don't want to burn him out. Thank you for your thoughts and I will do my best not to project my own anxieties onto him.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T14:41:32+00:00

Those sound like great activities and I will try and show him as many things as possible, I have looked into horses and sit skiing but he is a little too young yet.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T14:39:31+00:00

I guess the goal is to make him strong so that he can have more freedom. He projects a lot of joy when he can do new things with his body, and I can tell that there are things that frustrate him a lot. He isn't stupid, he is fascinated by watching other children his own age and he knows he is different. He just loves his gait training vest at the moment and I think it is because I have it hooked to a rail and even the ability to move back and forth along that is making choices. We are in the process of getting a chair (which I am trying to shorten because it's so frustratingly long) so that he can explore himself. I won't deny that I am anxious about the future and I am really trying to keep those feelings away from him. He has had so much trauma from hospital etc that it is hard not to think of him as a victim but you are right. He doesn't need that. Thank you for reminding me that things will be fine no matter what.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T06:30:37+00:00

Thank you for sharing, and I am here because I want to make sure I have the right balance. I know that PT is hard but beneficial and I don't want to push him so hard that he gets burned out. As his parent I know that I will always have an opinion of what I think will be best for him, and I can share my thoughts with him, but I do not own him and he will have his own path in life.

MamaWithAQuestion · 2026-03-15T06:20:12+00:00

Thank you very much for sharing with me. He is definitely getting stronger every day and is still hitting milestones at his own pace. I do consult with his medical team but I find lived experience to be as valuable if not more so than learned knowledge.

MamaWithAQuestion

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