Why You Should Socialize Your Baby at the Library

Posted: October 8, 2020

Categories

Why You Should Socialize Your Baby at The Library

 

There are a lot of library events every day! From open to close, events for infants to senior citizens, there is always something going on at the local libraries. While we will always try to encourage children and teens to utilize libraries, there are many reasons why it is important for new parents to take their babies to the library.

Introducing your baby to bright colors, fictional creatures, and other children their age are important for healthy development. We want to expose them to creative thoughts and experiences. While these are things you may be able to do in preschools, unlike the preschool, the library becomes a familiar location that can grow with your child. Not to mention the affordable price of FREE!

We talked with Marijayne who made it a daily routine to take her daughter (now 12 years old) to the library for morning baby/toddler storytimes. Marijayne told us,

“Becoming a new parent can be isolating, personally I had a very difficult time with opportunities to socialize (because) nobody I knew had babies and mine wasn’t [going] to talk to me anytime soon. Also, when you become a new parent you have to be really cautious about spending money. The best way I found to cope with these blocks was the free local library events. I would wake up with my kiddo every morning, say goodbye to my spouse, and my daughter and I would clean up after breakfast and head to the library for our baby/toddler storytime. The librarians would put on a puppet show while reading a story, they would sing and do activities like blow bubbles and give hand stamps”.

Marijayne continued,

“My daughter is always looking for new books to read and often gravitates towards books with a plot line that she may never relate to in her personal life. I really believe this has opened her mind to realize that people are different and everyone can be experiencing highs and lows at different times, it is a pretty big deal to see how well she handles her own life and how well she helps her friends going through hard times at only 12 years old”.

Giving children books at a young age allows them to hear be able to share an experience they may never face in their own lives. I mean, where would we all be without Anne Frank? Reading gives us the opportunity to share ideas and perspectives. Plus getting the little ones out of the house and being able to share a conversation with other adults isn’t the worst thing either.

Not only can your child benefit from these library events, but parents as well! Too often we know new parents get busy with their baby and lose time for meeting up with friends. The library offers parents time to socialize with other adults and make friends that have kids the same age. This not only creates more familiarity with the library but also gives the opportunity to make plans for other fun activities with the children outside of the library.

“The babies were able to see other babies and as parents, we were able to see and interact with other adults. I became friends with two other women that had children my kid’s age, we were all new moms and our kids liked playing together. We all parented differently and we all came from different backgrounds, but we had one thing in common, the need to socialize with each other before going insane. Just going to the library and meeting those women opened the door for other outside socialization with them. People I would have never met kept me out of isolation simply because the local library created the space to socialize. It was one of the best things provided to me as a new parent” said Marijayne.

So just some advice to all the new parents out there. Don’t be afraid to venture out and talk to other new parents while socializing your baby. There are wonderful things out in the world for you and your baby to explore, even when you have a tight budget.