Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It ALL depends on the behavior of the kids. Some older kids might be a very good influence and some might swear like truckers and act very inappropriately around the younger ones. Even the middle aged kids can be rotten apples
As you know, young kids pick up bad behavior and bad words VERY QUICKLY.
In a gang of neighborhood kids, I doubt the 13 year old would do much, if any, interaction with the 3 year old. They might all do some things as a group, but the older kids would tend to hang with kids more their age, and likewise with the younger kids.
My grandson, who is but 11 months younger than his sister, is notably smarter than most kids his age. The school is always telling us how well developed he is - in a host of areas, both physical and mental. He and his sister are inseparable - glued at the hip... his vocabulary is advanced and that's because of her influence. I'm sure the same is true with your child when they play with kids much older.
I think supervision would be key. Even with my kids (and the 10+ year age gap) I was always near by, within ear shot when my little kids were playing the the big kids. It isn't because I thought my older kids would be pedophiles, but kids in the tween/teen age range just tend to say some crude things and do stupid stuff sometimes. Especially if parents aren't around. And this was when the older kids love the younger kids. I think you would need to be extra involved in a more casual relationship.
I don't think it's fair to essentially expect older children to babysit younger children. It's okay if the older kids offer, but I have seen parents send young children outside without supervision with the expectation that the older kids will entertain and supervise the younger ones.
I don't think it's fair to essentially expect older children to babysit younger children. It's okay if the older kids offer, but I have seen parents send young children outside without supervision with the expectation that the older kids will entertain and supervise the younger ones.
I'm not sure if this is what the OP was talking about but there have been other threads on CD where the parents of older children were complaining about parents of preschool age children just sending them outside to play (without supervision) and expecting the older children or other parents to watch the younger children.
In my neighbourhood the children play out and while they are mostly close in age (3-8), sometimes the older children (9-11ish) play with them too. I think its good, the younger ones learn about cooperation and learn new skills from the older children and the older ones learn to be a bit more patient and gentle.
My kid's daycare does mixed age classes too, from 1yrs old to 6 which works really well.
My grandson, who is but 11 months younger than his sister, is notably smarter than most kids his age. The school is always telling us how well developed he is - in a host of areas, both physical and mental. He and his sister are inseparable - glued at the hip... his vocabulary is advanced and that's because of her influence. I'm sure the same is true with your child when they play with kids much older.
As a parent of a kid with a 148 IQ, I can guarantee you that "intelligence" has nothing to do with emotional readiness to deal with older age groups.
It ALL depends on the behavior of the kids. Some older kids might be a very good influence and some might swear like truckers and act very inappropriately around the younger ones. Even the middle aged kids can be rotten apples
As you know, young kids pick up bad behavior and bad words VERY QUICKLY.
In a gang of neighborhood kids, I doubt the 13 year old would do much, if any, interaction with the 3 year old. They might all do some things as a group, but the older kids would tend to hang with kids more their age, and likewise with the younger kids.
It's not even necessarily "bad" behaviors.
You can't even trust half of these parents. Like the idiot I thought I KNEW who decided it was a great idea to put Freddie Kruger movies on at her kid's birthday sleepover. AGE 7.
THANKS for destroying my kids entire point of view of the world before he was ready to understand it. He wouldn't even watch ET after that.
I don't think it's fair to essentially expect older children to babysit younger children.
I agree.
I posted earlier that I often played with younger kids, but not toddlers.
A 3-year-old does not need to be "playing" unsupervised with kids as old as 13. Most people I know who have toddlers keep them pretty close by anyway.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
