Overstimulated

Mother: When Brittni was 18 months old, I took her to a Gymboree Play & Learn class. It will be fun, they said. Your child will be engaged, make friends while developing early skills, and you can relax and enjoy the time!

My daughter’s eyes widened when we walked into the brightly colored and well lit room. Fast, upbeat children’s music played as we took our seats around the red and blue parachute. A robust, bubbly blond lady led the group, singing cheerily and loudly. Babies bounced and laughed, waddling toward the lady, toward each other, toward the fun.

My baby girl clung to me and began to cry. The crying escalated to screaming. People stared. What was her problem? their looks seemed to say. The bubbly lady looked surprised, annoyed even.

I picked up my daughter, looking for a quieter spot to soothe her. But I couldn’t settler her down. Every corner was filled with color, lights and sound. It was supposed to be a blast! For most of the little people, it was. But for my baby, it was hell in living color. And I’m not gonna lie, it was rather over the top for me too.

Isn’t everything new for babies? Why do we need to create a world just to stimulate them when they are so easily stimulated already? But I was here to be social, because a friend had asked me to come with her and her child. I handed over the money and the time so my highly sensitive baby could be entertained. My mistake.