Should a 27 month old be doing what they're told in a football class (please read for more info)?

We have recently started taking my 27 month old to football classes - he loves football, and running around and thought it would be great for having him socialise a bit more with other children.

He normally has fun at the classes. However, when they are doing "group activities" ie dribbling, pretending to be animals etc etc my son is often more interested in running around and doing his own thing than following the instructions that are set even with much encouragement from me and his Dad.

Personally, I think that's okay as long as he is having fun. Mostly the other children are a bit older than him (class is for 2-4 year olds). However his Dad thinks he should be doing the various exercises more and that we should be being a bit stricter with him.

So is it realistic for us to expect that he consistently join in on the activities and do everything with the other children, at his age?

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My son is a similar age and he’s the youngest on his team and he does like maybe 1 or 2 of the “drills” they do out of all of them and has no idea what’s going on in the games 😂 but we go for social time for both him AND me! I think your husband needs to adjust his expectations

My boy is 22 months old and there’s no way he would follow instructions like dribbling a ball anytime soon. I have also nannyed an 18 month old and 3 year old. I was with the 18 month old until she was 2 and a bit a bit older then your son and definitely no way was she following instructions like dribbling the 3 year old she I feel could more follow those sort of instructions.
I wouldn’t worry he’s still so little and they don’t have a huge attention span at that age when he’s closer to 3 then you could be a bit stricter but even still they are learning. If your husband wants he could always do things at home that are similar to what they do in the football class. The more your son does it the more likely he is to follow the other kids and start doing what they are doing.

That’s a huge range of ages for the practices and I bet your husband is getting thrown off by that. Your kid sounds totally normal.

My son first did soccer around 21 months or so and he added much the same way. He did another season a few months after turning 3 and there was a big difference. Not that he was 100% on it all the time but it was definitely noticeable.

Is this Little Kickers? We gave up on it at 2yrs because my daughter wasn't of an age to follow the ridiculously convoluted pathways they seemed to expect her to complete... take a red ball, dribble it between these 7 cones in rainbow colour order, swap it here for a blue spot, place the blue spot 7 feet from this goal and dribble a yellow football into the goal.. erm, no sorry she's chewing her bib and staring into space.

My son has been going to a Diddikicks class since he was about 20 months old. When he was younger he never used to follow instructions. He'd kick the ball and fall over, maybe copy other kids or just do something else altogether 🤣 he is 3 now and he is GOOD! He always listens and tries his best. His technical skills have got so much better but there is still a lot he can't do, but he does listen and he does try. He has fun and we always congratulate him for trying!

I do observe other kids and their parents, little bit of people watching doesn't hurt anyone 😏 I have noticed some people tell their kids off or shout at them to do things and the kids get upset or just run away. There's one dad who is so bad for this. A few weeks ago his kid was doing really well and he didn't even notice cos he was on his phone ARGH. None of my business but I gave his son a thumbs up 🤣 I try to clap and cheer all the kids tbh.

I think if you make it enjoyable for him he will look forward to going and want to join in more!

From experience, he might intermittently do some of the tasks, but it’s not fair to expect that consistently.
And the most important thing at 2 is that he enjoys it - and it’s great to be around other children.

I took my kid to little gym at this age. It was parent and child. Parents were supposed to encourage children to participate as much as possible, but all of the kids were running around most of the time and only doing some participating. This is normal for the age. Closer to age 4 they can start following more directions

in our community

Is it bad of me to think this or no?

My husband has been abroad for work (1 day and exploring for 1 day) for 2 and a half days which means I’ve had both kids (1 year and 4 year old) for 2 and a half days plus cooking, cleaning, taking them to clubs, bedtimes!
He came home late afternoon and said I’m so tired, I just need to chill. I said can you wash up whilst I sort kids dinner out, he said he’ll do it later which means he won’t do it and I’ll end up doing it so I said no do it now please otherwise I’ll end up doing it and he said well you have been home and I’ve been away so you’ve just been relaxing.
Don’t know what planet he is on but having the kids alone for 2.5 days is not relaxing. I was stressed!

When he was away, I did miss him and wanted him to come back but now he’s back, I want him to go away again😂
Is that bad?

Really bothered by this

A friend posted this and it really bothers me because that is exactly how she parents her kid, and it's rather unfortunate because when our kids hang out together, her kid has a meltdown at least 5x within an hour. We have know them for years and it's only gotten worse. My kids will concede to hers, because they don't want to see their friend crying, but it sucks because they give up so much of their toys and enjoyment to keep the peace. We aren't hanging out as much anymore but it's rather sad to think she doesn't intervene more in her child tantrums and just let's it slide

Is this normal

Let’s say you’re at a softplay with your 2 year old, and some friends & their toddlers.
You buy your 2 year old a kids meal - chicken nuggets, beans, and chips. They’re very happy with it and have almost eaten it all.
They’re sat at the table, fork in hand, consistently eating, and have one chicken nugget left.
Your adult friend comes over from behind you, picks up the last chicken nugget, and eats it.
There was no indication that your child wasn’t going to eat it, and they didn’t ask. They just took it with no warning and ate it right in front of you and your toddler.
How you reacting?

Are these men ok?

I get so sad seeing all the posts on here daily about women dealing with partners who are treating them horribly. I know it seems over represented because those of us with great partners don’t need to write posts asking for help, but I really hope most of us don’t have these kinds of men in our lives!

I tell my husband about these posts I see sometimes and he’s even shocked by some of the things these guys say/do.

Nobody’s perfect, and every relationship takes work. And becoming parents is a stress test unlike any other for sure, but seeing how many women get stuck in these relationships with men who aren’t interested in being better is so so sad😞

But is/was your partner helpful, loving, and supportive during your pregnancy/PP/etc? Was he a wonderful person but changed for the worst after becoming a parent? Has he put effort into becoming the partner you need him to be, even if he struggles?

Pouches

I’m not one of those mums who stand in the kitchen making every meal from scratch and batches of healthy snacks as I simply do not have time with other children and soon back to a full time job, but I do try give my weaning baby part of what we eat at meal times and will throw something healthy together if what we eat isn’t suitable. However, I do have some pouches in for convenience or a last resort. I’ve only used these a few times in the space of two months but she absolutely LOVES them. She will scream for more, get excited when she sees the pouch and will literally eat the whole thing. She’s underweight so this is massive for me seeing her eat so well, but the guilt is getting to me a bit! Anybody else like a little pouch every now and then and can make me feel a little better about giving her them😅

Friends with shitty husbands

Does anyone have a close friend with a shittv husband?

My best friend of 14years married her high school sweetheart (minus the sweetheart.) He was always a POS growing up, had an on and off relationship and eventually from what I was told, they sorted their shit out and got married. I moved countries and her and I drifted apart for a while so I didn't know too much about what their relationship was like but assumed all was well since her social media alluded to that.

We both had babies within a year of each other, she had hers first and when she gave birth I found out I was pregnant. I had a rough pregnancy and we weren't in contact much but after my LO was born we spoke a lot. This is when I found out that she was struggling with PPD etc. She opened up about how useless her husband is, I would go as far as to say abusive. She's a SAHM who basically does absolutely evervthing & is being financially abused She's completelv touched out and is about to have a second child in a week.

I absolutelv cannot stand her husband. I hate how he treats her. I hate to hear about him. She posted on social media all the time about how lucky she is to have him as a husband and father to her babies yet cries to me on the phone in private about what really goes on.
I'm at a point now where I want to tell her that I don't want to hear about it anymore. I feel guilty that she's going through this but she's also allowing it to continue in a sense. I'm so emotionally exhausted with her problems and just want to shake her.

How do you/would you navigate this situation?