When I had my child, I was new to the community. I joined the local early childhood learning classes to meet people and to learn about raising a child. I did not babysit much and knew very little about what to expect with babies. I'm no psychologist, but I think it is perfectly natural for people to talk about what's going on with their children so they can know if that's what is supposed to happen. And if something was out of the norm, I could seek medical advice if needed. I enjoyed hearing about the other children, since I had known them since they were 4 months old and it was fun for me to see them grow up. I did find out that it made some of the mothers feel bad when my DS was doing things at 6 months or whenever that their kids weren't doing yet, so I ended up clamming up. And I felt like I missed out on sharing and on being a true part of a community. I was so happy when I found this site. I felt that I really had found my people, and I could talk freely about whatever DS was doing, and I wouldn't be judged or disbelieved; I would be supported.
Now that DS is 5, I know little about what to expect in kindergarten around here (things have changed in the 30+ years since I went to a different type of school), so when I see other parents with school-age kids, I tend to ask questions about what goes on during the school year. P-the-P probably wouldn't find any of these conversations interesting, but that's fine - everyone has different personalities. Since DS is my one and only, every parenting experience is new to me, and I like to learn as much as I can about it.
