Good morning Mamabear,

I am mixed on this one. Last week DD was sick with stomach flu and we were at relatives for Thanksgiving, so days of watching TV and eating saltines. When we came home and DH was unloading the car and I was unpacking, DD went straight to the bookshelves and started reading. I usually expect her get a toy or something. But she was starved for mental stimulation or something. She read a few books.

She has a long day at Montessori preschool 9-3:30, 5 days a week. She takes piano lessons now, so practices everyday, takes ballet. And she does like to do math games and mazes, but I try and keep it balanced with her. Yesterday, we only had one taker with the weather, but we went for an adventure walk through the north woods in Central Park. I hosted a princess playdate, where they all dressed up in her costumes. And our annual holiday is to Disney World (though now we divide it up with land and sea -- the cruise has time off for me). I would rather go on a rainforest adventure Brazil or to Seville, but I try leverage the "child" factor.

I do not know if there are children that are that serious. There is a little girl in her ballet class. Both older brothers are in the gifted school. She goes to all these classes and she is expected to do homework with her brothers and she does all this math and stuff and this is her routine. The nanny told me there isn't time for playdates and I notice she doesn't seem to have the creative/fantasy play thing going when the girls are hang together for the 10 minutes before ballet.

My childhood friend, seriously PG, offered classified jobs from her doctorate in nuclear engineering, only had the creative play thing with me. Her father was very strict about their schedules, doing science experiments. Not that it wasn't fun, but she mentions now, it wasn't balanced. She has a great career, refused to have chilren. Hard to have chilren and enter that world when you are so serious.

Only my thoughts, and, as I said, I am on the fence. I am sure others have theirs.

Good luck.

Ren