if your LO is a toddler or older - how often do you do playdates?

KathrynMD

My friend's and her DD came over on Sunday and my friend said she was worried how her LO would do b/c she hadn't been to a one on one playdate in almost a year.  Our DD's are classmates so they play together regularly at school w/ each other and other kids and at birthday parties, etc., but I thought that was weird when she said they hadn't had a one on one playdate in so long.  We end up having a playdate at least once a month, sometimes 2x just depending on what we're doing  and seeing friends. 

seahorse102410

Never.  I have so little time on the weekend I can't imagine when this would occur. 

skyejo

In the summer we will have playdates with the neighbors sometimes as often as once a week.  It's easy since everyone is outside playing/grilling/whatever so we can just stop by.  We don't have many friends with kids our DD's age but when we do get together with them it's every couple months or so.

I don't feel the need right now to have weekend playdates.  DD is still young and we load our weekends with kid friendly activities for her.  Plus since she's at daycare all week I feel like she's getting her fill of playdates.

bumpuser511563

I don't do playdates because I find it hard to meet with people. I end up taking DS to McDonald's or Burger KIng where they have an indoor jungle gym for an hour. Sometimes there are kids that play with him and other times they don't.

financialdiva

We very rarely have playdates with our friends with kids. We do however meet up with our friends and their children at the zoo, aquarium, mall playground, even Disney, a sports event, etc. at least once a month. But to just come over and play? I think three or four times in the last year. Maybe that's what she meant?

jenn_darrin1515

Most of our friends kids are either older (by 5-10 years) or they have no kids...we only have play dates with my 1 friend who has 2 kids close in age to the girls - and these only happen maybe once every couple months (so probably 4-6 times a year)...I figure the girls are getting in plenty of social interaction at "school" during the week...

we do take the girls to the park, museum, etc. on the weekend - so they are interacting with other kids...but we just don't have time (or the kids available) to fill our weekends with playdates...and I don't have time to seek them out...

Pesky

Aside from the neighborhood kids who have started just coming over and showing up (and who are about a year older than DD), I'd say about once every 2 months for DD.  None for DS except for DD's bday party last year.

Leap08

I don't think we've ever had an official playdate. My daughter play with our friends' kids when we all get together and she's gone to some birthday parties, but we've never had what I would call a one on one playdate. I'm really not sure when would have time for one.

KathrynMD

huh, interesting!

Maybe I'm just lazy - its easier to meet up w/ a friend and kid and DD and run around like a maniac w/ the kid than me trying to keep up with her? 

ElopeToHawaii

We only ever have playdates with one of DDs friends.  We were friends with the parents before we had kids so we really like them and our kids are the same age.  DD goes to daycare so I'm not worried about her social life.  To answer your question, yes, it is easier to meet up witih a friend and have the kids run around together while you chat!

itsmevkb

We don't really do playdates.  I've never really understood the concept, I mean, what happened to just going outside and playing with neighborhood kids?  We do that, my kids will see that the neighbor kids are out and about so they'll ask to go out and play or the opposite happens.  Additionally, with three kids it's not as though we need to invite someone over to play for them to have someone to play with.

My husband is more the one to talk about wanting to set up actual scheduled playdates but then when he tries to coordinate them with our friends who have children it always turns into a scheduling nightmare and then never happens.

Iblamethebeer

KathrynMD:

huh, interesting!

Maybe I'm just lazy - its easier to meet up w/ a friend and kid and DD and run around like a maniac w/ the kid than me trying to keep up with her? 

Then I must be lazy too!  We probably do a play date every other week, if not every week.

We have a lot of friends with kids around the same age, so it isn't like we need to go out of our way to schedule them.  If a playdate meant awkward small talk with parents we didn't know well, maybe I wouldn't do them.

AuburnGirl04

I don't do them often - maybe a handful of times - all with the same family.  My daughter goes to the childcare center at church on Sundays and we go to McDonalds for playtime too sometimes.  She also enjoys watching the older neighborhood kids run around when we are outside.  I just don't have time on the weekend to coordinate all that too often!

jnealet

We had our first official playdate a few weeks ago.  We do get together with friends and their kids but its more for an activity than a true playdate.

D1 sees her friends at daycare, I don't see a huge need to play with them over the weekend too.  Not to say that it wasn't nice to have a friend over but its not high on our priority list.

SouthFloridaMommy

Well, I'm part of a mom's group that does stuff on the weekends, so if that counts, we probably have playdates about once or twice a month.  They have activities every weekend, but we are so busy with birthdays, gym class, and just generally being exhausted from the week, that we don't go more than 1-2 times per month.

lmdbww

DD is in preschool now, but just had her first real playdate last week.

FWIW, there aren't any kids her age in our neighborhood and I dont really have any good friends local that also have kids.

WinesNotWhines

Never. I don't see the point. We go to the playground several times a week, he plays with his classmates Mon-Fri, and we're starting group swim lessons in April. I think that's plenty.

QueSrah

Iblamethebeer:

KathrynMD:

huh, interesting!

Maybe I'm just lazy - its easier to meet up w/ a friend and kid and DD and run around like a maniac w/ the kid than me trying to keep up with her? 

Then I must be lazy too!  We probably do a play date every other week, if not every week.

We have a lot of friends with kids around the same age, so it isn't like we need to go out of our way to schedule them.  If a playdate meant awkward small talk with parents we didn't know well, maybe I wouldn't do them.

It's only the lazy way if you happen to have good friends with kids the same age.  I have friends with kids, but 1) the other kids are either a year (or more) too old or young to play with DD or 2) my friends with kids the right age aren't close enough to home to make playdates feasible.  Also, I tend to see my friends when we leave our kids home with our DHs to get some adult time to really talk without interruption. 

The closest we have ever come to having a playdate is arranging for a friend/cousin to come over with her son who's a year older than DD.  And the age difference is enough that they never play together so it ends up being hard to chat with the parents while running after two kids who are running in different directions.

LoCarb

On avg it's 1-2/mo...when we get together w/ another family who had kids DD's age.

MirandaHobbes

I was going to post similar earlier but was actually afraid of being flamed. I just don't like doing playdates at all and I justify it because he's in FT daycare all week and we spend our entire weekend doing stuff with DS. I'm just too selfish to share him with other kids. I also don't have any friends with kids, so, yeah, awkward setup to have to get together with other parents I don't know. I take him to the park all the time and end up chatting with other parents and whatnot. Our neighbor kids are always outside playing and riding bikes so I try to make a point to take him outside to see them as well. I was also feeling guilty that I don't want to do a "kids" birthday party.. he's only 4 and I'd rather take him to an amusement park myself and just enjoy the day instead of watch after a bunch of kids that DS seems to care less if they are there. Idk, maybe it's something that will change when he's older and wants to hang out with kids he knows from school.

MammaBear81

The older three have playdates about once per month (which means we have about 1 per week) DD2 just turned 2 and she has probably only had 1 or 2 official playdates.  My best friend has a daughter that is three and we get together every now and then, but she is closer to DD1 than DD2 although they all "play together".  My sister and another friend of mine have LO's around the same age, we have gotten together a few times, but at 9 months, they don't play much!

luvmagoldn

The twins have had one play date in their entire five years and the LO - never.  It just hasn't come up.

Now that the older boys are in preschool they are asking to have their friends over so I am going to arrange that.  But we haven't really been on the play date circuit.  Maybe because I have three and they have each other to play with?  That and just the time I don't have has probably gotten in the way.

shouldbworkin

2-3x a month probably.  More now than ever b/c we can do drop off playdates.  Last year we would meet friends often at the library or park, though. If I'm going, may as well invite a friend to meet us there. 

EmilyStL

My DD is still a baby (13mos), but we do a playdate maybe an avearge of once a month.  Mostly for me, because I like the opportunity to chat with other moms.  My friends and co-workers either do not have kids or their kids are much older.  She is with family and not at daycare, though, so even though developmentally it's not really necessary for her to spend time with other kids her age, I think it's nice for her to have the exposure.  Playdates are with people from my mom's group usually; we've done a couple with a mom and baby we met at her swim class.  I SO wish we lived in a neighborhood where kids were outside all the time.  Hopefully we'll move somewhere like that by the time DD is in school.

KL777

I primarily do playdates during the summer---when I work part time and am spending more time with my friends from my mother's group.

DS is 4 yrs old and is in preschool.  He gets plenty of playtime during the school year during preschool hours.

the_jackpot

Thank gosh we don't have any play dates. The birthday parties are really enough. I would not worry at all, I would be thrilled actually.

erinruns

An organized playdate?  Rarely to never.  Like pp, our weekends are too busy to coordinate that.  A few of their daycare friends have tried, but it just never works out.  We do however get together with the neighbor kids relatively frequently during the summer when we're all out and about.  

mle929

We've never had a playdate, but I do take her to an open gym toddler playgroup 2-3x per month where she plays with other kids.

xmasbabymama

Once or twice a month, but I am part time. And they are my friends that happen to have kids my age. So it's a win win - we get to socialize while our kids entertain each other.