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Play Dates?!??!?

MrsKorbMrsKorb
in School-Aged Children

Can any of you ladies fill me in on how they workl in your DC's group of friends? MY daughter is having her first one with a new friend this week, she just started Kindergarten and I was wondering what you all did.

Thanks

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Re: Play Dates?!??!?

  • neverblushedneverblushed member

    When I host a kid who has never been to my house before, I expect that the parent who is dropping off the guest child will come into the house at the start of the playdate.  I get the parent's contact information and confirm the plans for the end of the playdate at that time.  I also ask the guest parent if there are any food or pet allergies.  Usually, the kids scamper off to play during this time and the guest parent just yells a goodbye to their child and takes off.

    Once the guest parent is away, I find the kids and make sure the guest knows where the bathroom is.  Then I go over a few quick house rules.  There are 4 things I generally tell new kids at my house:  1) ask before getting food or drinks, 2) ask if you need help getting a toy from a high shelf, 3) stay in the yard if you play outside, 4) no video games until the last 30 minutes of the playdate.

    Then, I find something to keep myself busy and let the kids entertain each other.  For me, the goal of a playdate is to give my kid unscheduled, free-play time with a peer.  If I'm too involved, it's impossible for them to just play.  I will suggest things they can do if they run out of steam or get bored, but then I go back to what I was doing pretty quickly.  I will join in board games if they need an additional person and there's no sibling available to join.  If one of my kids has a friend over and the other does not, I try to find something for the kid who has no friend to do for at least a good chunk of the time.

    HTH!  Have fun! 

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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  • littlemermaidlittlemermaid member
    When it was with someone new I would invite both the mom and the child for the first time to the playdate.  It was a great way for us moms to get to know each other and also the child was more comfortable having their mom there too since technically I was a stranger to the child.
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  • SueBearSueBear member

    When your dd is in kindergarten, it's best to keep the playdate relatively short (1 to 1.5 hours).  Kids have short attention spans, and get bored easily so you need to mix it up and can't often just let them "play on their own."  (Meaning, you can leave them on their own for as long as they are ok, but usually they run out of ideas of what to do).

    When dd was that age, I usually had a craft they could work on (those foam stickers).  Or, I would use the computer to print out coloring pages.  On the computer coloring pages, they could choose what they wanted (a pony, a disney princess), so it was "better" than just a coloring book.

    Also, I made a snack around 1/2 hour before the playdate ended.  My secret is slice and bake cookies, b/c I can keep them in the freezer for last-minute playdates, and I think kids like them so much they will come back to my house for the cookies, even if they didn't have the best time (lol). 

    You can also read a story or two. 

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