The Importance of Play Dates
The thing is, play dates are an incredibly important part of our lives. In our neighborhood, there are no other kids; when I was growing up, they were always in abundance, so I always had playmates when I wanted them. My daughter isn't so lucky. Yes, she gets to play with kids when we go to story time, the Magic House at the children's museum, the park, and wherever else we go--and we do go somewhere at least weekly--but it's just not the same as developing long-term friendships with kids her own age who can come and play at our home.
Play dates also help her learn a variety of concepts. She helps pick snacks, games, and plan out parts of the play date. Her friends, of course, get to help choose other parts as well, giving them all wonderful lessons in compromising, taking turns, sharing, and plenty of other skills. Visiting our friends' homes helps her to learn about how different people live, and having them in our home allows her to discover how to be a good host (and also gives her a chance to show off her room, which every kid her age seems to want to do).
The kids get to play with a variety of toys at each others' houses. They can encourage one another, too. Where my daughter is a bit shy, one of her playmates is very outspoken; they can learn a lot from one another. My daughter also has an on-and-off fear of bugs that she "forgets" when company comes, which gets her playing much more freely outside. She also gets someone her own age to play with--not that her ol' ma is that bad of a playmate, but it surely helps to have someone around who is just as interested in puppies and moon sand as you are.
No matter how people may judge me (or simply call me a "yuppie parent" for doing so), I'll continue scheduling our play dates so my little girl can keep having fun and learning from other people besides her own parents. She can certainly choose who she wants to play with as she grows into her own person, but for now I plan on introducing her to as many diverse people as I can.
Posted in Parenting on Mar 12, 2010 - 02:06 AM
A lot of people like to scoff when I say something like, "Oh, we can't on Wednesday night; we have a play date." They want to know why I have to schedule time for my daughter to play with other kids and think I'm being a helicopter parent for doing so.The thing is, play dates are an incredibly important part of our lives. In our neighborhood, there are no other kids; when I was growing up, they were always in abundance, so I always had playmates when I wanted them. My daughter isn't so lucky. Yes, she gets to play with kids when we go to story time, the Magic House at the children's museum, the park, and wherever else we go--and we do go somewhere at least weekly--but it's just not the same as developing long-term friendships with kids her own age who can come and play at our home.
Play dates also help her learn a variety of concepts. She helps pick snacks, games, and plan out parts of the play date. Her friends, of course, get to help choose other parts as well, giving them all wonderful lessons in compromising, taking turns, sharing, and plenty of other skills. Visiting our friends' homes helps her to learn about how different people live, and having them in our home allows her to discover how to be a good host (and also gives her a chance to show off her room, which every kid her age seems to want to do).
The kids get to play with a variety of toys at each others' houses. They can encourage one another, too. Where my daughter is a bit shy, one of her playmates is very outspoken; they can learn a lot from one another. My daughter also has an on-and-off fear of bugs that she "forgets" when company comes, which gets her playing much more freely outside. She also gets someone her own age to play with--not that her ol' ma is that bad of a playmate, but it surely helps to have someone around who is just as interested in puppies and moon sand as you are.
No matter how people may judge me (or simply call me a "yuppie parent" for doing so), I'll continue scheduling our play dates so my little girl can keep having fun and learning from other people besides her own parents. She can certainly choose who she wants to play with as she grows into her own person, but for now I plan on introducing her to as many diverse people as I can.
Tags for this entry:
play,
creativity,
parent involvement,
childhood,
early childhood,
playtime,
play dates
Comments
Mar 15, 2010 - 04:06 PM
Thanks Shawn. Yes, my little girl loves these new play dates and looks forward to them quite a bit every week. I really think they’re a great opportunity for her to make friends; I think some people who judge play dates just don’t understand that some kids just don’t have any peers who live nearby. Maybe it’s the name alone, “play dates,” that has the negative connotation!
Shawn Strader
Mar 15, 2010 - 12:29 PM
Sara, I think your play dates are great. I see no harm done in taking time to allow your child the pleasure of a sociable environment. I assume that your daughter gets excited for upcoming play dates. If that is the case, it seems hard to distinguish much difference between her play dates, and an adults scheduled meet-up with a friend throughout the course of their week. I find scheduled appointments with friends very practical, considering everything going on in each individual’s life. And like you said, there aren’t other kids on the block, so your daughter doesn’t have easy access to peers her age for making friends. So I say right on for scheduling play dates. Not only are they laden with fruitful life lessons, but your girl has fun, and that is worth it in itself.