Tips on Organizing a Play Date

How to Organize a Play Date

What to do for a play date

Guest post by Kids ‘R’ Kids

After being with your children day in-and-out, young mom’s need time for community and friends too! Play dates offer this important opportunity to interact with other young mom’s while giving your child opportunities to learn social interactions as well; it is important for your children to have numerous social experiences with other children of various ages and grown-ups. Though your child might not play directly with their peers, they will become accustomed to having them nearby and will begin the learning process of sharing.

When you play at the homes of different families, your child will be exposed to new environments, new toys, new family customs, new ethnic backgrounds, and maybe even new snacks! This is a good way to teach them how to be careful in other people’s homes, how to show respect to others, and learn how to show basic social etiquette. A simple play date can turn into a tremendous learning opportunity for your child.

Of course a play date doesn’t have to be a fancy, formal get-together. The only requirement is fun! Your best bet is to use mom-tested suggestions for hosting a successful, and relatively fuss-free play date.

What to do when you have a shy child

Nurturing Social Growth in Your Child

by Dr. Caron B. Goode

I birthed a social butterfly named Kristin. From the day of her birth, she saw all people as her friend and always said hello. My friend, Karen, birthed a shy daughter named Lisa. Parents don’t often worry about how social butterflies flit through the world; however a shy child usually needs a parent’s help in learning to negotiate relationships in a safe way. Karen understood this. Here is how she helped Lisa.

Karen’s daughter was painfully shy until she entered second grade. When she did interact with other children, it was on a very selective basis and always one-on-one. This was of great concern to her teachers. For a few years, Lisa’s progress reports all read the same: Needs improvement in group interaction and socialization.

Karen was always an optimist and thankful that Lisa wasn’t disruptive in class! Still, it was Karen’s job to usher Lisa into the world of friendships and group dynamics. Karen joined a playgroup and invited classmates over. She and Lisa took part in their local babysitting coop and signed her up for pee wee soccer. Lisa was a good sport about all this socialization. She entered into each situation with her chin up and her eye peeled for the one child she would interact with. So much for group dynamics.