To hate the term Playdate, aghhhhhh

[pigletmania]

That's it really, its so American, so aghghhhhh. Why cant it be like it was, going round to play! If I hear of that term again I will spontaniously combust .

[SlightlyJaded]

Vile vile vile. But sadly rife where I live. It actually gets harder and harder not to say it as it is so commonly used in the playground etc although luckily most of DC's mums are with me and sticking to our guns with 'come over to play' or 'come to tea' - (for the avoidance of doubt as to whether food is being served!)

I think for me, it's partly the use of the word 'date' which apart from the 'scheduling' aspect, just feels plain wrong when talking about five year olds.

'Sleepover' - agree also nauseating (should be strictly reserved for five year old american girls in Lelly Kelly shoes and lip gloss) and can I also add some vomit spew on to the expression 'Time Out' grrrrrrrr

[rowingboat]

Oh and what about 'grounded'? Seems to be in very common usage now. When I was little I was 'kept in'

[Anniebee65]

Grounded is part of the vernacular now surely. I'm 44 and my mother grounded me when I was a child for various misdemeanours. I lived in southern Ireland.

Never, ever use play date, but have been laughed out of town when I suggested 'meeting up for drinks' with friends when I moved back from London. Apparently I sounded up myself for using that term.

[WetAugust]

Loathe playdate.

Loathe Prom - what happened to good old school leavers disco?

[ifancyashandy]

Used to be that you would take your kids to your / their friends and they would play while you and the mum had a glass of wine coffee. Or you would drop them off. Playdate makes it ALL about the kids. And we worship at the Cult of The Child waaaaaaay too much already IMHO.

And yes, I have a 2YO.

[Pluto]

My resistance to the term "playdate" is definitely because it implies a sense of helicopter parenting. It goes against what I would really want for my DSes - that Huck Finn childhood discussed elsewhere.

[JoInScotland]

I should just ignore these threads, when I have a suspicion it's all about how hated American words and phrases are. I think Snobear4000 hit it on the head about xenophobia. I've been here for 15 years, and xenophobia [of Americans] still rears its ugly head on a regular basis. I have dual nationality, married an English man and live in Scotland. My accent is and always was mistaken for "Canadian", whatever that means. I can't tell Canadians and Americans apart.

Please, if you hate the phrase fair enough. Just don't descend into hating Americans. They really are all different - some good, some bad, etc.

By the way, I've never heard a British person write or say "Mom" or "Mommy" or "We're pregnant" or any of these other phrases discussed, including "playdate"! Maybe you should all move to Scotland?

[robberbutton]

That's exactly how I wanted to put it, ifancyashandy.

Jo I think you can object to the invasion/World domination of American culture without hating Americans.

[rowingboat]

Annie as far as I am aware it wasn't in common use in mainland UK when I was a child/teen, I am practically the same age as you.
I hadn't come across 'grounded' as a term until I heard it on American sitcoms when I was a teenager.
Perhaps it was in common use in Ireland.
Many American usages seem to be obsolescent or obsolete English terms such as closet or rail road.

I rather like 'we're pregnant' it seems more inclusive.

[gleegeekgleek]

Shuddering at the thought of a British person saying "Mom".

Will we be renaming the site Momsnet in a couple of years?

[rowingboat]

Can't say I've heard anyone actually say 'mom', but I have noticed it used fairly frequently internet forums.

[rowingboat]

Sorry posted prematurely. I meant to say, perhaps 'mom' is more common as a written term than as a pronunciation?

[hmc]

"I like playdate - short and succinct. I also say "I'm good". "

Me too Mingg [shrugs]

[robberbutton]

Although having said that, just got this definition of xenophobia from Wikipedia (obv the fount of all knowledge):

"The second form of xenophobia is primarily cultural, and the objects of the phobia are cultural elements which are considered alien. All cultures are subject to external influences, but cultural xenophobia is often narrowly directed, for instance, at foreign loan words in a national language. It rarely leads to aggression against individual persons, but can result in political campaigns for cultural or linguistic purification."

Umm, so that does make this thread xenophobic? But not wrong, surely?

[ifancyashandy]

If people start using 'We're pregnant', I will hand in my notice to the world.

It is the most unbelievably smug phrase I have ever heard.

[hmc]

I wouldn't like parents to start praising their child with 'Good job!' though rather than 'well done' - that is an Americanisation too far

[SpeedyGonzalez]

I actually think 'playdate' is a useful term as it's succinct. But I would never use it because I am English!

My favourite ridiculous American made-up-words at the moment are:

normalcy (ahem - 'normality?' please)
burglarise (wtf? )

NB: I do love Americans, I really do, I just object to Brits letting (or making) so many aspects of their culture creep into ours at a rate of knots. I wouldn't expect a Yankee to talk about taking out the rubbish, turning off a tap or (it would seem) burgling a house; so why should we absorb every term of theirs? Cor blimey, guvnor!

[JoInScotland]

As rowingboat has pointed out, many "Americanisms" are really archaic or obsolete English terms, hence "fall" for the season before winter. This is when leaves fall, so.... it was used in Shakespeare's day after all.

Many songs and rhymes have several versions - some versions travelled to faraway countries and colonies, while other versions survived in the UK. Is one better than the other? Is the "red sky at night" a sailor's delight or a shepherd's delight? It depends on who you ask!

Sorry but variety is the spice of life folks. If you don't like a word, don't use it. I suppose Britain could set up an institution for preserving the language, like they have in Spain and France. Then which version of a word would you all like to use? The one from the Midlands, London, the Hebrides, Wales.......

[Stopfighting]

I hate the word 'Playdate' too, but there is another one I loathe even more :

'The school run' Never uttered it and never will.

Who invented it???

[StableButDeluded]

Oh yes, I dislike 'the school run' as much as I dislike 'playdate'-though I only know one person who actually uses these terms.

Can't stand 'I'm good' and 'can I get' instead of 'can I have' really grates on me.

Oh and don't start me off on 'My bad' ( my fault?)-DS has started saying this, he's only 4 and I can feel my jaw clench every time.

[momino]

speedy, surely you meant 'burglarize' not 'burglarise' (ie with a zed/zee).

Jo, I feel the same way you do, having been here for 13 years.

[GloriaSmut]

YANBU. Not At All. Now I also haven't read every single message on the preceding 5 pages but can affirm my detestation of "playdate". Whatever happened to "come round" as in that popular question always asked at the school gates on the most inconvenient of afternoons - "Can Wossisname come round?". The essential ingredient being Wossisname who stands with beseeching gaze next to your own child.

Also, is there any region of the UK where mothers are genuinely (and routinely) addressed as "Mom"? Only I suspect it is, more often than not, pure affectation. Americans living in the UK being excepted, of course.

"Grounded" had entered popular parlance 20 years ago when my dcs were old enough to be "kept in and not allowed out".

[momino]

got to admit I hate 'my bad' though I've never heard anyone use it but in these threads.

I think there are some terms the little cherubs will pick up (American/British or whatever)that grown ups will never like. it happened in my parents' day.

[campion]

You'd better steer clear of the West Midlands, gleegeekgleek, as 'Mom' is common currency, both written and pronounced. Must admit I was a little bemused when I first encountered it.

'We're pregnant'. How exactly??