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Those of you who DON'T do playdates - can I ask why not?

69 replies

decena · 07/04/2010 19:46

This is a genuine question. My DD goes to a small rural school where there is only a few other girls her age. We have had them all here to play, sometimes the group of them, and yet, my DD never gets invited back (only to one girls house). I don't know how much other girls are invited back but doesn't seem often and I know having the girls here, that some of them don't know others houses.
I just can't understand why other mums don't reciprocate? Only one works, no-one has babies, don't they care about their daughters social life?
Because I hate continually asking without a return invite, my DD only has a friend home once or twice a term and it is a shame because she loves it.
I get quite paranoid about being the only one doing the asking, and taking it quite personally that all the other mums hate me!
So, I would really be interested in why other mums don't invite friends round, and how do feel about your child then going on playdates?

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BooKangerooWonders · 07/04/2010 19:49

if her friends have siblings, there's very little need for playdates. They see each other all day at school, so often just need families afterwards.

But I do playdates even with 3dc . But am also lazy so maybe not as often as I should.

ToccataAndFudge · 07/04/2010 19:51

I would love the DS's to invite friends round more often, right now my house is a state, and I can barely manage to supervise my own children playing safely and cook them dinner, let alone anyone elses.

EldonAve · 07/04/2010 19:53

I am too tired and usually my children fight over the guest child so that doesn't make for a relaxing time

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thisisyesterday · 07/04/2010 19:54

because i can't be arsed???

because my 5 year old doesn't really need a social life??

meh, i dunno. we have had playdates, but it certainly isn't something we do frequently tbh

GentleOtter · 07/04/2010 19:58

What is a platdate? Genuine question. I've seen it mentioned here before but took no notice.

Is it a friend round to play while you have a cup of tea with the mother or are you lumped with lots of little goblins? If it is the latter then I could not be arsed with that.

GentleOtter · 07/04/2010 19:59

Oh God. Playdate.

mathanxiety · 07/04/2010 20:01

How do they all behave when they're together? How much mess is there to clear up? How much bothering for snacks/drinks goes on?

Some mums can't relax when there's another child playing in their house because they have tons of knick knacks they would have to guard/ expect some sort of disaster to happen in the bathroom/ never feel their house is tidy enough to 'have anyone over'/ feel confined to the house and can't run out for errands while all the children are there/ feel 'on duty' all the time and can't get anything done.

Solo2 · 07/04/2010 20:03

I don't do playdates nearly enough. there are a variety of reasons: I'm a single mum running a business fulltime single-handedly and I find it hard enough to manage twin sons aged nearly 9 alone, let alone other children; DS1 and DS2 are incompatibela nd have v incompatible friends who don't at all mix and if the twins each has a friend round, it's nightmare to supervise and really hard work; never get enough time to tidy and clena house and ensure we're always stocked up with foods and would be ashamed to have other people around more often. So I tend to wait till I've had time to clean/ tidy house and buy in foods and have planned activities in advance and different 'territories' for each twin and friend; I love my own company and find the chaos of a group of children really hard to manage for any length of time, plus the parents calling in at start and end of playdates, with all the children milling round and shrieking and fighting.

The most successful playdates are if one DS is at another friend's home and the other twin has his friend here. Then it's almost easy - but this happens v v infrequently.

Finally, trying to coordinate having a friend around for each of the twins at the same time, with no one ill, is v difficult.

I don't know why the other families don't have your DD around OP but maybe it's because if's so wonderful to have your DC invited elsewhere, so you get a break and can get on with things, that they're happy to maintain the status quo? After all, it's like free babysitting.

My DCs were only both invitied to a playdate at same house when they were much younger and even then it didn't always work for the other family, as my twins are so incompatible. But for me, it was absolute bliss to get some time alone to get on with things.

Why don't you, next time you see one of the other mums, say something, in passing like, "DD would love to come round to yours next time as she's dying to see X's toy/ doll/playden etc etc?" Is there a good time we could fix this up? How about next Saturday - or what's the best day/ time for you?

Then you'll get a better idea about whether there's a particular reason why they haven't had her round.

In my childhood, there were 3 of us children and the number of playdates we ever had was so few throughout the years, it was v memorable. I think that might be another reason why I don't easily do playdates. It's unfamiliar territory to me and yet I know it would help my DSS socially. It's just that I came from a family that was largely 'sufficient unto itself'.

renderedspeechless · 07/04/2010 20:04

have 2 younger children,

have little time for playdates,

live over 5 miles from school and schoolfriends,

work,

usualsuspect · 07/04/2010 20:05

WTF is a playdate....sometimes mn makes my head hurt

mathanxiety · 07/04/2010 20:05

x-posted with everyone, sorry.

I find a lot of other people's children are seriously hard work at age 5.

decena · 07/04/2010 20:08

I should add my daughter is 8 and all the girls are well behaved and I have never had fights/messes or problems.
I like her having a friend round because they disappear to play and I don't have to do any entertaining. Usually I don't see them until going home time.
I can understand with younger kids that can squabble and break things!

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 07/04/2010 20:10

A playdate is when children come to you house or your DC goes to theirs as a planned event, not just children drifting in your door and playing together or going out and playing with whoever else is outdoors at the time.

Eliza70 · 07/04/2010 20:12

Playdate - really stupid americanism for basically having a friend round to play.

My mum never really liked us having friends round to play, so we didn't. Am not sure why she didn't like it, probably for the reasons given above.

BillieJackson · 07/04/2010 20:12

My son has AS, so it isn't appropriate for him to go off to other people's houses.

We do occasionally have friends over here for tea, but their parents usually come too at this stage (DS is only 5 yrs old).

To be honest, even if he didn't have the issues he has. I hate the term 'play date' and I hate the idea of having to constantly entertain other people's children during the school term. I am run ragged as it is with work, study, kids!

I am all for birthday parties, weekend trips to the park and holiday fun (not a complete 'bah humbug' ) but during school term the days are exhausting enough as it is.

Fliight · 07/04/2010 20:13

Maybe they have busy family lives, it doesn't have to involve actual paid work - for instance running a farm (you said rural), going to clubs after school, having to go shopping etc

I wouldn't jump to conclusions, hopefully once they are older they will start hanging out socially together anyway, without you having to arrange it so intensively.

I feel for you, it sounds rather sad.

I know I can't stand playdates, myself - ds has been on two, I've had one child back here and it was terrible. Maybe we picked the wrong child, I don't know.

But I never want to do it again!

usualsuspect · 07/04/2010 20:15

I never did playdates ..my dcs had their friends round to play ...I liked it, meant I never had to play with them

Fliight · 07/04/2010 20:15

BillieJackson...if you don't mind me asking - the child we had back has AS, and I think he found it very difficult - but I am uncertain as to what we could have done to make it easier for him.
I ended up taking him home early

I didn't expect it, I honestly thought he seemed great when I'd met him at school. It was such a shame.

CantSupinate · 07/04/2010 20:16

Decena, I know where you're coming from, this has been my lot since DC1 started school: I do all the asking and chasing and inviting.

Observations:

  • Everyone says they will invite back.
  • They are big fat liars.
  • In reality, only about 25% of parents invite back (and most of them are in DC1's year ).
  • Most parents evidently don't see it as something that it would be polite to reciprocate.
  • Before I invite anyone nowadays I have to lecture my own DC about an invite from us has nothing to do with them ever being invited back (I get DC to confirm that they understand this at least 5x before I issue an invite). I don't want to be nagged incessantly afterwards about when do they get to go around to the other house.

It sucks, really. Luckily I have 4 DC so they get to wind each other up something rotten always have someone at home to interact with.

Most the only children we know do a LOT of out-of-school activities.

CantSupinate · 07/04/2010 20:18

ps: it does get a lot easier when the DC are old enough to use the phone & start arranging their own social lives; eg.: DD (8yo) makes arrangements after asking me + her friends and I just briefly chat with parents to confirm that it's really okay whatever DD said.

caughtinafog · 07/04/2010 20:19

I don't think it's a stupid americanism ?

I have 2 dd's, 6 & 3 & they frequently have friends over to play. DD2 does like to join in with DD1's friends, but that's all part (imo) of learning to socialise.

DD2 loves having little friends over - ok, I've made friends with all the mums - some are from my post natal group, so they come over for a gossip.

Yes I do think it's important for children to 'hangout' together. And seeing as I'm really quite lazy, having friends over for playdates after school for DD1 means I can get on with tea/fold up the washing/poke around the garden or look on here

CantSupinate · 07/04/2010 20:22

I am American and I have only ever heard 'playdate' used on MN!

decena · 07/04/2010 20:23

Thanks everyone. Apologies for the "playdate" as this sounds for much younger kids but it was much shorter to type that in the title than "having another persons child round to yours to play"!
I grew up always having friends to play and going to theirs, but I suppose those were the days when a child could wander off on their own and be home by dark. These days kids have to be ferried eveywhere, problems of living in the country.

Cantsupinate - know what you mean! My DD knows that it is up to the other mum to invite her back, nagging me will not help!

OP posts:
Lymond · 07/04/2010 20:26

I've got 4 DC. After school they want to play with each other. Plus, they're tired after school.

Even in school holidays, when we do have playdate type things, we tend to do them with other families that also have multiple DC of similar ages to ours, and mums I'm friends with. If we invite an only child around, they always seem to want a lot of my attention, and my DC argue over them. The dynamic just doesn't work.

Saying that, we are open to new friendships and do try to reciprocate with playdates when possible.

usualsuspect · 07/04/2010 20:27

All seems very formal nowadays...in my day it was can so and so come round to play ..now my house is full of enormous trainers in the hall way and guitar jams ..youngest is 17