If you work FT do your dcs miss out on play dates?

[MrsFogi]

I'm returning to work soon and my dcs will be cared for by our nanny. At the moment I organise playdates (other children come to us when I am in or I drop my dd off). I am just wondering if all this will dry up when I am not at home as I'm not sure that people - do people send their dcs for play dates when a nanny rather than the mother is in charge? Btw dd1 is 3.5 (and has just entered the world of (short) drop off play dates). I'm interested for the coming months but also the coming years as I'm concerned at my dds missing out on what I remember as a wonderful part of childhhood.

I have friends who have nannies and their children seem to have an active social life - playdates the same as other children. You mustn't worry.

we've found people are in 2 camps

the people we knew as families (so we knew the parents and the child/children were very good friends with my dcs) carried on making playdates with our nanny

but there have been some families who only seemed to want to arrange with me or dh

you need to ask your nanny to keep this up - we found that it needed a first move from the nanny to start it all off. Also, ask a few friendly parents to introduce her to other parents in the playground (parents of friends of the dcs). This also worked well for us!
(my children are school age so a bit older)

Thank you - there is some hope then. I was concerned both that people often don't want to talk to nannies and also whether it is asking a bit much for other people to entrust their dc into the care of my nanny.

Mine have more play oppurtunities because the nanny has a network of other nannies and they hold toddler mornings etc. I guess they are different kids that the ones I would arrange playdates with as they are children looked after by other nannies rather than the children of the mothers I wanted to have coffee with . But when my DDs are older I know the nanny will be happy to have their chosen mates around and I will make sure that happens. When I interviewed for a nanny I made sure I picked someone who say social interaction as important and liked to be out and about.

our nanny arranges playdates both with people we already knew as a family and with nannies and their charges (and sometimes other mums and their kids) that she already knows or has met through playgroup that i dont. so i dont think ds misses out, if anything he gains. dont be afraid to talk to your nanny about what you would like to happen.

Our nanny will arrange playdates with nursery friends at our request. She also meets up with other nannies and their charges, and takes my youngest to a baby group.