Although it is a busy time around our house, we were lucky to have time for a play date on Sunday. My TBP enjoys spending time with a certain friendly brother & sister duo. These are very nice kids and over the years, I have grown increasingly close to the sweet and funny matriarch of the clan.
In the morning, my TBP had an opportunity to enjoy some Mine Craft before we headed off for the date. My son grew a bit nervous about this get together in the car, despite the fact that he has played with them several times. We pulled into the driveway and for a split second, he was hesitant to get out but, he quickly snapped out of it as one of his friends came over to greet us.
We walked in and took off our shoes; my son’s anxiety was present while he asked, “Now, what do we do?” Luckily, the older sibling came and met him with a warm hello and a smile. This was the ice breaker that was desperately needed.
Before long, the three kids were negotiating the rules for a chase game that included Nerf guns. In what seemed like a logical move, the boys decided that they would chase the girl. We have played this game enough times to know that it can be played for just so long before someone grows tired of the two-gang-up-on-one scenario. I was pleasantly surprised that the game went almost and hour and a half before we needed to call it quits.
Thankfully, it didn’t completely fall apart, but it was heading South quickly. We gave a ten minute warning before we put on our shoes and left.
One of the things that made this morning a success, was the deliberate way that we gave reminders and helped to problem solve issues that came up along the way. Obviously, this is part of our daily living but this family also totally gets it. The gentle way that they parent, makes a visit that could have been chaotic, surprisingly calm.
I was so proud of my son’s ability to use his words and to listen to others when they used theirs. That can be hard during a tag game and he did awesome!
This made me wonder today…what do you do to help make play dates successful? What are the deliberate decisions that you make? Inquiring minds want to know! 🙂
My Twice Baked Potato 
Good to read this post – I will be interested in other comments, this is something I find very difficult. You are lucky to have a nice family in your acquaintance for this to work out. I find it hard not to be embarrassed at my sons lack of social skills, and always feel judged by other parents when he does not behave perfectly. A lot of this is my own issues I know and really not helpful to my son but still difficult !
I totally understand!!
This has been a long road and I had a lot of judgment thrown at me along the way!
I felt especially embarrassed because I am an elementary teacher and I felt they were really hypercritical because of that.
When i was complimenting my son’s piano teacher about her patience and ability yo control him, I actually had a parent from my school say that “she could teach you a thing or two.”
I was horrified, but laughed it off until the car ride home.
I am nervous because my son is inviting kids that we don’t know to his party and I am a but worried about it.
Thanks for your visit and hope you come back!
The fact that you are a teacher and you still have the experiences I have makes me feel better ! :). I think with kids like ours it can be hard to keep your own self confidence and self esteem especially when you love your kid so much and you try so hard ( I can tell both are true of you ! ) avoiding judgement of myself and finding ways to deal with other people’s judgement is one of the hardest things for me
Thank you!
If you look through some of the older posts that I wrote, you will see it has been quite a journey!!
😉