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| HUGE PLAY DATE-Cow Appreciation Day last summer |
My Hot Date and I ventured to the Zoo with William, Claire and their Mom Melanie and Andrew and his mom Kim. We passed up all the animals and the carousel and headed straight for the new splash pad. The children enjoyed the water and the heat for about 45 minutes and then the hunger pains began. So we didn’t even dry off but headed to a small pavilion to eat lunch. The children were in heaven feeding the birds and fish after lunch and the mommy’s got a chance to catch up with each other. I LOVE PLAY DATES!
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| Claire, Mitchell and William petting ball python in the zoo |
When I was growing up and my hot date wasn’t even a thought, neighborhoods were safe for school age children to go outside and play. I remember roaming the streets of the neighborhood with school friends for hours and playing hide 'n seek, tag, riding bikes and whatever else we could get into. I would not let my son walk to get the mailbox without watching him these days. And its not that I don’t feel safe in this neighborhood, I am just not sure about people these days. Things have changed. The dynamics of neighborhoods have changed as well as the safety of them. My hot date has no friends in our current neighborhood and plays with boys and girls from church, from his previous school and current school. And I am ok with that.
I only have a few friends who’s children play with neighborhood children. It is just a sign of the times. Most of us have placed our children in magnet school, private school or home school. So our children would not have the opportunity to play with school friends if we did not arrange play dates.
My son loves play dates and we have played a game with them since he was 3. I get him ready and he tries to guess where we are going and who we are going with by what he is wearing. Even if I put him in a swim suit I will not come out and say we are going swimming. We both love the game and it has made him more conscious of his surroundings. He will pay attention in the car and blurt out things like…..are we going to church? Isn’t this the way to Williams? Who is coming to our house? Are we at Hermann Park
What’s a play date and how to have one?
- it is an organized time where children come together and play
- it could be at could be anywhere, a backyard, park, zoo, pool or an outing like the museum
- One Mom usually calls a few friends and ask if they are available and if the kiddos could play.
- I will send out texts and ask if folks are available and have a venue in mind
- We normally play early in the summer and eat packed lunches and then leave. Most of my friends still have little ones that need to nap.
- We normally choose places that are free or very cheap. Most of us have zoo memberships, or belong to a Y. Parks are always great and many of them have tons of shade. Dollar movies and Half price movies are also a hit.
- Friends with pools or who live in walking distance of parks really have a home field advantage.
- Each Mom has a special something
- One mom is a nature enthusiast, one mom is always ready, I am the cooker, on mom always has the greatest healthiest snacks and so on
- Give play dates a chance, it takes a moment to get the hang of them but once you do you will love them
There are not absolutes but guides. We need to prepare our children for the future and making friends and being able to communicate is an asset that we take for granted.
Enjoy your children at every stage. Feel free to leave a comment. See ya on our next date.
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