Playdates...???

[WeLoveLilo05]

What do you do? Do you embrace them? Avoid them? Initiate them? Have them in your house/outside your house?
Kinda "new" to the whole playdate thing. When I was little I grew up on a block with tons of kids and we'd go to different houses everyday. Our parents knew each other well b/c we were all neighbors. DD has always had her cousins to play with before she started school. I feel today its different with DD. I don't know any of the parents in her class (although some know each other b/c they have older kids that are in the same class/grade).
And it may sound silly but we live in a little 2 bedroom apartment and I am almost 100% sure everyone in DD's class lives in a house so I wonder what the other kids/parents may think?

 

[npmommie]

We do them. Sometimes initiate them sometimes initiated by someone else.
sometimes here at home, sometimes someone else's home. and a lot of times at a park, playground, beach, lake etc.
I don't think it would matter to anyone that you live in an apt.
we have been to playdates at a friends house and its actually an apartment.
no biggie to us.

sometimes I avoid them, depends on the kids. LOL

 

[Toad_Passenger]

We live in a pretty active neighborhood, with multiple parks. We don't have "playdates" per se. Pretty much it can be expected that after school hours, during the warmer months, most of the kids will be at one of the parks.

Personally, I don't like playdates (hosting them, or going to them). As the OP said, growing up, we just hopped on our bikes and let the day take us wherever!

 

[DMickey28]

I actually only do playdates with one friend. Someone I actually met on here years ago and our boys happen to be very close to the same age. We usually go to her house because my DH works out of the house and it can get too loud with 4 boys here!

Otherwise, I avoid them. I belonged to a local Mom's group through Meetup.com and went to ONE meetup in the 18 months I belonged. I am too shy and too self conscious. Once Spring comes I will probably join again because right now most of the meetups are at people's homes and I don't feel comfortable going to someone's house I have never met before.

I am also self conscious about having people to our house. We have lived here 18 months and are really just starting to make it our own. It still looks like two college kids live here with a couple of toddlers. I can't decorate (or at least it takes me forever) and I hate to spend money on stuff like that when I do go out to get stuff for the house. I never end up getting anything but then I walk around the house and realize we don't have ANYTHING but you general furniture. No special pictures. No plants. No nice storage units. Nothing. I feel like everyone else has nice warm put together houses and I am still a kid. BTW I am almost 33 and DH almost 36! LOL.

THEN add all the germs in the winter time and kids my boys ages are very touchey feely! I took my kids to an indoor gym a week ago and that was brand new and had maybe 4 other kids there. Both my kids got colds. Argh. Can't wait until Spring.

So you aren't alone ... the jist of the novel. I can't write short responses I guess!

 

[tmarquez]

We don't really do play dates either. Our street has lots of kids and they just go to their friends house to see if they can play.

DD(8) does have a friend at school that she is close with so even though it's not really in my nature...I made a point to get to know the mom and she will call us or we will call them on the weekends so the kids can play. Nothing is really scheduled though like I've heard some people do.

Don't worry about the apartment thing. The kids don't care and if the parents do...then you probably don't want your kid hanging out with their kid anyway.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I always did them because it gave me a chance to mix with other Mom's while giving me the opportunity to observe my kids with other children. There is no easier way to tell if a kid is ok or has a problem than to put him/her with a bunch of other kids & watch.

Anyway I would initiate and then others would reciprocate. Sometimes we did my house, other times theirs, sometimes we'd do McDonald's for the play area, free movies over the summer at the local cinemas (most seem to have a program) then we would also do parks, zoos & all that good stuff.

Don't feel self conscious over being in an apartment, it would be a shame to miss out on wonderful people & experiences over something like this.

 

[LuLuO]

Honestly I hate playdates. I've done a couple with one mon and they were just okay. The kids were really young and it was hard for the mom and I to socialize at all, even when we were at our houses. I would much rather just go to the playground and let the kids play with whoever is there. The kids do gymnastics and DD3 is in preschool and DS2 will be in preschool in the fall too so they get lots of socialization. When they are older I'm sure they'll find their own friends in the neighborhood.

We do have playdates with my nephew that are enjoyable, but that's different because it's family and SIL and I aren't trying to get to know eachother.

 

[pyrxtc]

I don't think I've ever called them playdates but my kids friends come over and they can go over their house. I don't live in a neighborhood with children so no hopping on a bike and meeting up. It takes much planning to gt the kids together around sports and school activities.

When I was younger, my parents didn't know any of my friends parents. before school, we hung out with cousins and then when we started school, we made friends and hung out with them. I grew up in a very busy neighborhood with tons of children so we just had to go outside and there were some there, literally at my house since my mother ran an in-home daycare for 23 years of my life.

i don't think any of the kids will care if they live in a house and you live in an apartment. I don't remember ever caring and my kids have never said anything about their friends living space.

 

[sparks19]

I do playdates with my DD3. we live in a nice neighborhood but there aren't any kids anywhere near her age. they are all almost highschool aged around here.

and in this town nothing is "just around the corner" We have to drive to parks and peoples houses because everything is pretty far away and there are no sidewalks.

I also don't know a whole lot of people here so I joined a moms group and we organize all kinds of get togethers. in the winter it's hard because it's too cold and snowy to take the kids to the park so playdates are a little more scarce unless you organize something one on one or with a small group of moms.

I don't host many because I have two large dogs and no where to keep them out of the way but if I can host a playdate at a park or other area then I do

 

[aprilgail2]

Since I always worked full time when my daughter was little there were not many playdates during the week--sometimes in an evening we would get together with someone but normally every Saturday and Sunday was when we did playdates when she was little. Now with homework and afterschool things usually still on Sat and Sun she will have friends over both days or be at a friends house but weekends are still for hanging with friends!

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I do playdates with my DD3. we live in a nice neighborhood but there aren't any kids anywhere near her age. they are all almost highschool aged around here.

and in this town nothing is "just around the corner" We have to drive to parks and peoples houses because everything is pretty far away and there are no sidewalks.

I also don't know a whole lot of people here so I joined a moms group and we organize all kinds of get togethers. in the winter it's hard because it's too cold and snowy to take the kids to the park so playdates are a little more scarce unless you organize something one on one or with a small group of moms.

I don't host many because I have two large dogs and no where to keep them out of the way but if I can host a playdate at a park or other area then I do

Hey! Hi! We dont live too far away!

 

[sparks19]

Hey! Hi! We dont live too far away!

HI what a small world lol it always amazes me how many people I bump into on forums that are from this area lol

 

[Hillbeans]

I'm going to be honest - they are really not my favorite. I had them, sometimes, but would much rather all the kids meet at the park for a few hours. For some reason it always seems the kids follow me around the house asking me what i'm doing instead of playing or the parents want to stay and hang out and socialize. Sort of defeats the point...