Playdates: Education and Entertainment for Children

Anyone who has children can agree with this: we want whats best for our children. Parents ability to steer their children in the right direction by teaching them pertinent tools, that when combined with those learned in a school setting, will enable them a better chance of success as they prepare for life's journey. Incorporating a playdate in to a child's schedule can truly be a beneficial part of the learning process among other things to enable your child to capture a unique experience that will not only teach your child certain values but will offer excitement and fun as well.

Preparing for the playdate is important. Placing breakable, small, sharp and other damageable items away, locked up or hidden will help to avoid problems from occurring. Getting contact info and medical assistance numbers is also very important along with allergy and allergic reaction info, such as certain foods and bee stings.

Depending on the age of the child it is best to let your child take the lead when deciding on setting up a playdate and with which of their classmates or neighborhood friends. By allowing your child to communicate with you as to who they would like to play with and what they would like to do or where they may go gets your child involved and lines of communication have been initiated. Obviously if a toddler is considered, the playdate will be initiated by the parents of the toddlers involved.

When it comes to toddler playdates, this form of ingenuity plays out on both parties. The parents have the chance to get together, chat and spend quality time with each other as well as their children. Moreover, the parent or caregiver is able to increase their circle of friends by meeting the other child's parent or parents that are close in age to you. Interaction between the children, play skills, motor skills and cognitive development can be witness firsthand and improved upon. A family affair could prove essential with older children as well. Not being accustomed to new surroundings or being away from a parental figure for the first time will possibly lead to a child being overwhelmed, feeling scared and nervous. By spending some time with your child in the playdate setting, you will be able to help acclimate your child and ultimately make the playdate more exciting and beneficial by getting the playdate started off on the right foot.

Some standards regarding etiquette to help make the playdate more exciting, memorable and beneficial. Overstaying your visit is not to be done. This avoidance will help with possible frayed nerves developed by the parents hosting the playdate, allows flexibility for the host parent regarding schedule, appointments and other issues. This really shouldn't be looked at as a babysitting/daycare event, but more as learning experience, in a more intimate setting. Reducing or establishing playdates for an hour or so will help with maintaining the interest and fun of that special day. It is best to pick up the child while still instilling the I want to stay or I don't want to go home yet attitude. With your child and host child still maintaining the I want more attitude is the best time to pick your child up. This reduces the chances of the children getting bored, getting into mischief, fighting and other negative behaviors unfolding. The best way to handle this situation is to speak to your child and reassuring that you will set up another playdate in the near future, and also return the favor in having the host child come to your house next time, to further enhance the platdate time. A child being able to share and show off his/her own unique toys in their home turf, so to speak adds to the experience provided to each child.

As for scolding or yelling at the child that has come over for a playdate, this should be avoided at all costs. This all to often leads to other complications and friction between the parent and child and parent/parent. Instead of this type of behavior, it is better to handle it in a calm manner by saying something like " we don't use that language here", or Timmy isn't allowed to display that type of behavior in our home". By taking a knee and using eye contact, a firm voice and showing the child a better way of saying something or handling the situation will sink in better.

If things get worse, such as bitting, hitting, inappropriate language or the child damages personal property, placing the child in a time out isn't the best bet, instead, the child's parent figure should be contacted and notified of the scenario, so that the two of you can handle the situation as prompt and appropriate as possible. If at the end of the visit things haven't turned around you can reiterate your concern and possibly take further action the next time if a playdate does ensue. Possibly communicating to the child's parent that Sheila was very good except for her decision to hit Madison because she didn't give her one of her dolls. Or Michael cried for a period of time because he didn't want to eat his sandwich. Relaying info like this, not as a tattletale, because no one likes a tattletale, just helps the parent to be aware of the situation and reduce the event of this happening in the future, plus the child would probably communicate this to his/her parent anyhow.

Some fun things to do when having a child's friend over for a playdate can be as diverse, eloquent or simple as you want. Being able to spur the interest of both children and instilling fun and entertainment into a learning atmosphere will help to kill two birds with one stone. Board games, coloring, painting, playing with toys, crafts or building things out of clay, paper, or other medium will help spark the children's interests. These will teach children to react and interact properly plus learning counting, art, show and tell, creativity and sharing skills can be pursued. Dress up and pretend adventures are also very popular with children and allow them to dream, explore and carry out their own unique fantasies.

When it comes to food and feeding the children, there are many alternatives. The number one issue to address before the child eats, is whether the child has any allergic reactions or allergies! Knowing what foods, spices, shellfish, soy, wheat, dairy products, nuts etc. are not to be fed to the child is very important to reduce medical emergencies from taking place. Yes, McDonald's and other fast food chain restaurants are eagerly accepted, but in todays' day and age where instilling healthy choices and alternatives are more important, being creative and also having the children help out is classic, educational, enjoyable and priceless!

Making pizza squares from scratch, funny face sandwiches, grilled cheese squares, sliced vegetables with low-fat dip, sliced apple with peanut butter(if not allergic to nuts), or other fruits cut up as a sweet alternative to cakes and cookies can make any meal more exciting and educational with regards to safety in the kitchen. Being creative and imaginative is essential to making lunch or dinner fun and exciting for the child while getting them involved in the kitchen. It can be as easy as making sandwiches and using a cookie cutter to form a variety of shapes to make the sandwich more fun to eat. Make sure to discuss the intentions of kitchen work, and meal decisions to make sure that it is OK with the other parent and fits in with their borders and guidelines at home so you don't overstep the lines.

So, there you have it! A way of ensuring and incorporating a fun, educational and rewarding day into your child's playdate memories, while helping you, as the parent, with some piece of mind.