by: Audrey

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:18:16 +0000

Commendable but…I used to teach and think it was sooo important that my son “learn” to socialize. But you know what honey? They learn that on their own. We used to have 3-4 playdates a week and would find the kids playing by themselves on things THEY were interested in rather than playing together. Finally I said enough and just joined a “once a week” Moms group. Not one of those highly organized ones with guest speakers and such but a very casual one through a local church - no speaking religion and no speaking politics allowed so it was very open to people of other religious beliefs. The pastor would set up a large play area for the kids every Thursday - crawl through tubes, ball pit, movable shelves of toys the kids could also borrow for a week. We had upper income all the way through to mothers having to rely on social services for food on their table and roof over their heads. Kids would play and chase one another while teens from the youth group watched over them and played with them. Mothers would just sit and relax and laugh over coffee at a table set aside just for them and be waited on by other youth group teens. It was nice because we could still see our children, they would be playing, and we could just “relax”. If we needed to talk about parenting, we would, otherwise we could talk about what ever struck our fancy. Then a new pastor took over when kiddo was 4 and the program ended but after that, I never worried about “socializing”. Kiddo made friends with neighbourhood kids and played with them if the mood struck him rather than when it struck Mommy. He is a normal, well adjusted almost 7 year old now who is socially outgoing when he feels like being socially out going.

Comments on: Too Many Playdates

by: Audrey