The K5 - elementary education for parents

You want to encourage your child to have friends and some fun; play-dates can play an important part in this.  For the most part these play-dates will be great.  There will also be times when they don’t go so well, so I’ve outlined some basic guidelines to help make play-dates more fun and productive:  

• Establish a start and end time before the play-date begins.  This will allow for an expected ending to activities. 
• Establish the basic rules of the play-date, i.e. “Remember, if you want to play until 5:00, follow the play-date rules so we don’t have to end early.”  (if there is a problem, keep your promise and end the play-date early)
• To help get the play-date started, have 3 activity choices ready for the children.  These can be a mixture of simple games and/or educational activities.  This setup will help to jumpstart activities.
• NOTE – Never reprimand someone else’s child unless you’ve discussed this beforehand.  Of course, safety comes first.  Any situation that could be unsafe must be addressed right away.  In general, you should restate the rules and leave the parenting to the parent (except in a situation where a child is in danger).
• Be fair, your little “angel” is probably just as guilty as the playmate.
• After the play-date, be honest with the other parent(s), discuss and determine what went well or what went wrong.  This will create the opportunity to better structure the next play-date.

 HINT – If you’re planning to stay when bringing your child to a play-date; plan for the time you will spend with the other parent. But it is not a requirement to socialize with the other parent if you need some down time. I have a friend who brings reading material to play dates and spends some quiet time. It’s up to you.