So, you have mastered the art of Mommy and Me, now it's time to introduce you to the concept of the play date. What appears to be a simple thing really has quite a few nuances that you need to understand before you enter into the agreement.
I was introduced to the play date when my oldest came home from camp one day and said" Daddy, I wanna play with my friend from camp". The only issue with this was we did not know her or her parents and she lived all the way at the other end of our development. So, I tried to ignore the request for a few days but eventually she broke me down with the nagging and constant asking. She came home one day and I reluctantly loaded her and the little one in the car and we headed down the street. Not knowing her Mom at all I figured I was in for a big fat "NO". Here is some strange guy pulling up to my house asking me to take my daughter back to his house. Well, guess what ....I RULE..not only did I get my oldest's buddy but I was able to convince her to send the little one too who is the same age as mine! I am good at what I do. Needless to say,play date went well and Mom came to pick them up in a few hours.....win-win! This will not always be the case fellas so you need to prepare yourself for the potential pitfalls. In an effort to provide some guidance, I have come up with a few ground rules for the first few play dates.
Rule # 1 : This is a drop off only activity. When you come to drop off your child I am not expecting you to come in as I will not be planning on coming in to your home. There will be no wine and cheese on the counter and limited chit chat. I have my days planned out to the minute and throwing the Mommy visit in wrecks my mojo! See, when the kids are playing, they are not asking me for juice, or a snack, or to turn on the TV, so I am actually able to get a lot done around the house. Selfishly you should enjoy this! I am giving you the next few hours to run errands, go to the gym, go for a run, or simply go home and slug a bottle of Kendall so you can deal with your kid when you pick her back up. Enjoy the free time, as I know I will.
Rule # 2 : I am not a food pantry. If your kid is coming with the intention of eating us out of house and home she is sorely mistaken. I give my kids one snack when they get home and that's it! There is no munching on chips while they take in mindless Spongebob on the couch in this house. If my daughter asks me for a second snack for your child the answer will still be "NO".
Rule # 3 : If your child is coming to my house to leave an indentation on my couch while she watches TV, Im sorry, that is simply not going to happen. See, my oldest actually turns off the TV when friends come over and immediately starts asking what activities they want to do. I always tell my kids how great it was when I was little. We went outside and played until it was dark. We had no electronic devices, no Temple Run and no Disney Channel. All we had was a bike and a streetlight which magically told us what time we needed to go home based on the reflection on your handlebars.
Rule # 4 : I will not be doing makeup or painting nails. My kids often come home from play dates with eye shadow, lipstick, and nail polish on. I wear trifocals and can barely see the keyboard I am currently typing on. I take my kids to get their nails done, so the chances of me doing your kids' is zero.
Rule # 5 : If you make a mess and don't clean it up, or treat my kids like garbage, there will be no invite back. See, my kids know that when they are leaving someone's house they need to start cleaning up 10 minutes before they leave. If your kids ransack the place and roll out, my kids end up cleaning and crying.....that simply does not work. Vomiting in the house will also put you in jeopardy of being invited back. My eldest had a play date a few weeks back and the little buddy power booted all over her room. Uh, there should be a rule that if your kid throws up at somebody else's house, you should have to come and clean it up . I was dry heaving for hours and the room still doesn't smell the same.
I have created these rules for the "newbies". The neighborhood kids pretty much have free reign over my house because I know them and their parents. These rules apply for the first few play dates and eventually will lead to a meeting with the parents. Once we have broken bread and enjoyed a beverage together rules become a bit more lax. I have been fortunate so far that most of my kids' friends have really cool Dads with similar interests. This is a win-win for all, as the kid play date soon becomes a parent play date on Friday nights with some apps, a few adult beverages, and a lot of laughs!
SVP - OUT!
No comments:
Post a Comment