Today I Screamed Into A Pillow
October 8, 2017
As A Mother Will I Ever ‘Fit’ In The Workplace?
October 9, 2017How To Survive…Play Dates
Play dates are great! I love them!
You can’t beat the sound of springs going ‘ping’ as you realise the boys are having jumping competitions upstairs on your bed with their shoes on, or the crumbled biscuits mashed into your couch as a dirty scooter gets wheeled around the living room.
Then, you hear the sound of muffles squeals and giggles, and tell yourself to take a chill pill!
Your kids will have a better social life than you – take that as a given. ‘No Marty can’t do this Thursday because he’s going to Bill’s, but does next Thursday work for you? No? OK, what about Tuesday the following week? No? Shall we do the Wednesday the week after? Great, that’s in the diary.’
Pre-planning a play date is essential. Because there’s nothing worse than finding yourself faced with two little people whinging at you that they are bored and having nothing to do. ‘Why don’t you play with your new Lego? OK, why don’t you go into the garden and build a base? It’s not too cold, put on your coat! What about getting out your new cars? No? Mmmmm…’
Crafts are great. I always have glue, scissors of colouring pens on hand for them.
A spot of hide and seek is usually very popular. Start it off, then you can appoint someone as seeker and disappear into the kitchen to let them play amongst themselves. Hunting for fairies is always a hit, especially if you sprinkle some glitter over the bushes and flowers, and let the kids discover it themselves.
It may not be ‘PC’ but boys love running around the house with Nerf guns. It takes up at least 20 minutes! Try and spend as much time outside if it’s not too cold.
Food. Kids are always starving. Always. Keep it simple. Toast, bananas, raw peppers and carrots with hummus, bread and cheese, pasta and butter/pesto, a plain biscuit. And no, we can’t ‘go to a restaurant’!
Decide on how long the play date should be. One to two hours is good for smallies as they get tired quickly and that’s when the fighting starts. Give a warning ten minutes before pick-up so they are ready to go home when their parents arrive and can start winding down.
Most important rule: Always try to return a play date. Mums all like a little time to themselves, and it’s nice to offer back.
When everyone is gone – open a nice bottle of red and allow to breathe.
