{"id":1254,"date":"2014-02-08T14:05:38","date_gmt":"2014-02-08T19:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.positivelyparenting.com\/?p=1254"},"modified":"2015-12-04T12:48:25","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T17:48:25","slug":"tips-for-easier-playdates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/parenting\/tips-for-easier-playdates\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Easier Playdates"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Kids-boys-fighting\"<\/a>Your five-year-old has been asking to bring home “John” for weeks; \u201cJohn\u201d is his very best friend at camp. You are thrilled; your sweet boy has a new friend!<\/p>\n

You have John over after camp, feed them lunch, all seems well, and then poof!\u00a0 The fighting begins!\u00a0 The boys don’t share, they disagree about what toys to play with, and then you can hear them pushing and shoving from the other room.\u00a0 Tattle-telling begins, and coupled with the sulking, you know that this play date is a failure.\u00a0 You stare at the clock until John\u2019s mom arrives to pick him up.\u00a0 Phew!\u00a0 You are never doing that again!\u00a0 He’s a sweet boy, but clearly that was an unsuccessful play date.<\/p>\n

So, imagine your surprise when, the next morning, your lovely son asks if John can come over again.\u00a0 What?\u00a0 The play date was a disaster!\u00a0 Why would your son want to repeat that mess?\u00a0 And how can you make it better?<\/p>\n

You may not be in love with John, but your son clearly enjoys him, so here are some tips to help smooth a play date, whether it be between two kids who want to like each other, or just some tips to help smooth the date when there are some bumps in the road.<\/p>\n

1). Food can be fun!<\/strong>\u00a0 Instead of just another snack of goldfish, make the food a project.\u00a0 From good old-fashioned Rice Krispies treats to English muffin pizzas, have the kids get involved with a little DIY snack.\u00a0 There are hundred of websites to help you; have your child pick a recipe that looks delicious\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0fun.<\/p>\n

2). Plan a project around the house.<\/strong>\u00a0 Have the friend bring a bathing suit or change of clothes, and set the children up to wash cars!\u00a0 A bucket of soapy bubbles, a hose, and a dirty car, (followed up with Popsicles) is a fun afternoon.\u00a0 Helping to dig in the garden, weed, and planting flowers can also be a fun way to have kids working together\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0having fun.\u00a0 If you cannot find any work in house, have the children create an obstacle course or a beauty shop!\u00a0 Have them set it up, make signs, and open for business.\u00a0 Run the course or become a customer.\u00a0 When in doubt, a lemonade stand is always exciting for children.<\/p>\n

3).\u00a0 Coach\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0child (beforehand) to handle the conflicts.<\/strong>\u00a0 Pretend to be a friend and role model a play date going south.\u00a0 Have your child get used to saying things like, “please don’t take the truck while I am playing with it” or “I don’t like it when you push me, please stop.”\u00a0 While you’re at it, have your child practice saying sorry for his or her missteps.\u00a0 “John, I am sorry I took the truck.\u00a0 Here it is.”\u00a0 This will not create perfection, but it a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

4). Ignore the squabbling.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0What may be annoying and sound negative to you, it may be just fine for the kids!\u00a0 It is hard to believe, but some children like a little bit of drama.\u00a0 Many friends can have a “fraught” dynamic, and so long as no one is being cruel, there isn’t overt violence, and they keep playing, try ignoring them!\u00a0 Wait and see if they can create their own solutions.<\/p>\n

5).\u00a0 Give a choice.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you hear quite a bit of arguing over a certain toy, give the kids a choice.\u00a0 “You can find a way to share or I can take the toy.\u00a0 Which would you prefer?”\u00a0 If they whine or continue to fight, simply take the toy.\u00a0 Another choice sounds like, “you may either go outside to the swing set or play this board game, which one is it?”\u00a0 The power of the choice only exists when\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0ask once and then act.\u00a0 The kids will know you mean business if you act, and they are more likely to hustle to find a solution on their own.<\/p>\n

Finally, your children will have many friends come in and out of their lives, so try not too worry about these play dates too much.\u00a0 Disagreements, a little fighting, meltdowns…they are part of childhood.\u00a0 As long as you pay attention, help create solutions, and keep it positive,\u00a0most<\/em>\u00a0of it will come out in the wash.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your five-year-old has been asking to bring home “John” for weeks; \u201cJohn\u201d is his very best friend at camp. You are thrilled; your sweet boy has a new friend! You have John over after camp, feed them lunch, all seems well, and then poof!\u00a0 The fighting begins!\u00a0 The boys don’t share, they disagree about what toys to play with, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\nTips for Easier Playdates - Meghan Leahy Parent Coach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/parenting\/tips-for-easier-playdates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tips for Easier Playdates - Meghan Leahy Parent Coach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Your five-year-old has been asking to bring home “John” for weeks; \u201cJohn\u201d is his very best friend at camp. 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