Works For Me Wednesday - Playdates

Lots of the parents of Froggy's friends bemoan playdates. But for me it is all about the playdates. It needs to be the right child of course. And I do mean child. Parties are not the same thing. It is the one-on-one interaction of Froggy and the playmate that is critical.

When a friend comes over to play, different toys get played with. A friend came over on Saturday, he brought playdough toys with him that he needed to get out of his house. So he and Froggy scuplted and molded until snacktime. My child had not touched her playdough for at least two months prior to this. After a snack they played with colorforms, a holiday gift that was played with once right after receiving it. They also decided they needed to hide from an imaginary monster and ran up and down the stairs burning vast amounts of energy. Here they are hiding next to the bed.

Since that playdate Froggy has played with both every day independently and for significant blocks of time. These lingering effects, these shifts in focus are what make playdates work for me.

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