Patrick had a play date at our house on Monday with three other little girls, ages almost 1, 2 and 3 and a 1/2.  Can I just say that play dates for one year olds are kind of pointless? At this age, he’s not interested in playing with other children--he’s only interested in the fact that other children are playing with his toys!!  The horror!  Patrick and his almost-one-year old friend Sydney weren’t at all interested in each other and were only in the same vicinity when they shared a mutual interest.  Below, they were both watching Jay abandon me leave to go to the store. 

Also, play dates are a bit like herding noisy cats. Children scattered hither and yon, constantly needing to be relocated to the main play area again and again. (Can you tell I’m not a big fan of the play date?) Oh, it wasn’t so bad-- just far noisier with 4 children than with my one solitary child who does not yet know how to turn on the toys that make noise.  A skill that he will apparently learn by the time he hits 2. Of course, I think play dates will be more fun for all of us when he’s a bit older.  Apparently, at this age children engage in what is called parallel play, playing adjacent to other children but not actually playing with other children. Of course, the only time Patrick was adjacent to another child was when that child had one of his toys. Oh, the horror!

I have a friend who had a child around the same time I did and who now is a big fan of baby play dates-- perhaps because they now take the place of adult play dates for her. I’d much prefer adult conversation in a quiet restaurant, but it seems any time I suggest it, the conversation comes back around to baby play dates. Ah well. Different parenting styles, I suppose. I love this little guy, but I crave my adult play dates-- something I’ve had a serious shortage of lately.

Posted by Kristina in Pregnancy and Baby in Baby at 10:00 PM Permalink