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My First PlayDate
Babies and Toddlers
Ages 1 to 3
 Babies
and toddlers love to play. Depending on their
birth order, they are going to display different
levels of proficiency at this skill. First-born
and only children (basically the same thing at
this point of the discussion, however in retrospect...
you will have a different perspective) need a
whole lot of interaction. Of course, this is also
true where there is a large age gap between siblings.
So you need to direct play. I also feel that,
even though children from bigger families learn
a whole set of skills, vocabularies and behavioral
understanding very early on, they also love to
have the special interactions that come from a
one-on-one with parents and peers. This way, you
get to really concentrate on where they are as
individuals, however brilliant they are at just
being a kid.
I have one story to share
that always makes me laugh. This is the story
of a little incident that took place with the
sixth-born child from an incredible family. I
love to have children around and I am always including
as many as possible, so on this particular occasion,
I had invited the four younger siblings from this
family to play for the afternoon.
While the three older kids were off playing with
my daughter, I was reading a book to the two and
1/2 year old, Jena. We were having a great time
and, suddenly, a fight broke out with the other
kids.
I said to Jena... while the
kids were figuring out who's fault the incident
was... and trying to come to some kind of resolution...
"I'm sorry Jena... the kids are fighting;
I am going to have to stop reading for a moment.
Do you know what fighting is?" She told me,
"Yes"... and that amused me... of course
you know what fighting is when you come from a
big family... any family! I said to her, not in
a nosey way but I was curious to see how she would
interpret the concept, "Who does Salley (first-born)
fight with?" Jena answered "Jake"
( the next child in the family line-up)... as
I progressed through the order of the siblings...
it seemed they all had disagreements with each
other. Then I asked, "Who does Mommy fight
with?" Jena very directly answered... "Daddy"
and I almost fell off the chair laughing.
These kids are brilliant!!!
You just need time to be with them and really
concentrate on getting to know them and their
unique personalities, because each child is very
different and very wonderful. When it comes to
PlayDates for this age group, direction and skill-building
crafts and activities help them to open up socially.
Whether it be kids from big
families with built-in networks or singles, they
need to interact with peers. They need to learn
how to play and how to take direction. They need
to discover different kinds of personalities,
social appropriateness, social language skills
and manners. These are some of the benefits that
PlayDates encourage in children. I feel that any
interaction with other children and their parents
at this stage is very important. Of course, the
children are very young, which is why at this
time, PlayDates are best made with the guest parent
being present and ready to interact.
As I mentioned in the introduction, I am not a
Therapist or Doctor, but I have been involved
with play and children for my entire life... and
I have spent a great deal of time with kids from
the perspective of a play and crafts. The reality
of our culture is that we are not all therapists
and degreed "Child Specialists." We
just have to use common sense, patience and enthusiasm
when we are with children. We have to use our
experience and our talents because every child
must learn a whole range of experiences. And we
have to remember that there were no "Childhood
Specialists" in existence (except perhaps
Hans Christian Anderson... and my nephew, Jamey)
for the first several million years of human history.
But what makes this time radically different is
that, for the first time in our history, children's
play is on calendars. Instead of joyous, spontaneous
play... these children have structured play, so
we need different sorts of activities to help
them find the creativity and resources that are
inside of them. Once we help them to start playing,
it is not necessary for them to play the "game,"
but to move into a kind of "Zone Play"
where they are learning how to negotiate each
others personality.
Taking
Charge/ Initiating Play/ Tips for this Age Group
If you are at home
with your child
This is a bit of a challenge in the beginning,
because you want to introduce your child to some
friends. Start with your neighborhood, your family
and your own friends. You might also start to
check out the local Library programs and your
Church, Synagogue or Mosque. There are also organizations
such as Moms play groups that can help you to
meet more Mothers. Usually, you can network at
playgrounds in safe neighborhoods and meet some
really incredible women!
Tap into your resources
Make up a flyer, or go to www.FunPlayDates.com
to order an invitation for a neighborhood get-together
for the little children in the area where you
live. The advantage of an invitation is that it
gives the specifics of time, who you are, what
you want to achieve during the PlayDate and how
long you want it to last. This will save you enormous
amounts of time on the telephone!
Keep your first PlayDates somewhat
short and be attentive to the fact that some of
the families might have to bring other preschool
children with them. So if you are planning to
have a snack, make sure you are prepared for everyone.
Snacks are better received if they are "natural,"
such as little pieces of fruit or cheese and crackers.
This way, you won't risk offending anyone.
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Have
an Ice Cream Social PlayDate
Puppies
in the Park PlayDate
Puppy
PlayDate
It's great way to
meet people!
My
First PlayDate
Make your first playdate a memorable event! Includes
Mommy Cards.
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