Toddler Playdates: A Guide

Tips:

1. Be a laid back mom.  The house will be destroyed.  Every toy will be pulled out.  There will be screaming, yelling, hitting, and grabbing.   There will be a mess.

2. Find another laid back mom. Your child is going to scream, yell, hit, kick, steal, and act like every other toddler.  While you will manage the situation, you don’t need to do it with someone glaring at you.  She will, of course, manager her destructive toddler.

3. Toddlers don’t share.  It’s best to have two of everything because as soon as one child touches a toy, the other child needs that toy.  In Aidan’s case, he stood, pointing at the other child, screeching “MAMA!  MAMA!  MAMA!” until the problem was solved.

4. Toddlers have short attention spans.  They will play with every toy and then through it when they are done.

5. Have snack.  The toddlers can’t scream if their mouths are full.

6. Offer the other mom refreshments.  As much as alcohol would help, it will dull reflects that are needed when one of the toddlers decide to throw a heavy plastic toy into the face of the other toddler’s face.  Offer chocolate.

7. Be prepared for the destruction.  If you’re lucky, the other mom will help put away toys too, and perhaps the toddlers will actually help instead of dumping out the toys as soon as they are away.

Alternatives:

The Park. 

Pros: No mess to pick up.  Lots of room for the toddlers to play.  Screaming and yelling drift off in the breeze.

Cons: No extra food and drink.  Lots of room for the toddlers to wonder off together.  Other parents the toddlers will try to mooch off of.

Final Tip:

The only way to have a successful toddler playdate is to find a mom that is fun to hang out with and gets toddlerhood.

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