Planning play dates

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

If you're the mother of a toddler, it is important for you to know that play dates are fun and engaging social experiences for children and for the parents. In this day and age, children spend all productive hours of the day in school and running after tuitions followed by the music/art classes that parents feel are important for their wards.
Schools are only getting more competitive, with decreasing amounts of recreational activities designed for children, and the parents' way of responding to that is engaging their children with educational activities all day long. What gets missed out in the chaos of the day is letting them be what they are -- children.
Play dates are great for children to interact with each other. Whilst most little ones at home spend the biggest chunk of their free time watching Doraemon, they could be better engaged in doing something productive along with other children of their age.
Researchers believe that play dates help children develop emotionally and teach kids about relationships. Spending playtime with cousins, other children from the building, friends, classmates, and children of your friends can create a great opportunity for children to improve their communication and social skills. Even shy children eventually open up with regular playtime with their peers.
Now when it comes to arranging a play date for your child, there are a few things that need to be taken into account. The ages of the children are an important factor -- most kids aged above four prefer playing with others of a similar age, in which case inviting your child's classmates is a good option.
You might want to refrain from scheduling very long play dates however as they hinder the whole motive behind it -- a two hour long play date is most appropriate to make the best out of it, and limit its frequency to a maximum of twice a week.  
Have something in mind for children to do while they're at play. The more involved you can be as a parent, the more interested the children will be to accept new ideas in their play time. It's always good to ask what the kids would want to do, but be willing to make some suggestions that they might find more interesting than what they had in mind.
Arranging a “bake-together” party for instance, where the children can help to gather the items required for making a cake or a pizza -- treating them like adults and causing them to feel that what they are doing is important will help them develop self confidence.
Children could also engage in productive activities such as collecting items for recycling that are lying around the house or planting flowers in flower pots or on the rooftop. Remember when you have something like this in mind that your participation is strongly required for your children to accept and enjoy such play dates. Have other parents contribute with their involvement and find something that they could enjoy as well.
Having children playing around the house makes it a home. Children these days live routine lives; they are expected to fulfill their roles from a very early age and are set to reach goals mostly defined by their parents.
Arranging something fun for them once in a while could be the parents' way of allowing them to be children.  After all, one of the blessings that can happen to one in life is to have a happy childhood. Growing up, such good times for children can help a lot in crafting their personalities and making them the person they will be in the future.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed
Model: Mahid, Maizah, Wamiq and Shayeqatul