For me, it’s having to entertain my child 24/7. She’s 4 so she’s only in preschool 4 hours a day, 3 days a week, and this week she’s been on spring break so it’s just been me and her all day, everyday. I only work on the weekends and her dad works during the week so I’ve always been at home with her. For the most part it’s been a wonderful experience and I know I’ll miss her when she’s gone at kindergarten all day this fall but dear god I’m tired of being her only playmate. I know having another child would not fix this and I don’t plan to have another, as I’m one and done by choice but a part of me really feels like having one is harder than having multiples because at lease then they can entertain each other. Idk, I’m just drained. Please tell me I’m not alone
@jolene250 Yes absolutely, I try to nail down play dates and it’s just so hard with everyone’s schedules. I’m hoping it gets better this summer when the pools are open.
@mercuryash Just take her to the park where other kids are. My kid will either just run around himself or find other kids to play with every time. Sure, he requires my attention and wants me involved in hiding games, but that's very doable when at the park with other kids to keep him going.
If she's shy, you can help her feel more comfortable engaging with other kids slowly and with practice.
@mercuryash If she's on summer break, all her friends are too. And 4 is an easier age to say something like, "Hey, why doesn't X spend the morning with us, and then we do a switcheroo after lunch?" or if you have a rapport with any of her friends' parents, a good reason to double up. They'll play together, you two enjoy a tea and do some crocheting, reading, etc.
@samalematina The cheapest way is to go to toddler events at your local library, but we also do different classes and found a local Facebook group for parents. Our kid’s best friend we met by ̶s̶t̶a̶l̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ walking by houses that had kids’ toys out front.
@samalematina If your kid hits it off with another one, people tend to be pretty receptive to "we should get them together to play" (at least around me). It's not just at random so much as "look, the kids are having a good time. Let's try again"
@samalematina As @iwonder777 mentioned, it’s not random. Even then, I’ll be honest, the success rate isn’t great! There are a million little reasons you might not be able to set up a play date with a given person. But it only needs to work a few times to find friends.
Agreed. If you can get a core group together, it does a lot for opening up playdates (and, even better, you can start integrating into bigger friend groups, like one of my now good friends introduced me to another friend and I introduced her to a few other moms with kids the same age. It's a domino sort of thing)
@samalematina Word of caution about Peanut: stay off the discussion boards. They're nuts. I did meet a couple of families I liked, but it's essentially Tinder for mom friends and it feels exactly like a dating app.
@juniorcanada I’ve never had tinder but I’ve heard about it, I know you swipe to match or dismiss people. It definitely feels kinda odd lol I just signed up. Where’s the discussion boards? Are they automatically on “my feed?”
