Now that my youngest son has reached the impressive age of 9, playdates have become so much easier! No longer do I have to watch them like a hawk, and hover around them like a helicopter-parent in a jet. They can just go and play.
How blissfull this peace of mind has been, I realized last Friday, when I lost it. Because my fifteen year old son had invited his girlfriend over to our house, and they were up in his room. It all came rushing back: the feeling of having to be on the alert constantly, of feeling worried and unable to relax.
Then suddenly it hit me: playdates for pubescent girls and boys are very similar to playdates for four- and five year olds! And because nobody warned me about this, I feel the need to share this info with you! So you are forewarned!
So here are 5 similarities between playdates for toddlers and playdates for pubescent boys and girls!
- Both groups like to play doctor
- When it gets real quiet, your alarm bells should go off!
- When they suddenly close a door: you have to go and check on them immediately
- As long as there’s a lot of racket, things are okay. Unless the racket is followed by the aforementioned quiet: then you should rush over immediately!
- Toddlers like to mix it up: they sometimes abandon playing doctor to playing hairdresser. You won’t be the first mom who has to hand over a playdate to their parents with bangs that are way too short and crooked. Pubescent boys and girls won’t cut each other’s hair, but they do like to give each other hickeys, which makes for the same uncomfortable return to their parents
