Play dates have become exceedingly popular in American culture over the past couple of decades. With the increase in working moms as well as single moms, play dates became more than helpful to moms nationwide. Play dates are more for the kids in my personal opinion. Growing up, I never had “scheduled” play dates or play dates so that my mother could take care of business. I had play dates simply because I liked to play and make friends in the neighborhood. It was simply good ol’ fashioned kids making friends in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, those days have come and gone. The new generation doesn’t seem to play outside as much like they did in past decades. Because of this, kids don’t necessarily know the kids in the neighborhood; outside of school of course. One thing that we can all relate to is the fact that we gained life and social skills through childhood play. Because of the change in time, it is essential that we implement play dates in our children’s lives as well as encourage social skills. Hey, there are even groups and clubs designed for this very task! I comprised a list of reasons why it is play dates are AWESOME!
1. ENCOURAGING MANNERS i.e “Please”, “Thank you”, etc.
2. ENCOURAGING SOCIAL SKILLS i.e Kindness, helping others, team work, etc.
3. SHARING
4. ENHANCES CREATIVITY through role play, art, etc.
5. ENCOURAGES THE VALUE OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP
Daisy Love 