what do kids do on playdates once they stop pretend play?

[Anonymous]

My 8 yo DD is still very much into pretend play, but lately it seems that some of her friends (the slightly older set) are growing out of it or just not as interested in it for long periods of time. It used to be we'd have a kid over for a playdate and they'd disappear and giggle over lego friends and dolls and little figurines for hours. Last couple playdates I've had kids wandering out right away saying they're "bored" or "want to watch something" and my DD is looking at me confused with a "help me" look on her face. I don't want to break out screens. Suggestions of crafts and board games were not met with enthusiasm.

So what do your 8-10 yos do on playdates?

[Anonymous]

make slime, do simple science kits, play with putty
play card games and board games
write scripts, make magazines
sidewalk chalk murals on wall by our garden
ride scooters

[Anonymous]

Choreograph dances
Madlibs
Paint fingernails
Fashion show
Make slide show presentations of themselves

[Anonymous]

Similar - cook or do a science experiment, make slime, have a “fashion show”, make up dances, write a play or story together, play outside. My kids love to bake so that happens a lot too. My eldest is 9 and younger dd is almost 7. Both are still also into pretend play but not all their friends are.

[Anonymous]

They make crafts, slime and other things
Make lemonade or bake
Trampoline
Swimming
Skateboarding/scooter
Throw basketball in hoop
Take Instax pictures of each other
Hang out & talk in room
Do cartwheels and flips

[Anonymous]

^^ I have two girls (8, 11) and they don’t play video games on play dates but they DO look at crafting you tube videos.

Or they will make stickers using the computer or print things for crafts. The younger one will sometimes try to play games on tablet/phone during play dates, but I always take away and say “go play”

[Anonymous]

Play nerf war, hide and seek, dump all the liquid soap in the sink and fill it with water, break things in search of dominance, followed by video games.

[Anonymous]

My 9 year olds last play date involves playing chess and then playing frisbee and basketball

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Play nerf war, hide and seek, dump all the liquid soap in the sink and fill it with water, break things in search of dominance, followed by video games.

Lol. You can definitely tell who the owners of boys are versus girls.

[Anonymous]

Mine and her friends are still big into pretend play but I let them use screens if they want to. They use the iPad to make movies - sometimes using stop frame animation and sometimes acting out the scripts themselves. They also play video games or watch a movie together - they certainly do a lot of other things with their time, but I don’t find that screens have dampened the fun or ability to connect with each other.

When they are not doing pretend, they like to do jump ropes, hula hoops, basketball, baking, playing with pets, making their own magazines, and taking photos. In the summer they also like to swim and hike.

[Anonymous]

Op, we have same situations here. I think it really is up to the parents. My 6yo will have friends over --whose parents always entertain them and give them the latest and greatest -- and they are not entertained by our basement full of imaginative toys and they keep popping back upstairs to try to get me to entertain them, tell me, "I'm boooooored!" or, "I'm hungry!"

However, even my 11yo (less and less so, but still!) will still lose herself more often than she would like to admit in imaginative play with her younger 6yo sis.

So, try to align yourself with similarly minded parents, who do not provide their children with the latest bells and whistles all the time. Remember, the simpler the toy, the more creativity the child brings to the table. Your kids will be better off in the long run! Stay the course! : )

[Anonymous]

I would have written the same as 16:12 and 16:18.

[Anonymous]

I have to tell you that the secret to girls in this stage is one thing.
Karaoke machine.

It was a joke Christmas gift for my boys and the girls in the neighborhood LOVE it.

It is so painful for my 10yo but he is getting into girls and deals with it for droves uninvited visits.

It is so bad it is really funny. Like an ongoing episode of Goldbergs in my home.

[Anonymous]

I have an 11 year old and I think girls secretly still like pretend play at that age, but think that they shouldn’t. My dd and her friends are not much into boys yet (thankfully!) so when they’re together they do art projects, bum around outside on our swing set, write and act out plays, make a huge mess in my kitchen. I only recall one time that my dd and her good friend were bored and I didn’t intervene. Nothing wrong with feeling the discomfort of boredom and getting through it. Still not a fan of screens at play dates
, but I’m sure that will change next year when they’re in middle school.

[Anonymous]

I have a 6 year old and his friends and he enjoy building marble runs, building train tracks, playing basketball, playing baseball, play board games, playing card games, making up their own games.

We call them play dates only because they are arranged in advance but really they are kids hanging out and playing, not all that different then when I was a kid. As he gets older there will be less parental involvement and more going to knock on a friends door.