How to make friend with other preschool parents?

[Anonymous]

My LO is starting a new preschool in September and I'm hoping to find a few other families we can become friends with. We are very cordial and chat/joke at drop off with other daycare parents where she is now, but it's never gone beyond that. Do we just say "hey do you guys want to come over for a playdate sometime?" I know this is probably silly - but it's something I've been hoping to work on. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My LO is starting a new preschool in September and I'm hoping to find a few other families we can become friends with. We are very cordial and chat/joke at drop off with other daycare parents where she is now, but it's never gone beyond that. Do we just say "hey do you guys want to come over for a playdate sometime?" I know this is probably silly - but it's something I've been hoping to work on. Thanks!

Pretty much. Make inclusive playdates.

[Anonymous]

Yup. "Larla talks about Sophie all the time at home--we were wondering if you guys would like to come over for a playdate one weekend."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yup. "Larla talks about Sophie all the time at home--we were wondering if you guys would like to come over for a playdate one weekend."

+1 This is what you do OP.

Also, go to the birthday parties and other events other families are putting on.

[Anonymous]

Yes! And if anyone stays to play on the playground afterwards—stay! That’s how I met some of my closest friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My LO is starting a new preschool in September and I'm hoping to find a few other families we can become friends with. We are very cordial and chat/joke at drop off with other daycare parents where she is now, but it's never gone beyond that. Do we just say "hey do you guys want to come over for a playdate sometime?" I know this is probably silly - but it's something I've been hoping to work on. Thanks!

One of the other daycare parents said this to a few of us when we were waiting for our kids and suggested we exchange numbers. I was so glad she reached out, because I was too shy to ask for someone's phone number but did really want to get to know other parents/set up playdates. I think "hey do you guys want to come over for a playdate sometime?" is a great thing to say!

[Anonymous]

How are you interacting at drop off/pickup? There is purposefully limited/no interaction with our setup at school.

Our school has us check-in and then we are individually walked back to a drop off point. Pickup requires questions and temp check and then we are allowed to walk back to the room but not enter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are you interacting at drop off/pickup? There is purposefully limited/no interaction with our setup at school.

Our school has us check-in and then we are individually walked back to a drop off point. Pickup requires questions and temp check and then we are allowed to walk back to the room but not enter.

There is usually a (socially distanced) line of us waiting for our kids to be brought out.

[Anonymous]

Do you live close to the school? If so, many of the families are probably neighbors. We live far away from our school, which has made it difficult to make friends, as most of the families live in the same community and hang out every weekend.

[Anonymous]

Birthday parties or plan a playdate in a park. People will appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

Invite someone to a playdate in a park. With new folks, it's best if it is a low commitment - i.e an hour chatting in a park while the kids play. If you like them and would like to get to know them better, you could invite them to a longer outing, like apple picking or whatever.