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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
DS (my oldest) started K last fall. We were relatively new to the area and I was excited to use school as an opportunity to meet other parents.  Over the course of the school year, there were 2 families that we ended up connecting with and having our kids do some playdates. There were other parents that I met throughout the year who I liked, but sometimes it did not seem like they were interested in connecting (e.g., if they had older kids and a busy schedule). At times it felt a bit like I was back in high school trying to navigate the social scene...not something I've felt I had to do in years!

I'd love to hear about other people's experiences connecting with other parents (particularly interested in the early elementary school years).

Specifically:
- How old are your kids and how many other parents/families would you say that you are close to or that your kids have regular playdates with?
- How long did it take to get to the point of feeling like you were actually friends?
- Are you someone who tends to initiate playdates? How do you decide when a good time to ask would be? Personally I tend not to initiate, or I might say something like "it would be great to have a playdate sometime" without actually scheduling something, as I'm not sure if the other person is interested.
-  Any advice for someone who is eager to make friends, but understands that everyone is busy or may already have enough people in their lives?

[/quote]

Ha OP I so.hear you on the "feeling like HS" in that navigating new friendships well into adulthood feels so fraught!

My kids are 1st grade and preschool. There are about 5 families that I would say we are genuinely friends with from elementary school. Got to know them in K. They are all in our neighborhood (ours kids walk to school in the morning so parents repeatedly met at dropoff) and we belong to a neighborhood pool. I say this to emphasize it took a lot of interaction before it felt natural and comfortable and really like "friends" somewhat organically.

Playdates are great and I do initiate but so did these other families. It felt mutual.

From there we started getting invited to family events like Halloween ToT together and then hang out at someone's house with a move playing outside for kids and drinks for adults. We reciprocated with BBQ and mixed these with other friends and neighbors. Another family organized a ski weekend that was very open (sent to a whole bunch of people). It takes people initiating and not necessarily knowing how receptive everyone will be - maybe helps to have 1-2 people you know are interested.

It's not for everyone and it doesn't always work out but it's like striking gold. We have some preschool families that are friends too. Some might say these won't last but fine - they are providing a lot of value and companionship and kid connection in this season regardless.

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of these families don't have a ton of family nearby. So they are looking for community. And we are mostly transplants from other places. Despite some DCUM negativity I do think there are a lot of ot DMV folks looking for a village like this.[/quote]

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