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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just need to vent...

Why are playdates so annoying?  I feel like I'm always arranging playdates for my kids, but its rarely reciprocated.  I don't want to hear "we're busy" because I'm busy, too.  I work and my kids have activities 6 out of 7 days a week.  We have a lot going on all of the time, but I manage to find pockets of time for playdates.

Then, I scheduled a playdate and specifically told the parent that they needed to pick at a 4pm because we had a violin lesson at 4:30.  The playdate started at 1:30, so it was plenty of time for the kids to play.  The parent shows up late.  WTF...  complete disregard for my schedule.  And to top it off the playdate comes over at 1:30 and asks "what's for lunch."  My DD says that she already ate lunch.  She said she didn't eat lunch yet and her dad was going to "kill her if she didn't eat lunch here."  We gave her a sandwich, but who sends a kid over to someone else's house at 1:30 without feeding them first?

And, on the flip, my DD goes to her friends house for a playdate which her mom scheduled from 11am to 2pm.  I [b]assumed[/b] they would feed my DD lunch, since that is the typical time for lunch.  Nope.  I should never assume anything.  My DD came home cranky and starving.  She had a popsicle in all of 3 hours.  Next time I will surely ask if lunch will be offered otherwise I will need to pick up.

Its just all of these inconsiderate parents that make playdates so annoying!!  I'm so sick of it.  I will be taking a break from hosting playdates for awhile.

I don't even care that much that I am always hosting because at least I am monitoring what my kids are doing and who they are hanging out with.   And I know where they are.  But it would be nice for my kids to get invited sometimes, too.

So annoying!!!   [/quote]

Op I'd be more careful about the times you schedule play dates if your schedule is so inflexible and busy. I wouldn't schedule a parent to pick up at 4 if I had violin scheduled for 4:30. I'd offer to drop the child off or have the child picked up an hour early OR not schedule the play date for that day/time. I don't even schedule drop off and pick up times when I have play dates though, and we have kids over about 3 days a week during the school year and much more often in the summer. We both work, but we don't overschedule activities.

As for food and play dates, did it ever occur to you that the kid refused to eat or told the parent that you were serving lunch, and then told you a different story? I found out that my child told his friend that he wanted to eat lunch when he'd already been given lunch at home. And I've had children come to my house and want to eat. Thankfully none of the parents I know got annoyed about it and neither did I. Kids don't always give the most accurate details. I also never assume that my child will be fed on a play date, and I dont offer food unless I know the parents so I'm aware of allergies or if the parents have certain rules about what's allowed. So far, none of the friends have any allergies, so they can eat what they want when they are here, but it's rare that anybody asks for food, they are usually too busy playing.

It seems like you haven't found very many good parents yet to do play dates with, but they are out there. I haven't experienced what you have at all and all the parents I've dealt with have been very nice and great at reciprocating play dates. Good luck, I'm sure if you keep hosting play dates you will eventually find a few good families who will not take advantage of you.[/quote]

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