Anonymous wrote:For us, it seemed to start in K, although I think it sort of depends on your interaction with the parents up to the play date. For instance, pretty much all of the drop off play dates my first grader has been to, we've met the parents several times at birthday parties, school events, drop off / pick up, etc., so it's not like they were complete strangers.
That said, it's not a universal switch, and will vary kid-to-kid, or parent-to-parent. DS has one friend whose parents we know very well, and who (kid and parents) have been to our house several times, but still aren't comfortable with drop-off play dates (parents say the kid isn't comfortable, but it might be they aren't and just don't want to offend or something).
For us, when DS was in K, I would email or text the parent and in the invite say "we're happy to do a drop off play date or you're welcome to stay; whatever you and [kid] are comfortable with." Most did drop off, a few would hang for a bit to make sure their kid was comfortable. Other than the kid above, no one else stayed.
Thank you!