Why I Think Playdates Are An Unnecessary Stress

We all want our children to make lots of friends at school and to play and have fun with everybody. Playdates are a great way for your child to make new friends and also to get to know the new ones they have already made a little bit better.

But are playdates really a necessary part of a child’s school life? Does having playdates put an enormous amount of pressure on mums?

As a working mum of four, I find it stressful to organise and host playdates. I find it difficult to fit in dates with my own husband never mind my four-year-old’s new BFF!

I think playdates are only becoming more and more popular. The pressure is ever growing on mums to host playdates and I, for one, find it unnecessary stress, and here’s why:

I can’t help but feel the pressure of what to “do” when one of my children have a playdate. My little ones have been on some play dates where they have baked or have done some fun crafts and I’ve somehow felt the need to reciprocate. Which is not as easy as it sounds when you have three other children at home, believe me!

We have always been lucky with friends that come to play. But what happens if you bring a friend home and their behaviour is not as good as your children’s. Can you discipline somebody else’s child? If you don’t will your own children wonder, why their friend can get away with this kind of behaviour, but they better not dare!

When a playdate is pencilled in, I feel the urge to scrub my house to within an inch of its life. Children won’t notice or care if the house is a little messy but the anxiety of the mum wanting to come in at pick up for a chat is enough to have me Marie Kondo even my own knicker drawer.

A bit like when I answer the phone, my children like to show off when a play-date is over. Often times it is my own children that are the difficult ones. Pushing the boundaries and knowing they won’t get into trouble if a friend is over!