Playdates can be a source of anxiety and worry for parents of learners who encounter social barriers that prevent them from being socially successful with peers. Setting up a playdate, however, is extremely important because repeated social exposure and practice is the only way your learner will be able to gain important skills to be socially successful. Practice opportunities are a key addition to any facilitated support learners already receive. So regardless of where your learner is, make an effort to connect with other parents and set up times for the kids to get together. While doing so keep the following tips and strategies in mind to help your child maximize their social success.
Identify a neutral location – This is the key to a successful playdate. Playdates can also take place over a structured community activity such as an ice-cream outing followed by some time at the park.
Keep the playdate short – The goal is to make it and keep it successful, so if you know your child fatigues after an hour, keep the play date to 45 minutes! You want to make sure that your child ends their playdate on a good note so that they can associate it with a positive experience. You can always lengthen the duration of the playdate over time.
Keep the playdate structured – If your child has a difficult time with too many choices or a lack of structure, create a playdate plan. Select things your child likes and preview the plan with them. Role-play the plan and any transitions ahead of the playdate. Select toys and activities that allow you to give each child their separate toys and materials within the same play theme e.g., everyone gets the same craft materials. This minimizes the possibility of conflict your child may not yet have the skills to handle.
Start with a Dyad – Playdates should always start small because the more peers you add into the mix the more complex and stressful the social dynamics can become. Start with a dyad. Then slowly work on increasing the amount of successful duration of playdates and when you feel like a dyad is easy, consider adding another peer to the mix.
End on a good note, even if doing so means ending early – Be aware of your child’s triggers. If you notice that your child’s anxiety or stress levels are going up ahead of when you anticipated the playdate to go to, end the playdate on a good note and set up another time to meet in the future, slowly extending the length of time of future playdates.
Happy play dating!
ABOUT THE PLAY SPACE
The Play Space’s mission is to provide learners ages birth-4 a science-backed, nurturing environment that embraces young children’s natural desire to play to develop socially, physically, emotionally and cognitively under the care and guidance of highly trained professionals within a safe, all-welcoming environment. The Play Space is located at 124 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT. To learn more, visit https://www.thehangoutspotllc.com/what-we-do/