Playdates

Wise ladies who are ahead of me on this -

My twin 5 yr old girls have been begging to have playdates - especially with their former preschool friends. How do I do this with twin girls who don't have the same choices in friends?

Do I invite the friend of one of the twins over over and then hope that the threesome get along? Or do I let each of my girls invite a friend and then deal with 4 - 5 yr olds in the house? Playdates were easy with my singleton, but I am really resisting playdates for my twins!

 

I have found its best to let them invite a friend each, otherwise one always gets left out. Unless u have someone to take the twin that isn't having a friend over I would say for sure two friends, just from my own personal experience.

 

My kids have usually liked the same kids, so with playdates we just invite whatever friends. My best friend is a nanny and mine get along real well with her 2 youngest charges. We've had someone from their class over and it wasn't a problem.

If someone is over that Timothy isn't as good of friends with, I'll let him go play computer games or something while the friend plays in Sarah's room with her. If Timothy's having a good time with someone, Sarah will go play in her own room quite happily. It really hasn't been a problem.

Marissa

 

My twins share a lot of friends. 3 will never work. If you are inviting kids over, more than 1 would work. When it is just the twins and 1 friend, 1 of the kids always gets left out. It's really hard that way. At least for us it is. Good luck!

 

Many times, too, I have one go to a friend for a playdate while the other has a playdate come over.

 

i agree with pp. some of my twins' friends are the same but even if we invite over a mutual friend when there are only 3 one always gets left out. because of that we let them both invite a friend which is really easier than having just the twins at home alone because they all entertain each other! i welcome friends coming over- it gives me a break, haha!

 

Whether or not we invite more than one friend depends on the child. Some kids are just too shy, rambunctious, bossy, etc to work well in a group. Other kids play in a group just fine. In your case, I don't think a playdate needs to be a gathering of soulmates....all children at 5 should be able to play together nicely. I would invite one friend some days & a couple friends other days. I always include all siblings in playdates....sometimes I have 6 or 7 kids here - it makes planning craft time more difficult, but they all play together just fine.

 

I would let each girl invite a friend over. :good:

 

I've been wondering the same thing. With having boy/girl twins, they don't have the same friends. And if you take them to the other child's house and you don't know them or the parents very well, how do you feel about that? I've thought it better to meet somewhere to play so that the mother and I have a chance to meet. I don't know, why am I apprehensive about it?

 

It works OK for us with 3 kids (my twins plus one), but that may be easier with younger kids because they're not as inclined to shut someone out (which I remember very painfully from my own elementary years). Also, they have all the same friends at this point.

We've also done divide and conquer, where I stay home with one twin and the friend she has invited, while DH takes the other one out for some special Daddy time. In your situation, I'd try that (assuming your older DD can either go with Daddy or do her own thing), or else let each of them invite one friend.

 

I would assume at almost 6 years old that any playdate would be drop off. I never stayed with my oldest DD at a friend's house once she went to K. ardon: And I did not, nor did I want, a parent to stay at mine when she had a friend over. So, I would not let her go to a friend's house to play unless I felt I knew the parent.