{"id":1349,"date":"2009-03-31T06:36:23","date_gmt":"2009-03-31T14:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/?p=1347"},"modified":"2009-03-31T06:36:23","modified_gmt":"2009-03-31T14:36:23","slug":"what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I really dislike arranging playdates for my kids. It’s not that I don’t want them playing with their friends, it’s that playdates are so limiting!<\/p>\n

A part of it is how often, or rather, how rarely I manage to get other parents to agree to playdates. My kids are available to play with friends so much more often than any of their friends are. Drives me nuts!<\/p>\n

But the other problem is that so often the other parents tell me no because their child has a playdate with someone else. That drives me nuts because I’m just as happy to have group of kids come and play with mine as I am to have just one of their friends over.<\/p>\n

Kind of like when I was a kid.<\/p>\n

We’d go over to one friend’s house to see if they could play. Then we’d go together to get more friends. There’d be a nice group of kids playing together, not just two.<\/p>\n

These days the only time I see a group of kids invited to play together is for birthday parties. I’d love to see them get together at other times too.<\/p>\n

I’m hoping this gets better as the kids get older. I don’t see much sign of it in the neighbor kids, though, so it’s hard to say. I’ve always figured I would rather be the mom with a crowd of kids playing at her house than the mom unsure what her kids are up to. Not that I will mind at all when my kids go over to other friends’ houses.<\/p>\n

What are your experiences? Do your kids get to play with a lot of other kids or is this something your family struggles with too?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I really dislike arranging playdates for my kids. It’s not that I don’t want them playing with their friends, it’s that playdates are so limiting! A part of it is how often, or rather, how rarely I manage to get other parents to agree to playdates. My kids are...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[238,1337,295,297],"class_list":["post-1349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting","category-stay-at-home-moms","tag-kids","tag-parenting","tag-play","tag-playdates"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Happened to Just Playing with Friends? - Home with the Kids Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends? - Home with the Kids Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I really dislike arranging playdates for my kids. It’s not that I don’t want them playing with their friends, it’s that playdates are so limiting! A part of it is how often, or rather, how rarely I manage to get other parents to agree to playdates. My kids are...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home with the Kids Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/homewiththekids\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-03-31T14:36:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephanie Foster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HomeWithTheKids\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HomeWithTheKids\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephanie Foster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Stephanie Foster\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f28bf8730431b6f1377b988605663866\"},\"headline\":\"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends?\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-03-31T14:36:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":307,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"kids\",\"Parenting\",\"play\",\"playdates\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Parenting\",\"Stay at Home Moms\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\\\/\",\"name\":\"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends? - Home with the Kids Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-03-31T14:36:23+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home with the Kids Blog\",\"description\":\"Work at Home in Progress\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Home With the Kids\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/newlogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/newlogo.png\",\"width\":395,\"height\":125,\"caption\":\"Home With the Kids\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/homewiththekids\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/HomeWithTheKids\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/home_with_the_kids\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/hwtk\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f28bf8730431b6f1377b988605663866\",\"name\":\"Stephanie Foster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fcfa59be2a418787ed1692f86012409b1e98340791623ac4b434b144a986445a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fcfa59be2a418787ed1692f86012409b1e98340791623ac4b434b144a986445a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fcfa59be2a418787ed1692f86012409b1e98340791623ac4b434b144a986445a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Stephanie Foster\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.homewiththekids.com\\\/about.php\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends? - Home with the Kids Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends? - Home with the Kids Blog","og_description":"I really dislike arranging playdates for my kids. It’s not that I don’t want them playing with their friends, it’s that playdates are so limiting! A part of it is how often, or rather, how rarely I manage to get other parents to agree to playdates. My kids are...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/","og_site_name":"Home with the Kids Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/homewiththekids\/","article_published_time":"2009-03-31T14:36:23+00:00","author":"Stephanie Foster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@HomeWithTheKids","twitter_site":"@HomeWithTheKids","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephanie Foster","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/"},"author":{"name":"Stephanie Foster","@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f28bf8730431b6f1377b988605663866"},"headline":"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends?","datePublished":"2009-03-31T14:36:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/"},"wordCount":307,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["kids","Parenting","play","playdates"],"articleSection":["Parenting","Stay at Home Moms"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/","name":"What Happened to Just Playing with Friends? - Home with the Kids Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-03-31T14:36:23+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/what-happened-to-just-playing-with-friends\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/","name":"Home with the Kids Blog","description":"Work at Home in Progress","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Home With the Kids","url":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/newlogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/newlogo.png","width":395,"height":125,"caption":"Home With the Kids"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/homewiththekids\/","https:\/\/x.com\/HomeWithTheKids","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/home_with_the_kids\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/hwtk\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f28bf8730431b6f1377b988605663866","name":"Stephanie Foster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fcfa59be2a418787ed1692f86012409b1e98340791623ac4b434b144a986445a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fcfa59be2a418787ed1692f86012409b1e98340791623ac4b434b144a986445a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fcfa59be2a418787ed1692f86012409b1e98340791623ac4b434b144a986445a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Stephanie Foster"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/about.php"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1349\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homewiththekids.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}