play dates

by BabyCenter

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Heather & Whitney about avoiding bad playdates.

Last night I was out having drinks with a mom friend who posed a difficult situation to me. She said she felt almost bullied by the mother of a boy who wants to spend time with her son. She has tried to avoid the often requested playdate due to the other boy's tendency to punch her son. The mother continues to request they get together.

Related: Why I Want to Raise My Kids Like the Duggars

Yeah, I get it. No one wants their kid punched.

My friend had a positive attitude and told me that she was sure the other boy would soon outgrow his inability to keep his hands to himself, but in the meantime, it wasn't something she wanted to supervise at her house. That wasn’t a message she felt comfortable delivering to this kid's mom, however.

So how do you escape an invitation from a child you don’t want to spend time with? Do you go the avoidance route with "This week is not going to work out for us," time after time? Or, do you brave the confrontation and tell the mom that your child isn't interested in risking bodily harm? Do you have any inventive excuses?

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by OnSugar Blog

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and Carri is one of them. In her latest post to Adventures in Mommyhood, she examines the definition of a play date.

What exactly is a "play date"? To me, it seems like a fancy way of saying, "Come on over so we can hang out while the kids wear each other out!"

Blake and I hosted our first "play date" just a couple of weeks ago and I think it was pretty successful. I do not, however, see how it was any different than my husband and I inviting a couple and their child to dinner. What makes a successful play date? For one, she brought vodka and Sprite (Tami, seriously... if you're reading this, you're invited over any time). Her husband watched the kids while she and I cooked hamburgers and talked crazy mom stuff, which was nice. We have horse property and it's easy to lose a child if you're not paying attention and sometimes I just want to cook and talk crazy mom stuff.

I'm just now noticing how hard it is to find another mom that I get along with. It's not that we wouldn't get along without the kids; it's just that some moms are nuts. Seriously. I met this mom (late 20s, first child) who is way too crazy for my liking. She follows her kid everywhere and watches his every move. How is a child supposed to build self esteem and develop a sense of worth with a mom like that?

To see the rest of Carri's playdate observations, click here. Have some thoughts of your own? Start your own OnSugar blog — it's easy, it's free, and we just might feature your content on LilSugar.