Do you ever find yourself struggling when you are at someone's home and your child is not acting kindly?

What do you do?

🌟 Squat down and be at their eye level and say "hmmm, it seems like you are really having a hard time right now playing with your friend" (ie: you really want to have that toy but your friend is playing with it but when he is done with it you may have a turn). 🌟Your child continues to want a toy and starts screaming. What do you do? Squat down and say "Hmm, you are still having a hard time. I think your body needs to take a break." If your child is starting to kick and scream..tell them: " I am going to pick your body up and move you over here so I can keep you safe." If they have not calmed down after a few minutes and you have checked in to see if they have, that's when you say "Hmm, you are still having a really hard time playing with your friend. It's time that we go home. We may find another time to play" You CANNOT say this unless you are ready to follow through. When you do follow through with this, it will greatly reduce the chance of it happening again. This can happen on both ends of the playdate --at your home, if it's not working, you need to be willing to end the playdate as well.

Keep in mind that playdates are often scheduled after school which is a difficult time because they have already been playing with their friends all day long and have already had that excess stimulation. You know your child best and what they can handle. Sometimes it’s a trial and error of what works best for your kid. No two kids are the same.