Come Dine With Me

Come Dine with Me

I noticed last year when my four year old was in nursery increasingly fewer parents picking up children and pairs of children, girls first ponytails bobbing in the wind off to each others’ house for tea – a play date.......

My boy always the late developer was invited on his first play date today, exciting stuff! Or so you think! He was invited by a boy who he really likes, we saw him just outside school once and despite obviously being with him all day and despite my boy being officially (the speech and language therapist put it in her report!) ‘Extremely shy’- my boy screamed, shrieked and bellowed this boy’s name, over and over and over into the wind, louder and louder until the boy finally turned round and gave him a wave!

So, when his mum approached to invite him over I thought he’d be thrilled, actually he was a bit scared and shy and wanted me to come with him.

“I can’t darling” I said, “I don’t know Johnny’s Mum!” - imagining myself, pushily inviting myself along only to sit in uncomfortable silence bar the clock ticking in the poor woman’s kitchen while the kids played merrily...overprotective? I don’t think so but there are just so many things he could get wrong, say wrong or soil!!!

I later heard him say to his Nannie, he couldn’t go because I wasn’t friends with Johnny’s Mum! Worried word might get round in the tight-knit mum community that I was so picky and unfriendly I wouldn’t allow my boy to go on play dates – does word get round like that? Who knows? But just in case..... I arranged for Johnny to come to our house – this suited my first born, he’s usually good about sharing his toys and is happy in his own space.

My boy is quite the follower and copied practically everything his friend did including eating peas instead of the usual complaining so that was a bonus.

It’s been funny watching my first born showing off his toys and a bit heartbreaking realising his Moon Space Station and Lunar Jim do not impress his cool friend who has older sisters and playstations and Xbox and a wii. Eventually we found some action men and transformers kindly donated by his big cousin that seemed suitable fun.

It is a little un-nerving hearing his friend – who is a very sweet normal five year old talk about ‘punching in the face’.......but only the baddies at least, my attempts at, ‘Well we could take them to jail.....’ not really taken up either boy, and I’m sure I even noticed a look of scorn contemptuously flash across the baby’s face, punching in the face being the only way they could conceive of dealing with baddies! I not for the first time and without doubt not for the last worry again about bringing up boys......