We realize the real value of what we have after we lose it. Years ago, children would enjoy each other’s company, because the world of technologies was only developing.
With time, many children have found interest and comfort online, playing games, and hiding from one another behind the screen. People have lived in the cyber world forgetting about the value of the real one. Today, the tables have turned.
Today, children want to go to school as they have never before! Not only are they excited about seeing one another, they share many stories and news, leaving almost no room for quarrels. Therefore, with the use of Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, and other platforms for communication, you can help your child keep in touch with friends and have a whale of a time!
Kids play dates is the best way to help children socialize with each other, spend time playing and having fun, then here are some ideas of playdate ideas for children. Before we begin, remember, the better the “date”, the more time you can have for yourself.
Check our The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Camping with Kids. Learn tips for having the ultimate great time camping with your kids in your backyard.
BABY PLAYDATE IDEAS DURING SOCIAL DISTANCING
There is an enormous amount of games to play, all you need to do is look them up online, or to spend some time brainstorming. Because the second option is a little time-consuming, I have decided to do it for you! Here are some general ideas that will be interesting for children of different ages.
Monopoly
Some things just never get old and Monopoly is one of these everlasting things. Depending on a child’s age, you can either let a little one host the game (if a kid knows how to play it and explain to other players) or be a host yourself.
Charades
You will find Charades almost in all kids playdate ideas. Children act out an action, verb, or an animal. Besides, considering how creative kids are, they can come up with even more interesting ideas for the game. For instance, act out a character from Disney cartoons.
UNO
Is a second all-time-favorite game. This is the game that does not need a host, but in case children are new to this game, spend some time explaining the rules and help kids manage the game. As soon as they grasp the idea, you can carry on with your plans.
Stand-Up Show
People say that laughter prolongs life, and what can be better than laughing and having fun in a circle of friends. In the era of memes, it is easy to create this atmosphere. Kids can collect memes, or come up with their own jokes (which is great because the process requires creativity) and create a Stand-Up show.
Books
Nowadays, more and more kids start to read books. Therefore, you can organize a child’s play date where each one of the participants can read a passage from a favorite book aloud. This way, kids get to know each other and they practice reading aloud.
DIY-Enthusiasts
Children love creating things and getting all messy in the process. Mind the child’s age, because the younger the kid, the more help from parents it might need. Therefore, choose something that children will be able to do on their own or with minimal help from their parents.
Besides, you need to think in advance about how messy things can get, or whether children have everything they need to play. Preparations might take some time, but the result is worth it!
Drawing
Regardless if a child can or cannot draw, you can make this drawing contest fun. Ask children to draw a portrait of one another. However, to make things even more fun they need to use imagination.
For example, give them the background idea, saying that they are in a Disney movie and they need to depict one of their friends as a princess/prince. Kids will get creative and create their own plot of the story.
“Magic Time!”
There is no need for you to turn into David Copperfield and turn the child’s play date into “Now You See Me 3”. Instead, look for some tricks online and help your child get ready for a performance.
“Show Me Your Talent”
We all know that children are the best singers, dancers, and performers. Sometimes it seems like they have no fear!
Therefore, you can organize a talent show for children, where each one of contestants will be displaying their talents. Some can dance, sing, play a musical instrument, recite a poem, show drawings, etc.
Check our Exercise Activities for Kids to Get Them Moving at Home. Learn different ideas on how to engage your child into activities to keep them active and healthy.
BINGO!
BINGO is a game of all time. Thanks to the internet you can find different BINGO cards and themes that your children might like.
Not only is this a great wat to have calm kids play date, but it is also a great way to bond with family. You can have fun with those around you, or call your relatives, who will be happy to have a chat and play BINGO.
KIDS PLAYDATE IDEAS ACCORDING TO CHILD’S AGE
There are hundreds of thousands of ideas when it comes to games. Sometimes it might be difficult to find games suitable for children of different ages and mindsets. Therefore, here are some child’s play dates ideas grouped according to a child’s age and abilities.
Kids under 5:
- “Who I am?”
Based on cartoons or book characters, children can take turns and portray one of their favorite characters while other kids guess.
Usually, the winner gets the prize, but because it might be difficult, you can think of an alternative. For instance, a “wish voucher” on a bar of chocolate or use it after it is allowed to go outside. Be creative!
- Scavenger Hunt
This is something children will like! What is also great about this game is that either you can be a host or one of the kids (who shows initiative) can host it.
Make rules and tasks simple and plain, so that children will not find it too difficult. Explain how things work and get started!
- Watch and Repeat
What can be better than gymnastics? Children can take turns and show some moves, which their friends will have to repeat.
Things get very smiley and funny as soon as the children get really creative.
- “Simon Says”
with grandparents or other family members. Old-school and simple games can make both children and relatives happy. At times like this, games are the best way to take the mind off isolation and news at least for 30 minutes.
- “Let’s build a town!”
A fun game with building blocks for children will occupy kids for some time. You can give each child a personal task.
Someone can build a house, someone else can build a school, etc. Together you will create a town and even think of people or creatures, who live there.
- Sing songs
Baby Shark is not only a child’s ultimate favorite it is also mine! Children love singing and dancing.
Even though a concert has good chances of turning into a little chaos, it is still joyful. Create a baby play dates playlist and let children have fun.
- Write Letters and Postcards
Nowadays letters and postcards are not as popular as they used to be, because of social media. Why writing letters, if 3 emojis can say more than 10 sentences?
However, writing actual letters is a lot of fun! You can organize a play date, where kids will be writing letters to one another, decorating or making envelopes, signing ready postcards, or creating their own. Kids can write some words of support for their friends and relatives and then send them out.
Check our Mindfulness Activities for Kids at Home. Teach mindfulness to your kids at an early age so you can help them learn to deal with various stressors, both now and as they get older.
Kids under 5:
- Pop Quiz
Kids love competitions, especially when questions are built around topics they know and love. These can be movies, games, social media stars, and other things that children take interest in.
You can find questions online or create them yourself. Create your own rules or follow standard ones, everything depends on you.
- Lego
Lego is kryptonite for both children and adults. Therefore, you can either give children complete freedom to build whatever they want, or you can find Lego builds online and everyone will be doing the same thing.
- Lip-sync and “Read my Lips”
These are very popular among people of all ages. You can have a lip-sync performance, where other children will be guessing the name of the song.
“Read my lips” is more versatile because you can be guessing anything. You can ask kids to write down the ideas of songs and things to show. After, choose randomly one thing or song and let other kids guess.
- Fashion Show
A perfect theme for a girl’s play date. These days, make-up tutorials, and pictures of fashionable girls on Instagram and Pinterest are extremely popular.
Therefore, girls will love the fashion show. Of course, it does not mean tons of mom’s ruined make-up tools. Let a girl wear the clothes she wants and show it to her friends like a real model on the runway.
In addition, you can turn things upside down and create clothes from anything you can (toilet paper can also be used as a material for a dress)!
- Cooking Together
One more thing you can do is to cook something easy and yet delicious together with friends. For instance, you can show how to make popsicles and everyone else will be repeating after you.
- Talk Show
This is an interesting thing to do. Children love to communicate and tell different stories.
You can host a talk show, ask kids interesting questions, and tell stories, share some news, lifehacks, and ideas. Basically, children are getting to know about each other’s day and feel a little bit closer to one another.
- Theme Party
This can be also an idea for a birthday playdate! Choose a theme for a party, costumes (DIY costumes are a great idea), games, and discussion topics.
You can use anything that corresponds to a chosen theme, so be creative.
PLAYDATE IDEAS FOR BIG KIDS
This is for children, who can pretty much entertain themselves without an adult’s help. However, you can still help them make things more interesting rather than just texting and talking on the phone.
Play dates with kids are not exclusively about tons of creative work and different activities that keep a kid occupied. Here are some ideas you might like!
- Netflix Party
Netflix has created an opportunity for people to stream the same show or movie for a few people simultaneously.
Also, viewers can connect in the app and chat. Create a great movie night with popcorn in a circle of friends and let children relax.
- Sport and Yoga
Although we all are staying at home, we need to move more! Because “active life” is paused, for now, sport is a must.
It is really difficult to make yourself do something, especially when gadgets and couch beckon you saying “Later my friend, later.” You can find a video with exercises and kids can do yoga or other activities together. Besides, it is easier to do these things together.
Check our Stress Relief Activities for Kids at Home. Learn how to help your child relieve stress at home through simple home activities!
- Admit it or not, but children need them. They have chat rooms, where they meet up, play games, plan strategies, and simply rest from reality.
- Write a book
Okay, it might sound a little too massive, but why not? Start a book club, discuss your favorite books, poems, short stories, and comic books.
Children can create a story together and write it down. It is a lot of fun, because not only do kids think out of the box, they develop and build up love for literature. This might be a lot of fun! Maybe they could create a bestseller?
SCREENTIME
Parents used to establish time limits for children, because homework, housework (cleaning up the mess in a child’s own room), and live communication were much more important than videogames. Nowadays, we spend almost 24/7 at home, without an opportunity to meet up with friends, relatives, go to school, or to work.
The world has changed and so have priorities. People used to escape reality because they could, but today they do this because they need to.
Some say that games are evil but the World Health Organization (WHO) says that it is an effective way of coping with reality. Therefore, you might want to revise the time limits you have set for kids and let them play more.
After all, kids are not only playing, they are chatting with friends and new people they team up with online. Some kids just have video calls with their friends and laugh on funny filters they find online.
When it comes to online lessons, you cannot limit them, because of the curriculum. Children get material to study, so they need to spend quite some time in front of the screen. Regardless, there must be limits.
The virtual world has its benefits, but the real world is also important. Besides, gadgets have a bad influence on a child’s mental health. Therefore, set time limits for children and be adamant.
Try using the time you have on isolation bonding and getting to know each other better. Remember that in order to be happy and healthy, you need to take care of your body and spirit and it means balance between the real and the virtual worlds.
FINAL WORD
We live in an unpredictable world, where you never know what may happen next. COVID-19 has taken us all by surprise and has shown what really matters. We got the time to stay home, get closer to a family, and deal with some of our problems.
This is a long shot, but we are on a right track. We have faced many challenges, among which we have a child’s free time. These little energizers can run around without getting tired all day long.
Therefore, finding methods to entertain little ones is also, what can give you some spare time to meditate and see your plans through.
Check our How to Cure “I’m Bored!”–Best Activities to Keep Kids Busy & Happy. Learn some ideas for activities that kids can do to keep them from getting bored quickly.
Kids need to rest mentally as much as you do, for these are difficult times for us all. Therefore, help little ones find the best way to entertain themselves and socialize. Baby play dates are a great option!
The playdate ideas presented above are only a few of many. You can create your own games and host your child’s play date whenever you want to.
When organizing a play date, be sure to consider children’s age, opportunities, and preferences. These playing sessions do not have to last for hours. You can set a time limit, for instance, an hour or so (because it is difficult for small kids to focus their attention on one thing for long).
Be considerate and inclusive, try involving all kids in the playing process. If one of the kids wants to be the host of games, you can let it be.
Explain the rules and monitor the process. However, if you see that children (older kids) are doing great on their own, you can just check on them from time to time.
Balance time children spend on- and offline. Pay attention to mental health and stay safe.
Check out this Cutest Little Bunny Bodysuit for your little one!
- 10 Easy Father’s Day Drawing For Kids That Make The Perfect Gift - June 12, 2022
- 10 Amazing Mother’s Day Drawing Guides (Easy Step-by-Step) - May 22, 2022
- Easter Drawing Special: 10 How To Draw Easter Step-By-Step Guide - April 17, 2022