Playdates can be tons of fun for both the parents and the kids. Or they can be total nightmares for both. On a personal level, I enjoy play dates. Probably as much as, if not more than, the kids do. I've not had a terrible experience, the kids always enjoy it and since I never go on playdates with women and their children that I don't know, I enjoy the company of the other moms as well. They've almost become therapy for me. I get to talk to an adult, my kids get to play with other children and we always have snacks and coffee. I couldn't be happier.

This is not the case for lots of moms though. Through the grapevine, I've heard some really scary, borderline nightmarish stories about moms and their kids and playdates gone wrong. It hadn't really occurred to me to write anything about playdates at all until a friend shared that she does playdates with a friend of hers but that they can be awkward because she feels that her friend doesn't discipline her unruly child the way that he needs to be. I did some research and found that this happens more often than you'd think. It comes down to gently disciplining the child and risking the friendship or letting the chaotic behavior affect the happiness (and sometimes the safety) of your own children.

I came up with some simple play date etiquette... suggestions really. Click here to see what they are:

http://awannabesupermom.blogspot.com/2012/03/play-date-etiquette.html