Do you initiate playdates with new friends?

I have never been socially outgoing in this respect and have never thought to invite anyone for a playdate. But I have run into quite a few moms I did not know that have initiated and invited us for playdates, and it has been very nice. I'm thinking when we move to a new area, I should be more outgoing and do the same thing.

Do you initiate playdates with people you are not yet close with, in order to make new friends for your children?

I am like you and I do not have a very out going personality. I usually wait until the other person to do the inviting. Now that my children are in school and they have a few friends, it is hard to get together with the parents to set up play dates. It is frustrating and it is so different from when I grew up. When I was in school, my friends lived in my neighborhood and we would just call each other to invite each other over. Now my children's friends live in different neighborhoods around the city and in different cities that are nearby. For their sake, I wish it was easier to have play dates for them.

When my kids were younger we joined a playgroup. A few times a week we would get together and go to a park for our kids to pay. In colder months we took turns inviting everyone to our houses for play dates. Now that my kids are older and homeschooled we don't have pay dates very much anymore but they do have friends come over to play. When their school friends are off school I babysit them and they get to play them. We also have a couple big sleepovers every year.

I find it hard, too - I'm honestly quite shy and quiet by nature, and I'm not good at being the first one to initiate something like that! I usually rely on others offering things like that - but I figure I need to start being a bit more outgoing, too. I think sometimes it can be hard as parents when you're not that outgoing, I've found that I've had to break out of my shell a little bit since being a mother.