After school .........

How often do your children have friends round or get invited to their friends after school? When Summer gets an invite to a friend's house I naturally invite that friend back another day a week or two later, but honestly I find with certain children it's such hard work! Normally Summer is glad to be home after school, to have a sit down and a snack; and if she wants to play she plays with Denis. She likes the idea of having friend's round but it can end up in squabbles over who is wearing the Sleeping Beauty costume and who is going to be the witch and who the cat etc. I don't think she would actually ask to see friends after school very often atall if she wasn't invited to their houses or I didn't suggest it. She is at a friend's today and going to another friend's tomorrow. Then next week we have a friend coming here one day and another friend has invited her, but I think I'm going to have to put it off until the week after as she also has swimming mondays and ballet wednesdays. I personally would prefer to have friends round less often after school, but to meet up with some of the chhildren and their mums in the holidays. Is this just me?

When Mikey is at school he either has friends round once a week, or goes to a friends house for tea once a week, all the parents keep it on a semi rota to make sure one person isn't being swamped a few times in a row.

not that often thank goodness lol. catherine has a friend: a very spoilt only child and shes very hard work. shes a nice girl but very demanding and expects you to run round after her. nooooooo lol. jami has a friend over usually over the weekend. shes part of the furniture now and calls me mum sometimes lol

I have to be honest and say that when i was growing up we never really had friends over from school as such. However i was lucky enough to be brought up on an estate. A lot of the kids we went to school with also lived on the estate and we would go out after school and all play together. It was lovely and all the parents doors were always open. We could never get away with doing anything naughty as by the time you got home the jungle grapevine was on the case and we were greeted with a sooo, what have you been up too? hmmmmm? lol like they didn't know! haha. Nobody was ever worried as we were always so close to home and everybody knew somebody was watching out for us. Really there were always people and children in and out of all the houses including mine. I reaslise we were very lucky. I just wish everybody could have the same experiences, i think there would be much fewer problems if things could still be like this now! Mine aren't old enough for this yet. We tend to meet for dates at the park or one of themums will pop over for coffee? I am dreading this whole scenario tbh! lol Xx

I know what you mean mum2popsnjak, when I grew up I was the only 'only child' in the little cul-der-sac we lived in but within yards of our house were a family with 3 girls, a family with a boy and girl and another family with 6 children (3 boys 3 girls). It was great as we were out on our bikes, roller boots or playing dolls and games like 40 40 all the time. was safe as we were close to home and never alone. Some of the houses backed onto the park so we could go over there safely in a group and the top end of the park could be seen from two of the families windows. I wouldn't dream of letting the kids out here until they are older. The road we live in basically has a car park in the middle and flats all the way round. There is the main entrance out of the road then also a couple of alleys leading out of the road in other corners. I'd be too afraid of someone grabbing them and wouldn't even know which exit to take to look for them. It's so sad they can't just go and run free like I used to.

In the village I grew up in, there weren't that many children, but as it was such a small village all the children played together as we all knew each other, even if there was an age gap. When we do go back home for a while Mikey can go where he wants in the village and do whatever really as long as he knows when to come back for dinner, tea and then when it is too late.

mum2popsnjak said:
I have to be honest and say that when i was growing up we never really had friends over from school as such. However i was lucky enough to be brought up on an estate. A lot of the kids we went to school with also lived on the estate and we would go out after school and all play together. It was lovely and all the parents doors were always open. We could never get away with doing anything naughty as by the time you got home the jungle grapevine was on the case and we were greeted with a sooo, what have you been up too? hmmmmm? lol like they didn't know! haha. Nobody was ever worried as we were always so close to home and everybody knew somebody was watching out for us. Really there were always people and children in and out of all the houses including mine. I reaslise we were very lucky. I just wish everybody could have the same experiences, i think there would be much fewer problems if things could still be like this now! Mine aren't old enough for this yet. We tend to meet for dates at the park or one of themums will pop over for coffee? I am dreading this whole scenario tbh! lol Xx

that's how I grew up too Mandy!! I'm assuming by estate you mean what we would call a neighborhood?.... we came home, did homework and then played outside till the street lights came on... In the summer we had night time neighborhood hide and seek games, never could this be done these days, in most places I would think.

I try to keep visits during the school week to a minimum but on the weekends, generally I have her friends over here, so far... she goes to afterschool care and usually does her homework and afterschool socializing there...

At primary I wasn't one for having friends to play or stay. I think because I went to school in the nest town and my school friends stayed there and the 'friends' I had locally did their own things out of school.

At the moment Joseph has never asked for a friend to play (yet) He has had 1 or 2 over last year when he was at nursery but thats it. His best friend goes to the childminders with him so he and Amy play there alot (and mess her house rather than mine or Amy's mums!)

Martha has one really close friend who lives a few doors down so she either goes there or the friend comes here - they are not much trouble as they entertain each other well - it's usually once a month

Not often at all. HOwever Candra has called afew friends by herself. The schoolthat she goes to has kids from varoius places in the city and since I don't have a car I find it difficult to determine who's house is possible to visit often.

caseys not asked for a friend round and also hasnt been invited around anyones. alot of the kids at her nursery have always known each other due to mums being friends. i dont think i would like any of them round incase they maybe dont like what i give for tea or the misbehave, do i disapline them?
we do sometimes go to my friend or she come to ours, she has a lil girl only 6mths younger than casey(not that youd know), theyre best friends. i would be happy to have elle round even to sleep over as i know what she eats and what her behavior is like and how i could disapline her.

It's not just you. I get tired too! there's so much to do... 😀