Hi friends! Hey, do you guys remember the days where we would call up our other mommy friends to whine about mom life and how horrid our little ones were being? Talking to each other about how our significant other didn’t put the toilet seat down. Or helpful tips on how to get markers off the walls? Then next thing you know we’d casually set up one of those things. What are those magical things called? You know the things where we met up and let our kids go crazy while we get a little break? Ah yes, a play date! Well for now at least gone are the days of casual playdates. So as moms what do we do? How do we keep our little ones from going stir crazy whilst giving ourselves a small break as well? Well, it’s simple, hello virtual playdates.
Virtual whaaat?
Virtual playdates are obviously pretty self-explanatory. They are playdates virtually via facetime, zoom, or whatever kinda video chat you fancy. The whole theory behind having virtual playdates is to allow our littles to have that interaction with other kids while staying stay by doing so. When my friend Karen suggested that we get our girls together for a virtual playdate I was like well sure! When the playdate rolled around Ivy and Aria were so excited to see their friend Lia on the screen. They were also excited we already had a cool arts and crafts project set up for them. DIY monsters. Toilet paper rolls, glue, crafty items, and a bunch of imagination. Karen and I let the three of them do their thing. Taking a little break while monitoring them. Later on, that night when the playdate was over they express to me how much fun it was. Honestly, at the time I didn’t realize the huge impact it had on them until a little later when I started thinking. For these little ones it’s more than a virtual playdate it’s something bigger. My friend’s 4 benefits of having a virtual playdate.
Virtual playdate benefits.
1. Staying connected: Social skills are typically developed from a very young age. It’s important we as parents do all we can to help them maintain those. By having virtual playdates little ones are able to stay connected with friends, maintain those skills, and still be able to feel some type of “normal”.
2. Creates tech-savvy skills: Many of our kids are currently doing things like distance learning or using an iPad or tablet in their free time. So it’s no wonder that some of them are more tech-savvy than us. While screentime all day isn’t exactly the way to go, it’s vital at some point in time they know how to use technology. Virtual playdates give them the freedom to do things such as switch screens, mute, control volume, etc. Those small things will eventually create one tech-savvy toddler.
3. Encourages imaginary play: Now this is one of my favorites! I love anything that encourages imaginary play because it allows my girls to be creative. Encouraging imaginary play not only helps with self-regulation skills but also helps develop things like language and problem-solving.
4. They’re freaking fun: After being quarantined for who knows how long virtual playdate offers something special. Something different, something unique and it’s just a fun time.
Go have a virtual playdate!
There are so many more benefits to virtual playdates which is why I teamed up with Karen. You can check out her post for more on all things virtual playdate 101. I hope you guys have enjoyed reading along! Now run along to Karen’s blog and when your done go and have the best virtual playdate ever! your littles will thank you trust me!
