Last week I heard a discussion on the news concerning structured play date and play time. When I was a child this was unheard of. Neighborhood moms just congregated, they talked, and we played. When I was a littler older mom said go outside and play and I did. For me play time was until dusk when I was called and told to come inside. The only structure I had was when I ignored my mom and continued to play, my twin brother's were sent to call me. They would shout at the top of their lungs, "Momma said to come inside." <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Do you think there is more 'calendar scheduled' time because more mothers are working outside of the home? If not, what is the reason?

Scheduling play time developed out of necessity with dual working parents and kids being over scheduled. No one is at home anymore - everyone is on the go.

I'm fine with scheduling play if it is child driven - the kids talk about arranging playdates. This doesn't work for young kids but for school age kids is very appropriate.

Neighborhoods are not what they used to be. People are not home as much and when home stick to themselves. Given how crazy the world is, parents just don't feel comfortable having their kids play outside unsupervised. Unfortunately, some of these concerns have a factual basis.

If scheduled play does occur, the parents should not intervene beyond that. Kids do best when they decide how and what to play.

That said, a recent report by the American Academy of Pediatrics point out the dangers of too much scheduling and advocates kids have more unstructured time. This will take a bit for some families to pull off but is crucial for our kids in the long run.

We have NO, repeat NO, children under age 15 in our neighborhood. We're out in the boonies. The only chance my children have of interacting with others their age is either at school/preschool or through play dates.

For us, only the time/day/place of the playdate is structured. Everything else is freeform play.

I agree with you that neighborhoods are not what they used to be. Years ago, we were told don't go past Mrs. so and so's house. Neighborhoods were safe havens. In my group, a stay at home mom was a rarity.

Thanks for your response. The American Academy of Pediatrics information is very interesting. Is this the result of a study?

Lynn,

After further discussion, I heard the same thing from other moms. Apparently, it's a real problem for parents. On the up side, it does give parents a chance to have their own playdate's with other parents.