Top Ten Rules for Children’s Growing Social Activities!

Tell a visiting child friend that “These are the rules in this house. Different houses have different rules, and people in our house follow our rules.” For example, kindly say to a guest, “We don’t say stupid in this house.”

Children who have been angels during a three hour play date can turn ugly when Mom comes to end the fun. If a child is giving a mother or caregiver trouble about leaving a play date, remind the child, “If you have troubles leaving this house, you may not be asked to come back again for a while. If you behave when it’s time to leave, we’d love to have you back to play very soon.”

Children, when allowed, should answer the phone by saying, “Hello.  This is the Charette’s.”  When a person is asked for, the child should say, “whom may I ask is calling?”

Insist on rated G or PG movies and let adults at a house where a child may be visiting know this is a rule the family has agreed to follow. The same goes for video game ratings; no T games to be played in ANY home.

If living near a large town with good facilities, call that town’s parks and recreation department to request a flyer of activities.  Out-of-town participants usually have to pay a minimal amount over the resident fee and may be asked to sign up for activities a few days after resident registration has begun.

Library flyers list classes or story hours that are free and focused on literacy.  Children who are similar ages can meet up early and may be peers for their entire school career.  Libraries in neighboring towns will also accept out of town residents for programs.

If having a first time friend over, always ask their caregiver if the child has any known allergies to food or bee stings and if they are afraid of animals such as dogs.  Be sure to record the caregiver’s cell phone number!

If children have a sleep over at home or at a friend’s, insist they take an hour rest or break on their bed the day after.

Make Friday night movie night.  Sign up for an online DVD movie rental service, use the local library’s video section, or visit the video store.  Make popcorn, hand out drinks with tops, and set up blankets and pillows for fun.

Create an environment in your home that invites children to play and explore. If your house is a cool place to play when children are young, keep it a fun place to hang out as children grow older. The easiest way to be certain your children are making good choices is to provide many good options to choose from!

Kerri Charette is editor of Misadventures of Moms and Disasters of Dads, a parenting humor collection published by "Moms In Print". Kerri is:

1. a mother to five children: three boys (ten, nine, five) and two girls (three and two).
2. a former kindergarten teacher in Ledyard
   
3. the president of the Ledyard Women's club
   
4. a committee chair on the PTO
   
5. a religious education teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes church.

Kerri also hosts a weekly cable television show for the adoption agency Child Adoption Resource Association (CARA) of New London, CT (Kerri's fifth child's adoption was arranged through CARA). The show, "Families in the Making" brings awareness to adoption issues and is seen on the COMCAST Groton Cable Network, Adelphia Cable Network of Norwich and Eastern CT Cable Network serving the Waterford area.

Kerri holds an undergraduate degree in elementary education from the University of Connecticut (1992) and a masters degree in teaching reading and language arts (1999) from Eastern Connecticut State University. For those interested in learning more about the Misadventures of Moms and Disasters of Dads anthology series Kerri suggests visiting
the website: misadventuresofmoms.com.