‘I’m enforcing a 90-120 minute time limit on playdates’ says mum after friend’s ‘feral’ 3-year-old ‘overstayed welcome’
A FRUSTRATED parent has caused quite a stir online after suggesting there needs to be “hard stop on play dates”.
The exhausted mum recalled her recent nightmare experience when she invited her pal and his three-year-old child over for “morning tea,” only for them to stay until 3pm.
Not beating around the bush, she explained how the pair “grossly overstayed their welcome” and didn’t pick up on the obvious hints she gave them to leave.
In a thread shared to Mumsnet, the mum-of-three explained: “Still annoyed about something that happened on the weekend.
“Invited friend and his 3-year-old over for ‘morning tea’ at 10am.
“They arrived at 10:30am, and stayed until 3pm.”
The “annoyed” woman, who has a baby and two kids who are at pre-school age, noted the latter two are “adorable” with their playmates for around two hours before things get “feral”.
However, as two hours passed, there were still no signs of her friend and his three-year-old leaving.
“The three kids running around repeatedly woke up my baby,” she recalled.
“My friend passively observed that this was occurring but made no move to go.
“I made many hints. I did not serve lunch. We were all famished when they finally shuffled off at 3pm.”
I made many hints. I did not serve lunch. We were all famished when they finally shuffled off at 3pm
Mumsnet user
The frustrated mum went onto explain that one of her clear hints included her asking: “So, what else do you have on for today?”
In response, her friend replied that he was “hoping for a nap” as he’d managed to take his child out all day to give his wife time to relax.
Hitting back, the woman replied: “I am exhausted – up all night with a baby. I would love a f***ing nap.”
She concluded by saying she and her husband had “subscribed to there being a 90-120 minute hard stop on play dates,” before going on to ask other social forum users what the socially acceptable limit is.
“Meet in a park or soft play in the future as some people just can’t take a hint,” one mum advised.
How to child-proof your home
AS Amy Childs faces criticism that her lavish new home may not be suitable for kids, here's some quick and easy ways you can child-proof your house.
One thing that Amy will have to do pretty quickly is to install stair gates and the top and bottom of the staircase. This is vital, especially once children are on the move – either walking or crawling.
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Slipping could be a real issue in a house like Amy and Billy’s, with so much marble flooring. Socks with grippers on them could be a good idea, while it will also be important for them to put protectors on sharp corners of furniture to prevent any unfortunate head bumps.
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For more details and suggestions on how to child-proof your home, visit Pampers.co.uk.
A second commented: “I’d have picked up on that hint even if I hadn’t realised I was outstaying at that point!”
They then went on to encourage the mum to find a “more direct way of saying it next time”.
Meanwhile, a third penned: “I agree with the two hours and off you go idea.”
And a fourth, who said they would “hate” to feel like they’d outstayed their welcome and recommended: “[A] good idea if this crops up again would be to say, ‘Come from 10-12. I’m meeting X at 12:30, but it would be nice to see you’.
“Just give an end date of some kind and a reason to be leaving the house shortly after that end time.”