Playdate Wednesday

Playdate Wednesday

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

My father-in-law, Bill, chuckled as he told me that while his wife, Connie, had asked about academics during elementary school conferences, his focus had been on Aaron’s social skills. As a newly engaged twentysomething, I’d never stopped to consider that social interactions might carry the same importance as academics.

I only knew Bill while he was in the midst of multiple battles with cancer, and he passed away a year after Aaron and I married. An exceptionally kind and thoughtful man, his funeral was packed. When the pastor invited people to share their stories of Bill, stories poured out about how, as a social worker, Bill went above and beyond in ways that forever changed the course of lives. I remember telling God that I hoped I could be someone who saw people with the same compassion and accuracy that Bill did.

As Aaron and I raise our own children, I’ve chuckled on more than one occasion at our own children’s conferences. My first questions are about academics, and Aaron’s are about the social interactions. Aaron inherited the very best qualities of his dad, and he has been, on more than one occasion, a strong advocate in our house for carving out time for playdates.

It is because of Bill and Aaron that Playdate Wednesdays became a thing. Wednesdays from immediately after school until approximately 4:30 are set aside for our kids to invite someone to our house. Is it inconvenient? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Engaging in healthy conflict, compromising, and being trustworthy are relational skills that need to be practiced. Learning to wield those skills is as much a priority in our family as academics.

As Christ followers, we are specifically called into relationship with those around us. Giving our children the tools to have healthy relationships and allowing them time and space to practice the harder parts of friendship on a regular basis is part of our mandate to train up our children in the ways of God, just as our verse today reminds us.

— Julie

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Set aside regularly scheduled time for the children in your life to have playdates with planned debriefings to help them hone their friendship skills.