Firstly, if you’re one of the moms that I regularly playdate with, I’m sorry, but I warned you that I’m kind of an introvert–did you know I was doing these things? Well, now you do and you can laugh a little at me now that you know my tricks. To all you lovely mommies that are introverted like me, I hope these 10 Tips to Help Introvert Moms to Survive a Playdate really do help you–mostly help you see what I do to make it through and maybe you can do them to. Or not. Because, frankly, since I’m an introvert, I’m too worried about where to place my feet without bringing attention to myself than what you’re doing, so you can totally do these things or not because I’ll NEVER notice. Heh.
10 Tips to Help Introvert Moms to Survive a Playdate
- Dump-and-RUN! The idea here is that your kid is on this date alone. This was not your date, mom. Gimme a break. Ok, so maybe this isn’t what your kid wants, or the other mom, or the other kid. But, really, sometimes you just have to cut your losses. P.S. I have never actually done this–but want to SOOOO bad. Every time.
- Cook–During the Whole Thing. I like this one. If it’s a playdate at my house, I totally “forget” to cook. At their house? I offer to bring something to cook. Then I spend FOREVER jacking around with food. Because that’s way more comfortable than making eye contact with anyone. Got my back here, introvert moms? Yup.
- Play with Your Kids. You don’t need that mom, or that other kid. Why are they even here? Oh, yeah, right, it’s their house–and their toys. But you can play with them with your kid. It’s ok if the date’s a little awkward, right?
- Do Something Terribly Awkward. It’ll break the ice when you pop-out your boob to breastfeed your 4 year old. Oh, heck, it’ll break the ice when you do it to feed the newborn. Because everyone wants to see your boob. You’re an introvert–you should know that by now.
- Giggle Maniacally at Everything. Don’t worry–you’ll know real quick if you’re overdoing it because the other mom will “magically” have an appointment reminder suddenly pop-up on her phone that she completely forgot. And then the playdate is over. PERFECT!
- Have an Appointment Reminder Suddenly Pop-up on Your Phone. It works. Makes that awkward date be over in like HALF the time. Also works if the other mom is laughing maniacally at everything. See #5.
- Double-Stack with a Nap. Only agree to go on a playdate about an hour before nap time. That way you can limit the length of the date. Because we wouldn’t want little Susie to not get her nap–she’s a beast in the evenings when she misses it. Literally. We come from a long line of werewolves. BTW–this is my favorite tactic to use for playdate scheduling.
- Drink a Lot of Water. This way, you can spend more of your time in the bathroom than you do actually in the room with the other mom. Just don’t over-do this idea and take Ex-Lax…you don’t want to have an awkward bathroom moment where you have to abandon your kid to escape embarrassment. Because then, introvert moms turn into died-of-embarrassment-moms.
- Do a “Walking” Playdate. Like going to the zoo or the aquarium. Anywhere you don’t have to make eye contact. Because, we all know, that’s like the HARDEST thing when you’re introverted. For reals. So just walk side-by-side (or jog, which is even better) and don’t really let your kids play together since they’re each in their own stroller…much better that way.
- Hyperventilate Quietly. If you’re super-smooth about it, the other mom won’t notice. Just keep the wheezing to a minimum. It’ll all be over in an hour or so when one of you has an appointment magically appear on their phone…so just be quiet about freaking out and you’ll be fine…fine…fine…
