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Toddlers crawl in an event for babies fed with breast milk at a district office in Seoul in this undated photo. The babies in the photo aren't related to the author's children. / Korea Times file |
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I knew play dates were eventually going to become a part of life for me and my girls, but not anytime soon. I mean, it hasn't been long since Babies A and B barely even started recognizing each other, so how can they possibly interact with a third baby?
Well, they proved me wrong this past weekend.
We were visiting a new church on Sunday and that's where the girls entered the world of peer play. It was the first time my twins got a chance to see so many other babies — about 10 of them — in the same age group.
Ever wonder if baby language really exists? Definitely does — I heard a major dialogue unfold in front of my eyes. As soon as I sat the girls down with the other little ones in the nursery, they immediately engaged themselves in a baby-only babble fest.
Pretty adorable scene.
After a few minutes of goo-goo, ga-ga, touching, giggling and squealing, the new friends quickly broke the ice and went right into play.
And that's when I realized that I need a quick lesson in Play Date 101.
While I never really considered myself a person with poor manners, having good play date etiquette seems to be something on a whole different level.
This thought intensified as I witnessed Baby A crawl over to her new friend, snatch her snack container and dump about two dozen crackers on the floor, while out of the corner of my eye I saw Baby B and another baby chew on another baby's used, rolled up diaper.
At that split second, I thought to myself: Do I first apologize to the mom of the baby whose crackers my daughter knocked over, or do I save my baby from feasting on another baby's wet diaper?
Gosh, it was one of those moments when I desperately needed a double. I somehow — somehow — managed to do both at once. I yelled out Baby B's name to startle her so she would stop while I scooped up all the crackers on the floor at the speed of light.
I apologized to the mom for her baby's crackers being no longer edible, but I wasn't sure if it was OK for me to offer some of my girls' snacks. I know some parents are very picky about what their children eat, so I didn't want to put her in an awkward spot. I ended up making one of those shy, passive offers.
Over at Baby B's diaper-eating situation, I didn't want to be like, "Ew, put that dirty diaper down," as I thought that might somehow offend the mom. I know every mom is different and I also know that some moms even consider their child's dirty diaper quite special.
Now am I being too sensitive? Maybe I am, but I couldn't help myself, probably because it was my very first time in a play date-like scene. So many babies and so many unexpected situations.
After about an hour and half of playing referee, all of us came home in one piece.
There were other minor incidents where either one or both of my girls did harm to another child's property, but I won't go into that. Let's just say I made a lot of apologies that day.
Last Sunday clearly taught me that I'm a play date amateur. I have another — official one — scheduled for later this week.
I don't know how I should prepare myself and the girls but all of us better behave so we can fit into our new social circle around here. By the way, we moved to a new neighborhood, thus all these new situations.
Stay tuned for Play Date Part Two.
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