Is there a toy etiquette?
When you take your children for a visit to someones home, shouldn't you make sure your kids pack up the toys before you leave? Or pack them up yourself if your child is too small or is refusing?
What about breakages?
If your child breaks another child's toy, shouldn't you offer to replace it? Or at the very least, offer a humble apology?
This may all come as common sense to many....but it's on my mind because I have been experiencing play dates of late that have ended rather rudely. Where toys have been left a mess, or something has been broken and the parent is aware of it but doesn't so much as acknowledge it.
When I take Jack out to other kids houses, I encourage him to help Muma with tidying the toys before we leave...even if the child of that house is still playing, an offer of tidying is the right thing to do....as the parent of the house, of course it is also polite to let the departing guests know it is ok to leave the toys out for your child to continue play....but this itself shouldn't be taken as a standard order, it is nice to check the next time you visit again ;)
If Jack were to break or damage another child's toy, I would be embarrassed and offer to fix or replace as best I could, certainly make every effort to apologise for the incident.
I have been continuously finding that amongst groups of kids, I'm the regular parent stepping forward and cleaning up at the end of play....we all have our hands full with tired out kids, a little help would be nice!
Acknowledgement of wrong doing by your child at the very least would be appreciated in circumstances of toys being broken or damaged or anything else in the house going wrong.
For example. surely you want better morals in your child then to let them think they can take random bites out of other children's toys and that is ok? Jack had a footy in his toy box that a child took several massive chunks out of by biting it.....the child's mother didn't even talk to the child about it, nor offer to replace it, and apart from acknowledging she saw the incident, certainly didn't apologise for it. That's not ok in my book.
Where are parents morals?
3 rainbow comments:
i totally understand you on the always the one puting the toys away, i attend a playgroup run by mums for mums and i am almost guaranteed to be the only one to get things out and put them away, but thats how its always been i guess i love seting up all the diffrent activities but atleast someone else could help with the clean up and not sit gasbagging with the other mums
I agree if you go to someone elses house and your child plays with the toys, it is polite to leave that house in the state it was when you arrived. so if your child has emptied all the toys out of the toy box whilst visiting take the time before you leave to clean up. I know as a grandparent it is frustrating particularly with a sore back to have to clean up when everyone decides to leave in such a hurry. what is so important that the decision is made to leave and everyone is whisked out to the car so quickly that there is no packing up or good byes.
im with you there...
i try to offer to help pack up.. although in my house we generally leave toys out and we put them all away once kids are in bed..
but if things get broken an offer to replace should be made
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