Why do my kids always wan't to play at their friends instead of at home?

Question

My daughter is 4 and my son is 2 and they both play together a lot at home, especially on the weekend. Something has been bugging me a bit lately and it started since we moved into our new house a few months ago. There are a lot of great kids around in our neighborhood and they all seem to get on great but my daughter (and sometimes my son too) seem to always be eager to get out the house and go play with the other kids at their house or outside.

I spoke to my wife and asked why the other kids don't come over to our house and she said that maybe it is because we don't have enough toys or things to entertain them with and while this is true (we just moved in) I am worried that it is not the only reason and that maybe she doesn't like being at home around her family. My daughter is very curious and outgoing so she doesn't exactly wait to be invited anywhere so as soon as she hears other kids playing next door or outside she is just dying to get out there. I like this about her personality but wonder if she also needs to be taught to play more with her brother at home like some of the other kids do and not jump to the opportunity of playing with other kids or going to there house.

I guess playing in a common area is not really what bugs me but rather them going to other peoples houses always instead of sometimes the kids playing at home or bringing their friends round too. Has anyone else had a similar situation?

Answer 1

Well, do you have contact with the parents drom the other kids? If you have, you could talk with them about, what they are playing. So you know, if it is just because they have toys there, that they don't have at home.

But even if not, if you just moved there a view month ago and your daughter has met a lot of kids, it takes a lot of time until she discovered everything other children might have. In that case it would also just be discovering.

I know, that I always loved the toys from other children more than my own, simply because I got used to my own, I would assume the same in general and there is no real reason to stop that behaviour. If everything, you might use the cance to get used to it, the older children get, the more they behave like that, unless something isn't right.

The only bad thing, that at least I can think of, is that there is a big difference in the strictness from your home and other homes. It could be that ether, you are too strict or the other parents are too lax on their children. That is something you could also check in a conversation with tos kids parents.