When you’re raising school-aged children, it’s pretty easy to make friends with other parents. I’ve spent many years enjoying the friendships I’ve made simply because my kiddos made friends at school and those kids have nice parents. We have gone on holidays with these families, celebrated birthdays together, enjoyed barbecues and swim parties. My mama friends have provided each other with a listening ear, a supportive hug, sound advice and countless glasses of wine over the years.
I noticed a bit of a change when my eldest child started high school. He talked about many new friends and I met a few of them, but I didn’t know or meet any of their parents. It felt a bit weird to me – to not know the parents of my kid’s friends.
One night my son had a bunch of his new high school friends over to hang out, eat pizza and generally take over the house with their gaming computers and devices. I thought it would provide me a nice opportunity to meet the parents when they did the drop off or pick up.
At the end of the night, the boys would leave one by one yelling out a “thank you” and running out the front door. I would run to the door to ask where the ride was and the answer was always the same: “My mom texted me from the court and told me she was here, so I should come.”
What? Parents of teenagers don’t come to the door? Don’t they want to meet me? Don’t they want to see who their kid is hanging out with? As time passed I figured out that if I want to meet these people, I needed to throw on my shoes and go greet them in the car. Sometimes I invite them in for a glass of wine and a chat, and often they’d accept.
Teenage territory can be tough to navigate and I know some teens set rules for how visible their parents can be, but heck – I’m a social gal who likes to meet the people in my kids’ lives and I intend to stay connected to my kids, their friends and their friends’ families!
Do you have kids in elementary school? Are you close with their friends’ parents? Did your parents know your friends and their families when you were in high school?
