When the boy was that age I was fascinated by how the older kids taught him social skills and playground technique. These were strangers kids, not playdates. We have used the playground at the mall and there's a Restaraunt called taco palenque that looks like fast food but has fresh grilled food and homade beans mmm... Sorry, I digress.
Sometimes we'll visit the Mic Donalds for a wild berry "foofy" and. McCafe. I'm lovin' it! The fast food playground is awesome for kiddy interaction because the older ones lift the littles up one more flight on their way through. The other day I had to ask what they were playing because mine had another boy in a corner hitting him with straws and the other had his arms up blocking the blows but not walking away. Turns out that's how you play "swords". You never know who you'll meet on the playground. I'm loosing my good mommy badge by saying this, but we don't schedule playdates. It's whoever's at the playground when we get there. And it's very mixed-age and changes every visit.
That's what my boy's begging for most often when he says "play".
