Virtual Playdates 101

Social distancing and school closures during the Coronavirus pandemic have made it difficult for our kids to stay connected. As we all know, social interaction, especially in the earlier years of development, is extremely important. In this blog post, you will find a few helpful tips and tricks to keep your kiddos engaged in social interaction through virtual playdates.

• There are many different apps and services such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, and WhatsApp that make it possible to virtually connect. While on these apps, the kids can connect by playing games together, completing school assignments as a team, or just talking. There are also many different apps that allow kids to play virtual games together other than video games. For example, the app Pogo has games such as Monopoly and Yahtzee. For our younger kiddos, there are simpler games such as Uno.
• Another option for a virtual playdate could be a virtual movie night. If you have a Netflix subscription, Netflix Party allows kids to watch movies together through the app. Within this app, only those that are invited can join the movie link. Pop some popcorn and grab all of the yummy movie snacks for a fun virtual movie night.
• Host a virtual storytime! This one will involve one parent to assist. One adult can read a story to all of the children, and then talk to the kids about it. If you have any early readers, challenge them to read a story to their friends.
• Do some art together! Have each participant/family print off the same coloring page and then each child can color it however they would like with the materials they have on hand. After they color the picture, they can share their wonderful creations with each other! Download a packet of coloring packages from us!
• Have a shared playtime. It’s likely that each child will have playdough on hand. Give the children a prompt of what you would like them to sculpt, or just let them each pick what they make. Again, the biggest fun comes when they get to show off their sculptures!

All in all, virtual playdates are better than no playdates! Let’s show our kids that we can still connect with others and have fun doing so during this pandemic. We are all in this together!

Taylor Bernardez, M.A., BCBA, Behavior Supervisor, Ventura
Tuesday, December 15, 2020