Hello, my name is Katie and I am an introverted parent. Of course, I was given a very outgoing child who made friends wherever she went and invited the world into our home. She’s still very young so it’s my responsibility to make sure she has fun with her, especially since she’s an only child. She doesn’t yet know my phone number (or even her friend’s name), so it takes some extra effort to set up this kind of get-together.
I admit it—it’s hard, but a new parenting trend might solve all of my introvert woes.
Missouri-based artist Brianna Mulally came up with this brilliant idea and is now selling playdate business card templates on Etsy.
“Liam will go up and talk to anybody,” Mullally told TODAY.com of her 6-year-old son.
When Mullally and her family moved to St. Louis in 2021, she remembers feeling overwhelmed. Liam was ready to start making friends, while Mullally, 34, had just given birth to her second child.
“It was winter and I was taking care of a newborn, but Liam really needed socialization,” Mullally said. In the indoor play space, she would watch in awe as Liam worked the room and introduced himself to other children, And often invite them over to play.
“He always wanted me to arrange play dates, and in the back of my mind I was like, ‘I don’t want to talk to these parents. This is so embarrassing,'” Mullally said.
That’s when she came up with the idea of making business cards for Liam and handing them out to new friends.
Each colorful card has Mulally’s phone number, email and Liam’s name printed on it. The text read: “Let’s have fun! Have your people call my people.
“I always had them with me, but if we were going somewhere where he knew they were needed, he would ask for extra cards,” Mulally said.
Texas-based content creator Vanity Rodriguez went viral after sharing a playdate card her 7-year-old son brought home from school.
“It had a picture of a kid on the front and on the back it said, ‘Let’s hang out,'” Rodriguez, 30, told TODAY.com. The card also contains the phone numbers of both parents and their son’s Roblox username.
“It makes it easier to schedule play dates,” Rodriguez said. “It also helps kids learn how to connect with other kids in a safe way. I just love it.
While some people think this new-age approach is brilliant, others aren’t sold on the idea.
Someone asked on
“I do this! It’s not weird at all. It works! One person answered.
“I would cringe if I received this, even though I’m sure you put a lot of time into this. It would feel very impersonal to me and I would feel like you care more about how many times I can let my kids play Dating, not having quality connections,” another responded.
Another said: “Someone did this in my son’s preschool and I understand the sentiment behind it but I do think it’s a little weird. Maybe let’s get back to good socialization at drop off or something to build it that way relationship and then get your kids together that’s me.
So, is this a completely weird idea or something you’d immediately steal for your own kids?
