Grace Pointner 

When did play dates turn into dates? As children, other people coordinated spaces for us to gather with friends either for a specific event or just to play. My mother was usually this person, calling other moms to plan tea parties, a game of tag or a walk to the local playground. Now, I wait for someone to ask me on a date or I myself do the asking. Either way, “dates” are no longer organized by a third party, rather, they are planned by two autonomous individuals for a particular purpose.

Similarly, the word “play” has been removed from the concept. The traditional definition of the word play is “to engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than serious or practical purposes”. A playdate was time specifically set aside for this. Now, dates have ulterior motives; they are not for child’s play anymore. But what if they…