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Moms, I need to know, has this ever happened to you? Last evening, my neighbor came over and proceeded to tell me that her almost 4 year old has been asking for a play date with my almost 6 year old for several weeks now (almost accusingly as if it were negligent on my part not to have suggested it earlier). Now my daughter loves to play with just about anyone and has always enjoyed playing with this little girl. We have had several "play dates" that this mom has always initiated. I have no problem with these but I don't care for this mom too much so I really do not do much to further this relationship. She is a little too pushy and opinionated and to be honest, annoys me quite a bit. The little girl is nice enough but is very bossy and with my daughter being equally as bossy, there are often arguments. There are also some issues with the age difference and the fact that I suspect she only wants to come over to play with my children's toys and not my daughter. Most of the time, she just bounces from toy to toy and when my daughter asks her to play with something she says "No, I don't want to".

My children also have been taught to clean up one mess before making another and when ask to help this little girl says "No thank you, I don't want to". All that withstanding, I have no problem with the occasional play date but I think it is a little pushy to always expect it to be at my house. Is it me? Should you go to a neighbor that you don't know that well and ask for a play date and then once it is agreed on say "OK, I'll bring her over at ...." Is this the way that mothers generate friends for their children in today's world? Or am I being a sucker? My friend says that this is the case. She says that since I do not care for the neighbor or the child that much, I should just say no. I want to maintain friendly neighbor status with this family but I do not think we will ever be friends. I personally feel that if you are going to initiate the date, you should host it. Even though I don't care for this neighbor too much, I don't fear for my child's safety in her home. She appears to be a good mother and her home appears to be a safe environment and the play dates are never for more than an hour or two. I would reciprocate the invite if it were ever an actual invite instead of a invite yourself. What would you do?

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