Playdates For Winston?

I have often been a delinquent mother for Winston. My delinquency manifests itself in many ways. I did not want to go through an extended struggle with his potty training, so I waited until the last possible minute to train him, making him the oldest kid in his class. Even now, he has to poop standing up, which means that he will let me know that he wants to poop, and I will put on a diaper on him so that he can poop. I have not trained him to eat all kinds of vegetables and meat, which means that his diet is still very narrow in scope, which perhaps contributes to his periodic constipation. I have not taught him anything since hiring a part-time nanny who takes him out after dinner every day to the nearby elementary school, where for all I know he could just be walking around doing nothing while the nanny chats on the phone. 

But I have certainly been good at arranging playdates for him. I have a playdate almost every weekend arranged for him. It's often with friends of mine who happen to have kids of similar age. Today we had another one. The kids did not really play together that much. Winston certainly did not play with anyone, but he was happy to be around a lot of people. The other kids did play together at times. I then made the observation that I perhaps arranged these playdates for myself really – so that I could have a chance to chat with my friends when the kids are presumably socializing. I do pay constant attention to Winston, but I also have fun chatting with friends. There is a reason why I have never scheduled any playdates with Winston's classmates – it would then be entirely for Winston. 

Of course, I then tell myself that Winston already spends 5 days a week with these classmates, in which case there is more reason for him to be exposed to other kids and other adults on the weekends! 

There is no limit to how much human beings can rationalize behaviors and choices in the best way imaginable. That is human nature.