A Playdate at Starbucks

A Playdate at Starbucks

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

filed under: jennifer ginsberg

Jennifer Ginsberg: "Do you know that she is drinking your iced tea?"

My friend Jill and I brought our 2-year-old daughters to our local Starbucks for their weekly "playdate"; i.e., we get wired on caffeine and maniacally discuss all of our brilliant business ideas while our toddlers eat goldfish crackers and fend for themselves. This particular morning, we had taken over the Starbucks patio.

Apparently, as Jill and I were brainstorming ideas for the sitcom we are developing (probably along with every other jackass in that L.A. Starbucks), Kiana grabbed my venti iced green tea (no sweetener and no water) and began to chug it. "It's OK, it's just green tea," I replied, and continued to tell Jill about my pilot idea, which included using actual clips of Paris Hilton's sex tape video. "But how do we get the rights for the sex tape?"

When my son Shane was 2 years old, we spent our days at museums and beaches. We built sandcastles, danced in the waves, and explored every park in Los Angeles. He was in music class, Mommy and Me, Toddler Tae Kwon Do, and Yoga for Tots. We had regular playdates which focused on child-centered activities. Most of his waking moments were dedicated toward his enrichment.

This morning, my husband and I took Kiana on a special outing to Costco. And you would have thought the girl was at Disneyland. She had the biggest smile on her face as we shopped for toilet paper and giggled hysterically as her Daddy ran her down the aisles in the shopping cart. While we were in the checkout line, my husband opened an industrial-sized bag of barbecue potato chips and let her eat them out of the bag. She was in heaven.

So, while Shane got the Santa Monica surf and Natural History Museum, Kiana gets coffee-shop patios and warehouse shopping.

But I can guarantee you that at 2 years old, Shane never got to swig from my iced tea or eat chips out of the bag!

Jennifer Ginsberg is a Los Angeles writer and mother to three, surprisingly angst-free children. As a former actress/waitress, turned clinical social worker specializing in addiction, turned full-time mother/part-time psychotherapist/writer, Jennifer is particularly well-versed on the topic of angst.

Find out more about her life at angstmom.com

8 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

I think green tea contains caffeine, sometimes even more than coffee.

- Anonymous

Posted 05/05/09 10:05 AM

I can totally relate. It’s so EASY when you have one. Truly, it is. I remember how annoyed I was when I had one child and people would tell me that! Then I had two sets of twins, and now I UNDERSTAND. It’s so much harder to carve out that special time and still get everything done. I don’t have the energy to walk around the zoo every week! Sometimes a “special day” of shopping at Target and eating sushi at Tokyo Joes is as good as it gets! I hear ya, girl.

- Laura

Posted 05/05/09 10:24 AM

If you are condemning her because of the caffine I think I would rather my kid have green tea than the bag of chocolate that most parents don’t even think twice about giving their toddler…ie M&M’s. Everything in moderation is the best way to do things. It’s interesting for me in that things have been a bit of the opposite in my house where my son rarely did much with me other than snuggle on the couch at a year old my daughter goes on regular outings and play groups simply because now I have more time.

- Jessica

Posted 05/05/09 10:24 AM

I clicked on this because starbucks is not a play date. It is “I’m a selfish parent and I don’t care about how my kids act in public places as long as I get what I want date” Don’t doctor it up with something innocent. I can’t stand when I see parents taking their kids for play dates to inappropriate places. Kids need to play, pick up starbucks on your way to the park and have the same discussion. Keeping 2 toddlers in cafe with customers rushing around with hot coffee….not smart. I wonder too do you pick up after your kids smash their goldfish into the floor or do you leave your trash on the table too and walk right past the trashcan on your way out?

- sharron

Posted 05/05/09 12:38 PM

Sharron, I think you’ve missed the entire point of story - that we treat our 2nd child differently than we treat our first…whether we want to admit it or not. I totally get the point of the story - it’s odd how you missed it. Take the kids out, spend time with them, enjoy them because soon they will grow up and live their own lives - first or second one - just love them and have fun with them! Great article!

- Kat

Posted 05/05/09 06:22 PM

See, this is why people hate SAHMS. Have the playdate at your house. Thank god for drivethru starbucks so I don’t have to deal with you slackers and your neglected kids.

- stephanie

Posted 05/06/09 05:23 PM

Really seems some people are missing the point of this article. I know this writer and she is NOT a slacker with neglected kids….I am shocked at the anger some people about having kids at Starbucks….seems really odd to me. The entire point is that life is different for the second child.

- Heather B

Posted 05/06/09 10:28 PM

Stephanie, did you even read the article? This author didn’t suggest playdates at starbucks…she CLEARLY was expressing the difference in parenting attitude between a 1st and 2nd child. And, this author talked about how much fun she has with her husband and child - and that you called a “neglected kid”? I can only imagine what your comment might sound like if you didn’t have your daily caffeine…

- Mira

Posted 05/06/09 11:55 PM