There’s something sort of lovely, and sad, when you realize your child has a more active social life, and seems to know more people, than you do. In the past few months, I’ve been shocked at the number of people who have said hi to my daughter while we are out shopping, or out to eat, or just walking along the street.
“Hi Rowan!” a child said to my daughter, while we were buying her winter gear at Sporting Life. “How do you know her?” I asked my daughter. “She went to my camp,” my daughter answered. Then, when we were out for lunch a few weeks later, another child said, “Hi Rowan!” “How do you know her?” I asked my daughter. “She was in my dance class last year.” Then, walking along Spadina Village in Toronto, another little girl said, “Hi Rowan!” “How do you know her?” I asked my daughter. “She goes to my school,” my daughter answered.
Yes, it now seems that my daughter knows more people in Toronto than I do. It makes sense. Once you become a parent, your social life morphs into theirs, in the sense that you are spending most of your free time driving them to school, to dance class, and sending them to camp, where they meet a ton of people. My daughter recognizes other children she knows all the time when we are out. While my social life has gone to crap, since I’m always busy taking her places, and then usually too tired to go out, or want to stay in to spend time with her, her social life is booming.
On top of that, she has birthday parties (which I have to take her too) and sleepovers (which I have to take her too, or which I have to be home to take care of children she has sleep over at our home). It’s actually sort of fascinating to watch. But it also makes me think, “How the heck did I become so unsocial?” But, on the other end, because of my daughter, I’ve met a lot of people I wouldn’t of otherwise of met, like the parents of the children my daughter runs into and says, “Hi!” too or the parents of her friends at school. So, I suppose, in some ways, my daughter has been good for my social life.
Do you feel that your children have more friends than you do now that you’ve become a parent? Do you think having children is good, or bad, for your social life?
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