Your child has asked some friends to spend the whole afternoon playing at your house. The last time you looked, they were playing well together. Without warning, you hear shouting and screaming. You dash to your kid's room to find the youngsters playing tug-of-war with a favorite toy. Looks, cries and finger pointings are flying left and right. And that's just coming from you.

What happened and how do you patch it up? First thing to do is keep in mind that just as children are learning about how to "playdate", so are the parents. Second, don't fret. A parent equipped with the right activity or distraction can easily and promptly step in and make it right again. Whether the problem is the kids are too much hyper, the boredom blues are setting in, a left out brother or sister with hurt feelings, a sharing problem or a youngster who's missing her mommy, we've got some suggestions to get your get together activity back on its feet quickly.

Here are useful tips for a successful playtime:

1. Limit the playtime to a maximum of three hours.
2. Try to plan it for mornings to avoid naptimes and the end of the day, when kids are likely to be crankier.
3. Ask one or two children at the most to come at a time
4. Arrange for a simple snack. Avoid serving sodas or beverages that contain too much sugar if you don't want your house to look like it was hit by a hurricane.
5. Hide toys your child doesn't want to share.
6. If your child's playdate is having separation anxiety with their parent, ask the parent to stay for a while or for the entire time.
7. If a child can't be comforted, call the parent to pick him up. Sometimes you can try everything and there is just nothing you can do.