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罗特表示，人们会嘲笑那些购买他们服务的家长，批评他们不仅把责任外包给别人，还给年幼的孩子施加太多压力。
Vanessa defends her clients. “These parents want to give their child the best advantage. Most of these families have been to the best colleges and want the same for [their offspring]. The children are learning and having fun. We do everything with games.”
瓦妮莎为自己的客户做出了辩护。“这些家长希望为自己的孩子创造最有利的条件。他们中多数人本身毕业于最优秀的大学，也希望（自己的孩子）将来能像自己一样。孩子们在这里既学习了知识，也玩得很开心。我们把一切都用游戏的方式教给孩子们。”
Both concede, however, that a typical outcome of a mock play date is putting mothers and fathers at ease. As Vanessa puts it: “It demystifies the process for parents and lets them relax.”
然而，两人都承认，模拟游戏约定通常的结果是让家长安心。正如瓦妮莎所言：“这种模拟为父母们揭开了整个过程的神秘面纱，从而让他们放松下来。”
By day, Vanessa is an occupational therapist, which means that she is sought after by parents who want their child to work on fine motor skills or attention difficulties. Sara, who is studying for a PhD in child psychology, is often asked to help provide “enrichment”, reading, comprehension or mathematics.
白天，瓦妮莎是一位职业治疗师，这意味着，家长们希望她能帮助自己的孩子提高精细动作能力、或解决专注力问题。萨拉正在攻读儿童心理学的博士学位，家长们经常请求她为自己的孩子提供“强化训练”，比如增强阅读、理解或数学能力。
As Ms Rheault puts it, the hope is “the child will move up to advanced reading group at school. The enrichment market is growing leaps and bounds. Tutors are no longer just for kids who need support.”
正如罗特所言，家长们希望“孩子在入园后进入高级阅读小组。强化训练的市场正呈跳跃式增长。指导教师不再是那些需要帮助的孩子们的专利。”
Ms Rheault was inspired by her own experiences to introduce playgroup services. In 2007, while still an analyst at Morgan Stanley, she was trying to get her three-and-a-half year-old daughter into a very competitive school. “I told my daughter to make sure she shares with the teacher all that she knows . . . not to be too shy . . . and to please speak up so the teacher would be able to hear her.”
里奥特推出小组游戏指导服务的灵感来自于她本人的经历。2007年，她还是摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)的一名分析师。当时，她试图让3岁半的女儿进入一家竞争非常激烈的幼儿园。“我告诉我的女儿，一定要把知道的都告诉老师……不要太害羞……要大声说话，这样老师才能听清楚。”
When the children sat down, the teacher posed the first question: she had five teddy bears, and took away two, how many were left? “Three,” said Ms Rheault’s daughter. So far so good – until she answered all the questions directed at the group. “We did not get in but I learned that even good advice can backfire when interpreted by a three or four year old.”
孩子们坐下后，老师提出了第一个问题：她有5个泰迪熊，拿走两个，还剩几个？罗特的女儿答：“3个。”事情一直进行得不错，直到她女儿一人回答了老师向游戏小组提出的所有问题。“我们没有被录取，但我认识到，如果让一个3、4岁的孩子自行解读的话，即便是好建议也可能起反作用。”
Play date experts may also flag up family scenes parents might not want their child to draw in their admission test. “One child,” notes Ms Rheault, “drew a picture of her mother with a cigarette in her hand. It might be mom’s one guilty pleasure but to the school, it might look like the parents are bad to be around.”
游戏约定专家还可能会提醒家长们，哪些家庭场景是他们可能不希望自己的孩子在入学考试中画出的。罗特指出：“有一个孩子画了一副妈妈手拿香烟的画。这位母亲可能心怀愧疚地保留了这么一个小爱好，但学校可能会认为，家长对这个孩子有不良的影响。”
They are also careful to spot traits that might be interpreted by a school as an indication that a child is on the autism spectrum. “So many of these things, like walking on tiptoes or not making eye contact, are normal but if 20 other children are fighting for a place, the school will go for the easiest option,” says Ms Rheault.
此外，他们还会谨慎的指出，哪些特征可能被学校视为有自闭倾向的标志。罗特表示，“踮起脚尖走路、或目光躲闪等情况，在很多时候都是正常的，但如果还有20个孩子在竞争一个名额的话，幼儿园将做出最显而易见的选择。”
After assessing the child’s play, the experts write a report alerting parents to problem areas and suggest exercises to practise at home. With so much resting on a play date, Vanessa is careful how she frames her verdict. “I always start by noting the child’s areas of strengths. These are young children and performance and behaviour can vary day to day,” she says.
在对孩子的游戏表现进行评估后，专家们会撰写一份报告，提醒家长注意孩子的哪些问题，并建议他们在家里进行一些练习。由于游戏约定如此重要，瓦妮莎对自己的判断表达得相当谨慎。她表示：“我总是首先指出孩子的优势。他们还小，每一天的表现和行为可能都不一样。”
Though occasionally, Ms Rheault adds, a play date might show a parent that an elite school is not suitable for their child. ”Sometimes you have to reset a parent’s expectation. George might be bouncing off the walls.”
罗特补充称，家长有可能通过游戏约定发现，自己的孩子不适合上精英幼儿园。尽管这种情况比较少，但也偶尔发生。“有时，你不得不调整父母的期望。乔治可能是太闹腾了。”
