my 2.5yo will only play with older kids

[meg-momto2]

the title pretty much says it all. my 2.5yo DD does not play well with other toddlers. our neighbor's little girls is 6 months older then DD and she's can't stand her. we've also played with our friends LO's who are about 6 months younger and it's the same story. DD will happily play with the neighbors 6yo daughter just fine. my DS is the same way. he definitely prefers the older kids. i'm wondering if it's something that we've done to cause this. neither of them have been in daycare or group setting with other kids.

DD may have to start going to daycare very soon and i'm a little worried about how she'll handle it. anyone else LO's prefer the older kids? how did you help them socialize with kids their age?

[Right of Passage]

You have a 6 y/o at home it's probably just what's she is used to. My 4 y/o was the same way, he now does fine with all ages. Still if we're at a park he'll more likely follow the bigger kids and play with them if they let him.

[~Katie~]

My DS will not play with other toddlers, he might take turns going down the slide with them but after a few minutes he loses interest. He loves to play with older children, though. I think it's a developmental thing because it's fun for him to be around children who are more verbal and physically able to do the things he likes to do. I feel pretty confident that in another 6 months or so he'll want to interact with kids his age when everyone is mostly on the same developmental level.

[Shannie77]

My DD will rarely play with other 2-3 year olds as well. Unless one of them starts chasing her, she doesn't want anything to do with them. She is at a home daycare once a week, and there are 3 other 2.5 year olds there and she has told me that they don't talk. She is very verbal and loves her imaginative play. I think it is hard for two two year olds to get that sort of play going. With a 4+ year old she can use their experience to get the game going.

We are lucky our next door neighbours have a 4 year old who adores our daughter. They are "best friends" and enjoy playing together.

[leighi123]

My ds plays with a few kids his age, but for the most part they are older than him. He always plays with the neighbor girls, the youngest is 8!

He is super smart and kids his age dont interact the same way as he does.

[blizzard_babe]

I think it's pretty normal. DS (22mos) really wants nothing to do with kids his age (or they just try to grab toys from each other), but give him a five year-old to follow around and he's in heaven . DS is pretty advanced, verbally, but it still takes a certain amount of... knowledge and interpretation to be able to really carry on a conversation with him. Older kids can manage that, making it possible for actual play to occur. Two toddlers trying to converse is often like... um... two one-way streets going in opposite directions.

And since it's fairly normal, daycare providers are pretty used to dealing with it, methinks.

[laughymama]

DS is 21 months and plays with ONE toddler a few months older than he is but mainly he just likes to pester her until she gets mad and cries.

99% of the time when given a choice, he prefers children 3 and up. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they are more verbal and speak to him. I've noticed he plays much better with older children. He usually gets frustrated and a little hostile with other toddlers.