[mommyschiff]

I am struggling right now with my 5 yo ds and his personality. He is a very sweet boy. He is extremely creative - he is always in some sort of costume and acting out his little skits in his mind. He also likes to instruct his 3 yo brother how to play the role he wants him to in his little dramas. The 3 yo for now if happy to comply. But I have found that when we go to extracurricular activities and play dates he is always the child that has an issue. He is always the one upset with the other kids. It makes me not want to even go to playdates. He is homeschooled so we do not have any school realted social issues. He was on a soccer team this year and it was great!!! We had no issues. I am trying to figure out what about that activity fit him so well. The movement? The coach (he had a great coach)? The constant dramatic effect of scoring goals?

ANyway I am a little worried because he doesn;t really have any friends. We get together with families we know but he usually gravitates towards the younger kids. I am torn between encouraging him to play with kids his own age and just letting him play with whoever he wants as long as he is having fun. I am trying to accept my children as they are and encourage them to be the best them they can be. As opposed to trying to mold them into someone they are not. Any book suggestions on accepting your child's personality as it is and encouraging that personality??

Thanks
Kelly

 

[kesmith]

I think some kids just aren't ready to have real "friends" until they are older. My dd (very sensitive high needs) was close to 6 before she had a genuine friend (as opposed to kids she was willingto play with), and it was an extremely intense friendship, like she was in love or something. Now, at age 7, she also has only one good, very intense friendship. I'm not really worried, because she seems to otherwise be learning to navigate the social world, and does happily play with plenty of kids (though she'll object if I call them her friends).