I am really feeling for my little boy. He is in kindergarten this year and has made one friend. Unfortunately that friend has drifted away and no longer plays with my son. My son is very high functioning and. He is able to adapt to his environment very easily. Last year at preschool he had many friends and was quite popular he had a best friend he had a wonderful relationship with. Unfortunately all his preschool friends were zoned for different schools and my son wasn’t excepted into the school his friends were. I just feel so awful for my son. He only has younger siblings to play with. We have enrolled him into sports but he hasn’t found any connections as such. I am so worried he will develop mental health issues from not forming important relationships in his early years at school. I don’t want him to be lonely or get depression. We play with him all the time but it’s just not the same as playing with other children his own age.
3 Replies
Kindy kids don't tend to make friends. They play their own thing alongside others. It's ok if they don't even know their names. But does he do that or does he do things so they don't enjoy it and leave. Discuss with his teachers.
My daughter was in kinder for 5 minutes before she'd made a best friend, my other two children took a couple of years to really find their place socially.
I wouldn't be super concerned at this stage about mental health issues arising because he didn't immediately develop close friendships and connections as a 5 year old, sometimes these things take time.
See how things go, maybe try and facilitate some play dates outside of school and you could always have a chat with his teacher as they'd be able to encourage inclusion etc.
My daughter is in grade one this year. She went through grade prep not forming any real close friendships. This year she has made heaps of friends with a few of them being close friends!!
So hard for them in their first few years of schooling. You could mention it to his teacher.
Also as a teacher, when I’m on yard duty I often see prep, 1/2 kids playing with lots of different people depending on their mood. I think it’s unusual for students that young to have a good close friendship group that they only play with at that age.