5yr son doesnt have best friends in school

[amrao3]

Hello All!

I am a newbie here and this is my first post. I am a dad of a 5 year old son. My son started school last September and is in reception.

My son is quite social but doesnt seem to have close friends. Rest all the kids in his class seem to have one or more best friends. Between Sept and (now) May he has been invited to just two birthdays parties (out of which one invite was from someone we knew from his previous nursery). We asked his teacher and she said he played with everyone and was very happy and cheerful. He is happy to go to school as well. My concern probably is that he doesnt have kids to hang out with.

Also me and my wife both work full time and have no family in the UK (I am originally from India). I think me and the wife are also to be blamed as we havent socialised with other parents as much as we should have. We both are introverts and quite busy at work so one of us just drops him to school hurriedly and pick him up from after school. I am trying to engage with other parents but everyone busy in the morning. We are worried that he might find himself alone in class activities.
Am I overhinking ? Any input will highly appreciated

My son is 10 and has never had best friends
He’s sociable and seems to get on with everyone, he gets invited to a few parties but not all of them. He plays with lots of different people and will sometimes say someone is his best friend but then a few weeks later someone else is
My daughter was the opposite so I don’t know if it’s a boy/girl thing but I really wouldn’t worry. In fact I prefer his approach to the best friend/mortal enemy thing we regularly went through with my daughters friendship group over the years

It's very common for 5 year olds not to have close friends (or to have a new best friend every day). If the teacher has told you he plays with everyone, then I wouldn't worry. Re the parties - you'll probably find that either parents invite mainly the children of their friends, or that they'll ask their DC for 6 names and the DC will reel off the first 6 names that occur to them (which may bear no resemblance at all to the children that they play with most). So again, wouldn't worry.

Have you had children over to play - I know it is tricky if you both work full time, but maybe weekends or holidays? Did he have a birthday party? Do you have children that live near you that you can invite over (or may or may not be the ones that he goes to school with)? Does he take part in any extra-curricular activities (again, a different pool for friends, or to consolidate school friendships).

If you want to encourage friendships, then having play dates is probably the way to go, but it doesn't sound like anything to worry about - in 2 or 3 years, the children will be in firmer friendship groups and clearer about who they are friends with, but it's early days yet.

@Hoppinggreen and @RedSkyLastNight ....thanks for taking the time to reply to my post... really appreciate you sharing your experiences. It does put my mind at rest a bit.

He has his birthday party in two months where we are planning to invite all kids which should be a good opportunity to interact with parents as well. He goes to karate and football classes but remains more within himself.

Again... thanks for sharing tips!

Totally normal for a 5 year old to have fleeting relationships. He sounds sociable an not picky, he probably is just friends with everyone. Which is lovely!