Posted this in one child thread but no reply so re-posting here:
DS, 4, has a couple of friends he sees - mostly one little boy from his pre-school days and another he is good friends with from his reception class. With R, the pre-school friend, we generally take it in turns to meet for playdates at each other's houses.
But recently, he's been kicking up a fuss about R coming to ours. Apparently, he does not like children coming to his house to share his toys. Now, while I understand that he finds it difficult to share toys (especially he being an only), I don't want to give in. He is excited when R comes but then at a certain point, he starts getting possessive.
Both mums give both boys lots of praise for good sharing and taking turns. But it quickly deteriorates, even when we try to keep the play date short. Lots of crying etc. And actually, last time R and his mummy were at ours, he ignored R and played with his mummy.
Incidentally, he plays very happily at R's (of course!). In the spring, summer, autumn we meet up quite lot at the park, but with the winter here, it's been difficult to meet at a neutral ground. We are both on tight budgets, also. Besides, I feel it's a skill he needs to learn.
With the school friend, we have been to their house 2 times and I would like to invite them to ours but, as I'm only getting to know them, I'm feeling a bit sensitive about it, tbh.
Any tips?