Hello, i have started noticing behavior in my 4-year-old son that i don't notice in other children. Every time we take him to the park, soft play, or any activity that involves other children he always wants a friend. This is fine but he can get very upset when no one plays with him or get very attached when a child plays with him.
For example, we took him to soft play after preschool and it was a little early as there weren't many children at the center but he became very upset and started crying. He kept saying "I want to go out" (he wanted to leave). I finally managed to settle him and got him into the soft play area with another child but the child had to leave and my son started crying "mummy my friend, I want a friend". I managed to settle him again but he refused to play with me and instead wanted to be left alone and then he slowly made his way towards the other children. Eventually, he made a friend but he kept going over to this child's family while they were eating and pointing at the food, I was so embrassed. I managed to persuade him to leave but it was hard work.
We have the same problem at the park but we have noticed some children don't play with him because they struggle to understand him or parents will just pull their children away. This really impacts his confidence. I've explained to him that it's okay to play on your own and mummy and daddy love playing with him but he still insists on having friends.
I keep wondering if we are doing something wrong? We don't have any children in the family which I think makes it harder as he has no one his age to play with. We have tried to arrange play dates with a friend of his from preschool but the parents didn't show any interest.
I've searched the internet for answers and although his teachers at preschool keep telling me not to worry, I cant help it. I feel like we have let him down. Any help/guidance would be great.