My daughter is 7 and has always developed really intense friendships with other girls which I didn't expect so young, but it's been the case since she was a toddler. I've always encouraged her to value those friendships but also to make other friends too. She's a lovely, friendly girl and there are a lot of kids in our immediate area who play together, or they mostly did until this summer.
This summer she's developed a keen friendship with a slightly older girl in the area, and they play together a lot. Over the last little while there's another group of girls who have tried to draw a line between themselves and my daughter and her friend, which is what it is, I think its fairly normal. Recently her friend has started playing more with those girls and my daughter has noticed her friend isn't coming round for her any more and I can tell she's a bit confused and stung by it.
My normal strategy would be to continue to encourage other friendships and keep arranging regular plays with other friends but I think she's at the age now where things are going to start getting a bit more complicated within friendship groups and there is going to be some tears.
What is the best way to approach it with a girl of this age? Is it best just to be honest that people have other friends like she does and that kids like to change who they play with sometimes?
I've also got a bit of an undercurrent of worry about the other group growing in size and my daughter being excluded as it now seems to contain all the girls her age and slightly older and she's the only one not in it. I know it can change and rejig itself over holidays etc and I'm probably really overthinking, but I know how huge a deal it can be for girls and I don't want to do the wrong thing with her.
Any idea would be much appreciated from mums who have been here!